11 Ways to Integrate a Virtual Phone Number System into your E-Commerce Business

Book a demo call

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

October 6, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

As the e-commerce industry flourishes, e-retail revenues are expected to rise to a figure as steep as 5.4 trillion US dollars in the year 2022.

Although presently Indian businesses use centralized virtual numbers for managing huge volumes of incoming calls, now there are providers that also help businesses procure Indian virtual numbers.

Even today, a phone call continues to be one of the most preferred ways of interaction that customers choose in order to connect with a company.

Virtual numbers provide refined customer service without any geographic bounds. They increase business efficiency and positively impact the overall productivity of every workspace.

In a world where e-commerce looks like the only way forward, there are multiple ways in which a virtual phone number can help an organization with its operations.

Below are some of the explanations of how a virtual phone number system can help businesses today.

1. Trust generation in the customer base

As soon as a potential buyer sees a phone number listed on a company website’s contact section, their faith in the brand deepens. If the process of getting information about a product or a service seems taxing or frustrating, the buyer may change their mind and move on to a different brand.

If reaching out to a company is a cumbersome process, nobody would be expected to have many purchase-related interactions. When a person decides to invest in a new product, the company producing that product should be present for the buyer at every step of their journey.

Today’s customers demand interaction before they invest time and money in a brand. If a company’s communication system is discrepant, it is unfair to expect customers to stay loyal to it.

2. Enhanced user experience

Virtual phone numbers provide a human-support system that buyers seek during their physical shopping experiences right on their phone screens. A virtual number enables a human-driven approach even towards buyers that are shopping online.

According to BigCommerce, 67% of the millennial population and 56% of Gen Xers prefer online shopping as opposed to in-person shopping today.

For securing customer relationships and building better customer loyalty, switching to a virtual phone number is the need of the hour.

3. Automated greetings & attendants

Modern-day consumers are more likely to purchase from a seller that remembers them by their personal details and makes recommendations based on their purchase history with the brand.

It is evident that personalization continues to be a game-changer in today’s market for both, the service provider as well as the service recipient.

To offer services that are not time-bound, the e-commerce industry can benefit hugely from a personalized virtual phone number. The induction of an Interactive Voice Response system (IVR) with the use of the cloud technology can help to imitate human support during off-hours of work.

Virtual number systems can also be trained to greet each caller with a customized greeting. Small additions such as playing music during call waiting times, carefully placed promotional messages etc., contribute greatly to the betterment of the customer experience a company provides.

4. Remote access & access to mobility

As a direct consequence of the coronavirus, alternative work options have triggered trends such as working from home or remote locations. In such scenarios, attending customer calls while physically being present in the office premises is not an option anymore.

Virtual phone numbers allow customers to connect with the company from anywhere by using cloud technology. In order to attain the facilitation of remote sales and have well-functioning support teams, e-commerce requires virtual numbers.

Setting up call support apparatus can prove to be a big hassle, leading to a cluttered workspace. It requires physical infrastructure like servers, hard drives, computer systems, cables, call routers etc. that may take up a lot of time and money to assemble.

A virtual phone number system, on the other hand, is completely based on the cloud. There is no need for any physical setup but only a device of your preference. It can have all employee contact details mapped onto its portal within a few minutes.

Once phone numbers are mapped, the virtual number distributes all incoming calls according to which employees can deal with what set of problems, thereby, performing efficient call routing.

5. No time constraints

Missing important phone calls from customers may be a deal-breaker for an organization’s progress in the longer run. Agents cannot be expected to work 24×7 and infrastructural issues can lead to downtown as well.

A virtual phone number provides for call logging and call recording. It also gives you the feature to receive all your voicemails as emails. This helps a company trace back all the important calls that it may have missed. Recorded calls can also be used to dig out and analyze useful customer data.

6. Improved CRM integration & call management solutions

The simplest definition of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is that it is a process through which a business administers its interactions with the customers base by using data collected over time for analysis.

Today, with how quickly and consistently technology is evolving, the data stored and recorded on a CRM can be integrated with any virtual phone system. So, when a customer reaches out for enquiry and better service, their information can be displayed on the CRM portal right on the agents’ screen.

This not only garnishes the interaction with a layer of personalization but also cuts down on the time that a support agent may spend skimming through multiple screens trying to find appropriate information.

7. Toll free calling

When your customers are located in a different country, they might hesitate to call your business because of how expensive international calling is. In fact, many might also prefer to connect with a local business rather than an international one.

Virtual phone numbers allow you to get a local number in multiple countries and help you create a local presence. You can even get a toll-free number in other countries to encourage customers to call you more often.

8. Call routing & call forwarding

Virtual phone numbers can also facilitate call routing and call forwarding.

Call Routing on virtual numbers, directs calls from customers specifically to agents or departments who can best address their queries. This helps with the first call resolution rates as calls are redirected only to agents who are capable of solving a particular kind of problem.

They can even play a pre-defined message in times of holidays and special occasions when agents are not available.

