Small and mid-sized businesses are always looking to maximize profitability by increasing revenue and decreasing costs. And as all revenue comes from client retention and base inflation it is obvious that SMBs need to find and maintain a specific and tangible advantage over their competitors, especially during the economic recession. But how do SMBs stay competitive in the world of large enterprise? Fortunately, SMBs have a secret weapon: their smaller size affords them vastly superior client familiarity. Exceptional client service and support is how SMBs stay competitive with larger enterprises and their glut of resources. So how does an SMB increase client service and satisfaction while decreasing spending? It is as simple as leveraging the powerful and cost effective technology of an SMB phone system. With Avaya IP Office, you can enhance client service through increased employee productivity and optimized business communications while simultaneously decreasing total costs.
Increase productivity
The first component of client service is doing the work your clients have paid you to do. Clients want you to be reliable, fast and efficient. When your business is hit with downtime – due to adverse weather, rampant illness, employees on the road, or system complications – your employees cease to be productive. According to Lawrence C. Miller –author of Small Business Unified Communications for Dummies - lost productivity costs an SMB approximately $20,000 annually in lost profits and clients. IP Office guarantees maximized uptime through increased employee productivity and system security.
Mobile office - With IP Office your cellular phone works just like your office phone allowing you the same communications efficiency you would have if you were sitting in your office. Forward, transfer, toggle, conference and put calls on hold even when you're on the go. Now your employees can be accessible, responsive and productive from anywhere: whether they’re out meeting with clients or stuck in traffic.
Home office – With IP Office your home phone and PC stay seamlessly connected to your business network. You no longer have to fear the productivity repercussions of a snowstorm or very disruptive cold.
Increased system security – IP Office takes proactive measures – such as email notifications – to ensure that your system is always responsive, fast, and reliable: keeping your productivity optimized at all times.
Optimize communications
Doing the work that is expected of you is only half of the client service equation. The other half involves effective communications. Your clients want to know that they can always connect with you, quickly and easily, and with IP Office you can.
Single number of access - Your clients do not want to memorize and try several numbers before they reach you. IP Office gives you the simplicity of one number of access which will ring all of your lines simultaneously (and send you an email), guaranteeing that you are reached quickly and hassle free.
Call Coverage – Vastly superior to call forwarding, Call Coverage allows your employees to customize call routing based on the caller, time of day, and their availability.
Presence and Availability – With Presence and Availability, clients can know when and how to reach your employees. Through the familiar PC interface of business email the feature displays whether or not an employee is in the office/on the phone as well as preferred time and method of contact.
Optimized message management - Single Voicemail and Unified Messaging put all of your messages together in one location with one voicemail for all lines and a single inbox for all of your messages regardless of format. Cross-Media Reply allows you to respond to any message in the format of your choice with Text-to-Speech even converting your emails into voicemail so that you may check them on the road with your mobile phone. Visual Voicemail utilizes the familiar PC interface to make message navigation easy and efficient: now you can get back to messages in order of priority, not in the order in which they were received.
Decrease spending
Not only can IP Office optimize client service through maximized productivity and communications, but it can also whittle down your business expenses.
Telecommuting - The average facilities costs of an SMB are $5,000 per employee per year. Having a selection of employees work from home could save your company thousands of dollars annually: on energy expenditures, travel expenses and rent. If you decide to incorporate telecommuting into your business strategy, IP Office can make the transition seamless. IP Office even comes with a 64-party conference calling bridge, saving you the additional money in third party conference calling installation charges.
Not only can IP Office and telecommuting save you money, but it can also boost your business in other ways:
Get the talent you need - Now you can acquire the talent you need, regardless of zip code, as your employees can work from anywhere.
Go green - Telecommuting cuts down on energy and carbon emissions, meaning that you can boast a green business status: something of increasing importance to clients.
Boost moral - Telecommuting also retains key staff members by boosting moral through the flexibility of hours and work space as well as through the time and money they can save on commuting.
More than just a phone system
IP Office is more than just a phone system. It is a valuable and powerful business tool that can maximize your profitability. IP Office increases revenue and decreases costs through improved productivity, optimized communications and effective telecommuting.
Learn more about the benefits of IP Office by contacting Bryley Systems today.
Call 888.280.5799 or email Sales@Bryley.com.
Bryley Systems is a proud Avaya Business Partner and can field any questions you might have regarding the potential of a new Avaya IP phone system.
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