Businesses can usually be contacted a variety of ways, from telephones, mobile phones and pagers to voice mail, e-mail and answering machines, so choosing the right communication system for your business is essential.
Here we look at the options available. However, what you choose will depend on your particular business circumstances, what you can afford and how your business will perform.
Phones
While the types of communication systems continue to evolve at a rapid rate, the telephone is still the most popular form of communications.
Businesses can ill afford not to have a telephone as part of their day-to-day operations.
Telephones come with a myriad of features and functions. You will need to assess what your business will need. If you believe you will be receiving a lot of incoming customer calls you will need to have a telephone system which can cater for this.
The following are some specific features you may want to consider as part of your telephone system:
Call waiting: This feature signals you if someone is trying to reach you while you are on the telephone. You can take the incoming call while putting the original call on hold.
Call diversion: If you have to be out of the office you can have incoming calls diverted to another number where you can be reached. This means you do not have to miss potentially important business calls.
Automatic re-dial: The telephone redials the last number called. This is now an automatic feature on most telephones.
Number memory: Telephone numbers can be stored and recalled automatically.
Speaker phones: This function allows you to speak to the person without using the receiver. It frees you up to carry on with certain tasks while having a telephone conversation.
Freecall 1800: This is a Telstra service which makes it easy for customers to call a business. It allows callers to ring your business free of charge from anywhere in Australia from a fixed phone. You can nominate how the system works. For example if you want free calls to be offered to a specific region, time or day.
Depending on the telephone system, the total cost can range from as little as $50 for a basic household model which has very basic features upwards. However, if you require a more advanced business communication system it will cost a lot more.
When choosing your telephone system keep in mind the potential for your business to expand. That way if you start out with a telephone system which will cater for communications growth you will save yourself money in the long run.
Mobile Telephones
The advantage to mobile phones is that you can be available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year to your customers.
To some that may sound a little daunting. However, if you are out of the store and a problem arises by having a mobile phone you can be easily and readily contacted and help avert any potential business problems.
It can be difficult to know where to start when buying a mobile phone. The market can be very competitive and it is highly recommended you shop around before committing yourself to a sale.
Also, it is important to make sure you fully understand any contractual arrangements which are attached to the phone.
Nothing to pay now may sound fine, however, if you are locked into a 30 month contract at a fixed price you could find yourself wasting money on a mobile phone service which doesn’t suit your business requirements.
Make sure you are also fully aware of the call costs involved and the connection fee and message retrieval costs. Mobile phones come with various functions.
Mobile features include:
- SMS text messages
- Voice dialling functions
- Speaker facilities
- State-of-the-art screen savers
- Games
- Message banks
- The ability to connect and receive information via the Internet.
Assess what features you will need and discuss them with the mobile phone retailer of your choice. You might also want to consider pre-pay phone cards so you are not locked into a contract and you pay as you use. This works out more economical if you don’t intend to use the mobile very often.
Pagers and Answering Machines
A pocket paging system provides one-way communication from the sender to the recipient and is a common method of contacting people. Pagers can be bought outright or rented on a monthly basis.
However, with mobile phones becoming more advanced with more built-in features, such as SMS text messages and paging services, pagers are becoming less popular.
Answering Machines And Services
Answering machines are an extremely useful and relatively cheap piece of business equipment.
They can provide your business with a 24-hour customer service point. They are useful after-hours and during business hours when staff may be too busy on the “sales floor” to answer phones. An answering machine will ensure you do not miss an important business call.
Answering machines will cost $50 and upwards, again depending on the machine’s features.
An alternative to an answering machine is a built-in message bank on your telephone system. Your phone company will usually provide such a service. However, do keep in mind that while message banks can be remotely accessed by using a pin number, there is a monthly rental fee involved.
You will need to weigh up the costs involved and assess your business requirements in relation to answering machines and services.