It also helps in employees not having to engage in repetitive calls that can be a threat to their daily productivity.

As far as missing out on calls that could have proven to be important and beneficial is concerned, virtual phone numbers are capable of call forwarding. This means that calls made to the company’s virtual number will automatically be forwarded to agents on their personal numbers for immediate assistance without any delays.

This helps in strengthening the company’s relationship with its customers due to round-the-clock assistance, thereby also paving the way for seamless customer engagement.

9. Order management with virtual numbers

Virtual phone numbers can maintain an inventory of all customer orders when integrated with CRM software which can be accessed by employees to provide real-time updates to customers about the status of the purchases that they are making.

10. Simple setup

In cases of traditional systems as compared to cloud telephony, a technician is needed to help layout wires and make other physical arrangements to set up and run an on-premises phone system.

Unlike traditional setups with difficult configurations and a lot of physical hardware, a virtual phone number doesn’t require any hardware and can work on your preferred device. All you need is a reliable internet connection, and you are good to go.

11. Increased room for teamwork

Without remote teams in place, organizations might struggle to keep up with customer expectations during tough times, say, like a global pandemic. If remote teams fail to maintain consistency and a unified approach simply due to communication breakdowns within the organization, customers cannot be expected to stick to a brand.

Business call answering service and other virtual workspace solutions help in remote training and endorse a collective approach to seamless business communication

Narrowing down multiple different communication channels and applications to just one platform helps with promptness in customer solutions.

With virtual numbers, conferencing with other members of the teams also becomes a very simple process. Conference lines are not limited only to employees but can also be enabled for clients in order to assure they receive the kind of hands-on engagement that they seek.

Conclusion

It is essential to understand that to have customers choose a company for making purchases, a very high level of trust is necessary. A customer will never pick a brand they cannot completely rely upon. With the incorporation of virtual phone numbers, customers can reach out to the brand of their choice 24×7.

Not just this, they can also be reached out to in innovative ways and offered personalized services in turn for placing their faith in a particular company. To sum up, it is important to remember that virtual phone systems are not only beneficial for the customers, but also extremely cost-effective for the business and healthy for its support agents.

Given how dynamically today’s market situations are transforming, virtual number systems certainly are meant to be a big part of tomorrow’s markets!

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

Acefone provides a broad range of cloud communication services to businesses of all sizes, which includes Hosted Phone Systems, Free Phone Numbers, and Cloud Contact Center Solutions. Being the UK's leading provider of VoIP service provider, we always strive to provide excellent customer service and high-quality custom solutions to our customers.

Data Privacy: Why It Matters for Your Consumers, Your Business, and Your Brand

Book a demo call

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Most casual users of the Internet and social media are increasingly concerned about protecting their personal data and privacy.

There are news stories abound on data leaks and data hacks regularly, causing netizens concern. And rightly so, since sharing personal data while shopping or often visiting e-commerce websites has become imperative. Not just that, most consumers either do not know how companies use such data that they share.

However, there is another set of consumers who are more aware, research and take suitable actions to protect their data. They tend to even choose who they buy products from based on their perception of how much of their data is likely to be used or misused.

Until not too long ago, most businesses paid little heed to this growing concern in consumers. Their business strategies seldom included privacy considerations. Companies saw this as platonic and an avoidable expense.

While governments started taking initiatives to establish a regulatory framework to tackle the risks and established severe punitive fines, it appeared that execution of the laws lacked teeth. The penalties too were rare and significantly lower than envisaged. Only real big violators were impacted.

Things have, however, changed over the last few years and continue to do so.

A survey done by Cisco a couple of years ago with 2500 adult respondents across 12 of the largest economies across the Americas, Europe and the Asia Pacific provided some actionable insights. Before we illustrate the findings, let us refresh some essential points.

What is Data Privacy?

Any individual or group should have the ability to know and control the extent to which his personal information is shared or used. Such personal information may include things like name, gender, contact information, location, online or offline behaviour, and more.

Any use of such information collected by companies or businesses should not be without the consent of such individuals or groups. This, in a nutshell, is Data Privacy.

The prolific prevalence of social media platforms, applications and even websites that collect such information on consumers and their behaviour mean that data is being collated and mined, used and at times misused round the clock.

Some of these applications and websites, at times, do not have enough safeguards around the data collected. Some even use such data beyond reason, thereby exposing consumers to potential risks and compromising their privacy.

With the manifold increase in the use of Internet applications over the years, the need for and importance of data privacy have also gone up significantly.

The importance of data privacy

There are a variety of ways in which customers’ personal or behavioural information can be misused:

Frauds or harassment engineered by crooks or people with mala fide intents
Unwanted marketing communications if such information is hacked into by or sold to advertisers and marketers
The ability to express openly and freely in the online world can get restricted for individuals owing to the fear of information misuse

In reality, there are many more ways that information can be misused without the consent of individuals.

Any of these situations can not only cause harm to individuals, but they can also cause irreparable damage to the reputation of businesses or companies that do not have sufficient safeguards to protect the information.

Many geographies around the world hold the right to privacy as a right to free society and have implemented laws and frameworks to guard such rights.

Privacy as seen by customers

The survey done by Cisco in 2019 further gives significant pointers and broad trends to how consumers view privacy:

A significant number of consumers worry about what companies are doing with their data.
People care about privacy. A large number of them have taken action to protect it
Privacy regulations and policies help build trust
Consumers value the role of the government in regulating the use of data. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is viewed very favourably

Value of privacy to businesses

Statistics published by Pew Research show that there is a hacker attack every 39 seconds. Typical businesses store a lot of private information on their consumers, and a data breach can lead to losses of many kinds.

It would not be a stretch of the imagination to say that businesses will probably not survive without protocols and guardrails in place. And there are many reasons for making the statement.

Following are the top of the list:

Regulations and compliances: Frameworks like GDPR and the laws are now stringent. And compliance is not optional anymore. Not having sufficient safeguards is no longer just irresponsibility on the part of businesses; it is tantamount to breaking laws. And the consequences for non-compliance may be monetary or other penalties.
Data Breaches: The reality is that there is a growing threat of data breaches. In this environment, businesses must have proper security protocols and practices in place. Any incidence can cause monetary losses and reputational damage apart from punitive penalties.
Customer Loyalty: In case of a data leak, or even a perception of it, consumers are likely to stop doing business with such companies and simply switch to a competitor. They need to be convinced that the information they share is safe with the company.
Ethics: Most organisations follow a code of ethics and business practices. Whether explicitly stated or not, companies have to follow ethical standards simply because consumers value it, and doing so adds to the brand’s value.
How they manage consumers’ confidential information only for business purposes and not in any other way is a crucial element. It needs to be stated and followed in practice. There is simply no option.

Impact on Brand value

Brand equity often shadows the trust that customers place in a company and its products and services.
Naturally, the security of data and information add to consumers’ faith and, hence, the brand’s value.

This simply means that implementing trusted and powerful principles and actions and sharing them with consumers becomes a vast opportunity to outshine the competition, thereby adding to the brand positioning and earning deeper customer loyalty.

Conclusion

While regulatory frameworks like GDPR can become a suitable guiding force, it is essential to understand some critical realities for business survival in the current information age.

Consumers are becoming aware of their rights to their personal information. Criminals with mala fide intents are placing increasing value on such information. Governments are rolling out stiffer laws to protect privacy and trust in all forms, playing a larger role in consumer loyalty.

Let us reiterate that privacy is seen as a fundamental human right, and this has also been recognised in the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

It is essential not only to know, but it is also even more critical to build a sound practice around privacy and communicate it well, both within the company and to consumers.

Building and implementing a good data privacy policy is a step in the right direction towards building resilience to internal and external threats, insuring against penalties and creating a differentiator that adds to the trust that consumers place in your company.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

The Rise of Customer Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Book a demo call

Acefone Editor

Author

Customer Service

October 5, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

The year 2020 will surely go down in history as one of the most eventful years of the 21st century, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.

The virus led to the breakdown of existing systems and structures for new world order. New protocols were introduced to contain the virus and counter the rapidly increasing number of infections and fatalities worldwide.

The pandemic brought on new challenges that were antithetical to the functioning of the erstwhile systems in place. Since the virus spreads rapidly, combined with the limitations of the healthcare systems, social distancing and quarantine rules became the writing on the wall.

Customers and businesses alike were pushed to working and living without stepping outside their homes.

And nobody saw it coming.

Businesses were not adequately equipped or experienced to sustain remote operations. The general populace, too, was pushed into a state of widespread panic and paranoia.

The hysteria funnelled a more urgent need for instant and efficient customer service to resolve customer concerns—whether it was cancelled flights or the status of an essential item they ordered.

The way forward

While the pandemic came with its own set of challenges in dispensing fast and effective customer support, it also served as a watershed moment for the digital automation of the customer support systems.

During this worldwide public health emergency, people flooded the support channels. They sought more emphatic and immediate engagement, spurring customer support automation.

Companies had to gear up to adopt and implement technologies that automate support processes. And the various solutions that emerged from this period have changed customers’ digital habits for good.

Some of the trends which led to the adoption of automated solutions are:

Evolving customer behaviour:

Covid-19 rendered most of our habits useless and necessitated the usage of contactless services. People had to adapt to digital solutions, whether purchasing groceries or ordering clothes. This pushed them to adopt self-service technologies. 45% of customers are more likely to use self-service tools now than before Covid-19.

Shifting business ecosystem:

Covid-19 majorly disrupted the business ecosystem by introducing digital transformation around the globe, probably earlier than anticipated.
77% of companies rely on digital solutions, but less than half are ready for digital disruption. The pandemic exposed the technological gaps in the workings of organisations and forced them to adopt improved service delivery models.

Expectation imbalance:

There was a vast chasm between customer requirements and the standards of digital assistance and self-service.
Executives were under the gun to prevent customer churn, and this pressure eventually accelerated the adoption of self-service technologies. Experts point to the continual improvements seen over the years.

The integration of these tools and services in daily operations showed great benefits across industries and countries. Here, we discuss some of these solutions that stepped up during the pandemic:

Customer self-service

When a customer gains issue resolution without the intervention of a live agent, it is referred to as customer self-service. This is facilitated by various systems, including FAQs, chatbots, online portals, communities, and social media.
The enormous advances made in this sector can enable an entire population to solve most of their issues themselves.
Organisations that adopted customer self-service enjoyed the following benefits:

Better customer relations

It was critical for businesses to meet customer expectations during the pandemic. So, ensuring a faster response time became a clear indicator of successful operations.
Employing customer self-service became one of the strategies which led them to achieve the same. It also helped with customer retention.
Substituting traditional call centers with self-service tools would also improve operational efficiencies. The workforce earlier assigned to a dedicated call center desk for customer grievances can now be aligned to more strategic and operational roles.

More revenue

The pandemic saw the marketing spend plummet to new lows, consequently affecting virtually all businesses around the globe.
Therefore, it was crucial to maintain a consistent revenue stream at minimum cost. Effective customer self-service meant happy customers who chose to stick with the same company, ensuring a healthy inflow of returns at optimised cost.
Further, satisfied customers attracted more customers through word of mouth. People also bought more and more frequently if self-service was seamless.

Omni-channel customer service

The pandemic saw an uptick in the use of digital channels such as social media, online stores, and chatbots for purchases by customers. These brands also introduced safer manual purchasing means like curbside pickup, appointment shopping, and click and collect due to the pandemic.
However, retailers soon realised that integrating digital channels with physical channels was necessary to provide a seamless experience to customers. This connected approach to delivering service wherein customers can easily move between channels while continuing their journeys is called omnichannel support.
An omnichannel approach has a direct impact on the following facets of any business setup:

– Businesses that adopted omnichannel support systems showed a 7.5% YoY decrease in costs along with a 9.5% annual increase in revenues

– Omnichannel support also contributed towards customer retention by developing loyalty through enhanced support

Conversational AI

The increasing workload of support staff worldwide during the pandemic forced companies to look for solutions that could rectify the situation without compromising on quality.

This is where Conversational AI came into the picture.

This technology utilises natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to offer a human-like interaction to customers.
Conversational AI does not rely on a pre-determined set of phrases to converse with the customer, allowing the customer to talk freely about their problem statement.

In the initial phases of the pandemic, Whatsapp used conversational AI to connect people in need of oxygen or any other medical supply. The adoption of the technology brought the following advantages to businesses:

It helped build more profound and empathetic customer relations, thus driving loyalty and retention
AI-powered customer support teams to work remotely with ease and comfort
Incorporating AI in support systems meant that customers did not have to wait for a human agent to resolve their queries. This added agility and speed to the entire support process.

The COVID-19 pandemic became the perfect opportunity for the automation of the customer service systems.

Technologies like conversational AI, omnichannel support, and self-service facilities provided much-needed relief to overburdened client-facing teams who were able to fulfil customer expectations.

It is expected that these practices will continue in the post-pandemic era, and these processes will take root in the customer’s psyche.

To know more, get on-call with our cloud experts at 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected]!

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

5 Calls Made Easy with Interactive Voice Response or IVR

Book a demo call

Acefone Editor

Author

Contact Center

October 1, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

The meaning of Interactive voice response or IVR is an automated system that interacts with the caller. The caller hears the IVR system menu, presses keys on the phone as prompted by the IVR, and the system responds appropriately. On the basis of the responses provided by the caller, the IVR either provides the required information or directs the call to the appropriate call centre agent or department.

An IVR call is essentially an inbound call and the system can be customised based on the specific needs of your business. An Interactive voice response system makes your call centre more productive and efficient and saves you a lot of money in the process.

Live agent time is then better utilised fielding complex problems and not on simple queries that an IVR system can handle. It also creates a more professional customer experience. Leading cloud telephony providers like Acefone can set up the most cutting-edge IVR systems for you.

IVR number also improves first call resolution, a key metric in measuring call centre performance. The solution can make the system agent-less to a great extent, saving a lot of live agent time. IVR call flows can be as simple or complex as required, but the essential goal remains the same—to automate processes.

These are 5 kinds of calls that can be easily automated using an IVR system.

1) Bill payments

Does a customer really need to speak with an agent to pay a bill? This kind of call is a prime candidate for IVR-based automation. Not only is this kind of call extra work for the agent, but it’s also a drain on the customer’s time.

After the customary greeting, the agent has to pull up the payment details. Then the payment options have to be figured out and the payment has to be processed. The credit card details have to be read out or punched in by the customer, after which the payment will be processed. The call centre agent may ask the customer to wait for some time for a confirmation of payment.

That is several unnecessary steps. This type of call also increases First Call Resolution time. After all, it is to the call centre’s advantage if issues can be sorted rapidly, and calls don’t become too long in duration.

With IVR technology you can completely automate this process. Customers can pay their bills quickly and agent time can be used more productively. All that the customer has to do once they call up is follow automated prompts. No more waiting around for agents to answer the call.

2) Customer feedback

Customer feedback is extremely crucial for any business to improve its offerings, as well as to measure call centre performance. An IVR survey can be done right after the live call with an agent is over. If not, then ideally the feedback should be gathered within 24 hours of the issue resolution and a request can be sent out for the same after the call.

This is especially important for organisations where customer feedback is crucial to improving their functioning. Also, instead of wasting precious agent time talking to a customer and collecting the feedback, which may also be too subjective in nature, an IVR number can do the job seamlessly.

3) Automate simple queries

A lot of calls made to call centres do not require a live agent to address them. Checking the account balance and inquiring about the status of orders are two prime examples.

In fact, IVR can create a better customer experience for such calls. Of course, such information is now available through online platforms and apps as well but that doesn’t work for customers who are not so tech-savvy and still prefer to call a company directly to avail services or get some information.

It is worth noting that agents may not always be able to handle such queries swiftly because sometimes servers are slow, and it can take time to pull up the requested information.

When calling on an Interactive voice response system, customers will be prompted to let the system know what information they are seeking and then be guided along the right path. With IVR the information can be pulled out of the database instantly and conveyed to the customer.

4) Automate call back requests

Call centres are often overwhelmed with more callers than they can handle. An interactive voice response system can not only tell customers what their expected waiting time is, but it can also, through prompts, allow them to request a callback.

This saves precious time for customers who can go and accomplish other things instead of waiting for the call to be answered. With an option in the system to hold the caller’s place in the queue, the call is answered in a timely fashion. At the call centre end, this can help improve the First Call Resolution rate, a key metric in measuring call centre performance.

5) FAQ calls

This is another category of calls that can be easily automated using Interactive Voice Response. In fact, certain queries can be answered better with an IVR as the answers will be precise and accurate. Sometimes the responses of live agents can be quite subjective.

Detailed, pre-recorded instructions can also be very helpful in solving commonly occurring issues. Suppose a customer’s satellite TV is not working properly. The IVR setup can direct the customer to follow certain steps to troubleshoot the issue. If the problem is too complex to be solved easily, the customer will eventually be directed to a customer care agent.

At this point, the agent’s time will be used well since the problem is now at a stage where the intervention of a live agent is genuinely required. Any minor problem would have been taken care of by the IVR system already.

For the rest, the IVR itself will direct the call to the agent best suited to address the query. For this to run smoothly, the IVR setup of course has to be excellent and should be tested frequently for quality control and improvement.

IVR pitfalls to avoid

Your interactive voice response system has to be top-notch, otherwise, instead of a smooth ride, what the customer will get is a glitch-filled experience which is actually more frustrating than having to deal with a live call centre agent.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

The call flow should not be overly complicated. A poorly designed IVR setup filled with irrelevant options can actually ruin the customer experience. Keep it simple and straightforward.
Don’t have a long hold time. Anything over a minute can result in bad customer experience and reflect poorly on call centre performance.
The voice prompts have to be of good quality and easy to understand. It is worth investing in a good voiceover since you’ll reap the dividends for a long time to come.
Even with the best IVR system, it should be possible to speak with a live agent if required. So do not automate it fully.

Conclusion

Interactive voice response is one of the best ways to automate processes at a call centre without losing productivity or compromising on the customer experience. Many customers also prefer the anonymity of an IVR number to dealing with a call centre agent. It also requires less of their attention, allowing them to multi-task.

Besides specific calls that can be automated, IVR solution provides a host of advantages. It reduces average call time by 40 per cent. This prevents waiting customers from abandoning the call in frustration. IVR solution can keep the customer engaged until the next agent becomes available.

The solutions provided by an IVR benefit both the company and the customer.

For instance, it leads to better customer service and a better customer experience. With an IVR system, customers get the sense that they have been better attended to.
The customer also gets a sense of having unlimited access to the company, since the IVR is always available, be it the weekend or a holiday or beyond office hours. And all this without you having to put any effort into the call.
With CRM integration, the IVR system can also be programmed to provide personalised greetings, which customers love.

On the call centre side, an IVR system increases productivity, since calls that don’t require a live agent are addressed by the IVR itself. For the rest, the IVR routes the calls to the correct departments, saving precious time. By reducing the volume of the calls, it also makes the live calls less prone to error, since agents are less strained. The agents are also freed from addressing mundane queries, which boosts their morale and sense of self-worth.

So don’t hesitate to get a good IVR system today and automate calls that don’t require a live call centre agent. Call Acefone today.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

How DRaaS and CCaaS help Keep Businesses Running Through Difficult Times

Book a demo call

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Most businesses understand how crucial customer communication is. Without consistent and meaningful communication, you can’t deliver outstanding service or even successfully sell your products and services to prospective customers.

Staying in touch with your audience becomes all the more critical during times of crisis. After all, how do you update clients about delivery delays, inventory shortages or understand their needs and expectations?

The questions that arise are: how do you communicate equally well, if not better, during crises? And how do you save your business data and telephony system from collapsing?

Simple—with the help of DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service) and CCaaS (Contact center as a Service).

These cloud solutions can work together to ensure that any type of business can continue to operate and interact freely with customers even during global disasters or unexpected mishaps.

No business wants to lose precious information, and with DRaaS, they can back up data on the cloud safely and get back to work in just moments.

CCaaS, on the other hand, can help deal with panic situations better and get out crucial information to the customers whenever an emergency strikes.

This article will explore a few of how both CCaaS and DRaaS can help your business remain visible and relevant even in dire situations.

How can DRaaS and CCaaS help businesses through natural disasters?

Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) refers to replicating your IT and data environments on various servers. The data is stored securely in different locations worldwide, ensuring that should something happen to a server, data is safe in other locations.

So, in case of an unfortunate event, your IT systems can be quickly rebooted and your data restored. Not only can you continue customer interactions, but you can also help other adversely affected internal teams get back up and running.

On the other hand, a cloud contact center hosts all your customer communications, such as voice, messaging, email, and so forth, over the Internet. The technology ensures that as long you have a stable connection and a smart device, you’re able to deliver messages to the public and operate remotely.

Not only does CCaaS give you the ability to work from anywhere, but it also allows you to hire remote workers from around the globe to support your business. As a manager, you are able to supervise your team on the go from any compatible device and can access important data such as real-time analytics, call waiting times, recordings and much more all from your hosted phone system’s online portal.

A cloud contact center is essential to any business’ disaster recovery plan.

There are many ways in which these two technologies can help businesses through natural disasters.

Ensure emergency communications reach the people

In times of national emergency, the first priority is to ensure people are safe from harm. Government bodies, the healthcare industry or even businesses can send out pivotal information to the public as quickly as possible via message or voice interactions.

Even if a department losses its premises to a natural disaster or its IT systems get wiped out completely, DRaaS can still keep them running.

They’ll be able to access their data stored in another server, set-up a makeshift workspace, and resume operations using their cloud phone system. This is possible because of the flexibility CCaaS offers. Without the need for bulky infrastructure, staff can get to damage control even with a bare minimum.

With tools like voice broadcasting or SMS broadcasting, outreach can be simplified and sped up even further.

Protect the jobs of workers

Natural disasters spread devastation and destruction in their path, often reducing buildings to rubble. A combination of CCaaS and DRaaS can help offer business continuity, ultimately saving employees from job losses.

Since these cloud-powered solutions only require a stable network and Internet-enabled devices, the workforce can be moved to a remote working model. These same devices will help them reach out to your audience, and relay crucial delivery or product information.

In the face of adversity, customers will appreciate transparent and consistent interactions, fortifying your relationship with them further.

Protect sensitive information

Customer data, of any sort, is always precious and must be protected at all costs. And protecting it should be top priority for all businesses. Not only does it build trust between you and your clients, but it also makes you compliant with GDPR legislation, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Cloud solutions like CCaaS and DRaaS offer security tools like role-based access control, end-to-end encryption, firewalls, and more.

So, let’s say your desk phones get damaged in flooding, you can simply connect to your phone system to another compatible device and continue with business as usual. You won’t have to worry about any unauthorised activity or theft of sensitive data.

This peace of mind means that you can focus on getting back up on your feet.

Keep costs low and protection levels high

The last thing a business needs when it is hit by a natural disaster is a large bill to repair their phone system just to be able to access their data. That is why investing in a cloud-based system is essential and reliable.

Both CCaaS and DRaaS solutions are highly cost-effective as they do not require any expense on infrastructure or maintenance. While getting a CCaaS solution for your business, you can ask your VoIP provider to add DRaaS to your plan as well. The provider will take care of all your data and the maintenance of your solutions.

The cloud offers peace of mind and safety in the knowledge that if anything does happen, your business has the best chance of continuing to operate as close to normal as possible.

When getting yourself a DRaaS solution, discuss storage with your cloud service provider to ensure that all your data is housed securely. Do also go over the SLAs with the provider to know what is expected of you and them in the event of an emergency.

IS CCaaS really necessary to keep operating after a calamity?

To answer this question, we can look to London, where flooding stopped patients from entering hospitals and the NHS needed to tell them to cancel their appointments for their own safety.

Security guards were posted at the doors of the hospital to turn patients away, but this could have been managed even better by employing a CCaaS solution.

With tools like voice broadcasting and bulk SMSes, the NHS staff could have contacted patients ahead of time and advised them to not leave for appointments. Remote workers could even have rescheduled appointments for patients, taking the further strain off the NHS staff.

Better yet, remote staff could have utilised auto-diallers. This means that staff wouldn’t have to manually dial numbers—the system would call patients and connect staff only if the calls were answered.

In cases like this where the NHS needed to get mass communication out to patients after flash flooding, CCaaS could have made their lives easier and reduced the strain for staff who were dealing with urgent cases.

Combine CCaaS and DRaaS to create a robust disaster recovery plan

Once you know staff are safe in a natural disaster, you can start to plan for the next steps to keep your business going and keep communications flowing in times of crisis.

Both DRaaS and CCaaS are fantastic for giving you peace of mind and ensuring that your business can continue to operate no matter what the situation might be.

If you need support or advice on putting together a disaster recovery plan or to get a CCaaS solution for your business, contact us today at 1888-859-0450 or just drop us an email at [email protected].

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

How your Business can Launch their ‘Prime Day’ with Cloud Communications

Book a demo call

Acefone Editor

Author

Business Communications

September 24, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Everyone knows about Prime Day, and how the company builds it up and even how much the customers anticipate it. Large businesses like Amazon have big budgets and marketing spend to be able to spread their offers and messages worldwide, but can small businesses create the same hype?

Yes. With cloud communications, businesses of any size can create that Prime Day hype, without the price tag associated with it. By using the features of your cloud communication system, and giving customers recommendations on exactly what they want and need, you can create plenty of excitement around your brand.

This article lists a few of the features you can use to launch your very own prime day right from your hosted phone system.

Spread the word with SMS blasts

Through your hosted phone system, you can send mass messages to your customers. SMS messages cut through the noise of emails, and go straight to your customers’ devices. Most people always have a phone in their hand, so it’s a great way to get your message seen.

SMS messages can include links too, so you can send customers directly to your website with ease. You can also follow up with reminders so customers don’t miss out on your deals.

With these short, sharp messages you can ensure that your customers are kept informed and that you aren’t bombarding them with messaging.

Your message remains clear, and your call to action is saved right there on their phones so they can come back and access your deals when your discount day launches.

SMS messages can be sent with ease through your hosted phone system, so you don’t need to invest in further software to send these messages.

You can send SMS blasts from anywhere, anytime and from any compatible device connected to your phone system—so it’s really easy to reach your customers whenever you need to.

Keep customers updated via your IVR system

IVR systems, or Interactive Voice Response systems, can be built into your cloud communication solutions. IVRs can be used to broadcast messages to callers in real time, or play a series of pre-recorded messages.

By broadcasting your message to a queue of callers, you can promote your Prime Day style offers to many people at once. This way you are saving valuable time in calling each customer individually, and you are targeting interested customers only—you know this because they are calling you!

Similarly, you can use pre-recorded messages to ensure that your message is heard throughout the day. This means that you will reach different audiences with your message rather than just one specific group of callers.

IVR systems are a fantastic way of keeping in touch with customers and promoting your products and services while they wait.

You could also add an option on the self-service menu for customers who would like to find out more about your special offers, these customers can then listen to pre-recorded messages about your prime day or be put through to an adviser who can tell them more!

Use auto diallers to contact as many customers as possible

Auto dialers are a great way to contact the maximum number of customers possible at any given time frame. There are a few different types of auto dialler, but each can be used for the same goal.

Auto dialers will dial a given list of phone numbers automatically, and as soon as a number connects the call is put through to one of your customer service representatives. The customer service representative can then discuss with the customer about your prime day offer and register their interest for a follow-up call or SMS message when the offer is live.

When you have a large database of customers, auto diallers can take away the need for customer service staff to continually be wasting time searching for and dialling numbers manually. This time can be much better spent speaking to customers and engaging them so that they are much more likely to purchase from you during your offer event.

By actively calling customers in this way, the customer feels that they are getting a really personalised service too. Customers who receive a personalised service are much more likely to make a purchase, as they feel valued.

You’ve also shown them you want to keep their business by offering a discount too!

Offer personalised suggestions

Your cloud communication system offers you the chance to completely personalise your customer experience. By using the online portal, you can save detailed notes on each customer account and view records pulled from your CRM.

With these notes and customer records, you can create a personalised experience for your customers. Your hosted phone system can store all of your customer records in one place, these records can then be used to recommend products to your customer based on their previous purchases.

These records can be accessed from anywhere in the world on any device with an internet connection. Once an agent has contacted a customer, they can then use the information to start making recommendations or towards your prime day offers.

Information is shared seamlessly between your CRM system and your hosted phone system so there is no need to input information twice. This also means that you can use customers’ previous purchases or anything else saved in your CRM system when you’re contacting each customer and you can really make your interaction more personalised.

Save the personalised interaction such as this are much more likely to make a purchase especially when there are offers available to them.

Deal with the influx of enquiries with remote workers

If when starting your prime day you have an influx of enquiries then you can deal with this with remote workers. Remote workers can be added to your hosted phone system with ease and you can add and remove lines as and when you need them.

Remote workers can work from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection and can connect easily to your hosted phone system. These workers can make and receive calls as if they were in the office with you and are a valuable asset in busy times.

Remote workers can help the existing staff deal with a high volume of calls. There is nothing worse than having an offer day and not having the customer service staff to deal with the influx of enquiries you are sure to get.

To ensure customer satisfaction you should make sure that you have enough staff to take calls and keep waiting times as low as possible. Remote workers can also be trained easily with access to call recordings within their devices from your hosted phone system.

Launch your prime day with the help of cloud communications

This article has shown exactly how cloud communication tools can help you launch your business’ very own prime day. Cloud solutions are built to make it easy for you to communicate with customers in a clear and effective way, and so they are perfect for launching Prime Day offers and ensuring customer satisfaction at all times.

To find out more about cloud communications and launching your offers with these fantastic features, call us today on 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected]!.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Acefone Editor

Author

How to Choose Right VoIP for Law Firms?

Book a demo call

Yukti Verma

Author

Cloud Telephony

September 22, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Initially, the success of law firms used to be a direct function of their legal acumen and experience in the specific practice. However, the exponential increase in the number of such firms with time has increased the competition significantly.

This has brought about a shift in focus onto the softer aspects of this practice, such as professional communication with clients, a diversified service portfolio, and the drive to adapt to clients’ changing demands.

The idea is to maximise the number of clients at the first step of the funnel—the more clients you reach out to, the higher are your chances of conversions. We can argue that conversions can be achieved by looking into the aforementioned soft aspects to cater to the needs of an ever-evolving customer.

However, most law firms lack the necessary infrastructure that can enable this change.

With the advent of digital solutions, Internet-connected devices have become a common workplace necessity. Fast connections and reliable computers are quite often the first items on the tech checklist for any law firm. But most firms miss out on an equally important piece that completes the puzzle—the telephone system.

Legacy PBX systems, with their bulky hardware parts, are incapable of providing the required features in a cost-effective and operationally efficient manner.

This is where hosted phone system aka VoIP Phone System come into the picture.

How does a hosted phone system help law firms?

Before the advancements in technology, law firms were unable to provide a diversified set of services at a reasonable price. One of the root causes for the same was high operational costs , leading to limited capital availability for portfolio diversification.

A huge start-up cost was associated with the purchase and implementation of legacy PBX systems.

However, hosted phone systems enabled these firms to optimise their operational costs by shifting to a fixed monthly fee for off-shore computer servers and phone systems. Further, these systems eliminated maintenance costs and upkeep responsibilities since both these aspects are covered in the monthly fee and looked into by the business phone providers. Hosted phone systems are also scalable, allowing law firms to easily extend their reach in the case of expansion to new cities or countries.

As a result, business expansion in terms of services or regions is not hindered, rather enabled through hosted phone systems. These systems showcase flexibility to the demands of an ever-evolving customer as well—this applies especially to the current scenario of pandemic-induced remote work.

When purchasing hosted phone systems, law firms should carefully assess their prospective solutions in terms of the benefits they bring to the table.

The above guide should provide the baseline to the question: what kind of benefits does my hosted phone system solution bring to the fold?

What types of hosted phone solutions are available for purchase?

Owing to the rapid advances in innovation, law firms face a host of choices to be made in terms of the type of hosted phone systems. There are three main types of these solutions available in the market:

Digital phone systems: Digital phone systems comprise a physical telephone system with a digital interface located in small boxes which might be mounted on a wall or placed on a table.All the individual boxes are connected via telephone lines, thus, ensuring a connected ecosystem within the office workspace. Such systems are highly reliable and very effective for law firms limited to a single workspace.
Internet (VoIP) phone systems: Internet (or VoIP-enabled) phone systems are VoIP Phone System, whose central server is not located on the premises of the workspace.
Rather, these systems are hosted off-site while their functionalities can be accessed through direct interfaces in the workspace (or anywhere with the Internet). These systems are very cost-effective but their functioning relies on a stable Internet connection.
Hybrid phone systems: These systems are a mix of digital phone systems and VoIP-enabled phone systems. They are located on-premise and offer a choice between wireless interfaces or fixed handsets.
Such systems offer more reliability than individual phone systems owing to the existence of a backup option (they can automatically route the calls through the physical handsets in case of an internet failure, and vice versa).

Based on the scope of the current operations and the future vision in terms of expansion, law firms can opt for a phone system that meets their requirements without any excessive costs.

This helps them answer the question: what kind of phone system would serve me the best in the long run?

What are some features essential to the functioning of a law firm?

Hosted phone systems boast a long list of configurable features that can be useful to users in various situations. While specific use cases of these features might vary as per the applicable industry vertical, we explore some of these features and how they can be useful to legal practitioners:

Logging missed calls for future reference: Every incoming call is a potential client for the firm. You don’t want to lose out on these leads owing to high inbound call volume and packed business hours.
Hosted phone systems can be configured to send instant notifications to the concerned person of any missed calls, ensuring a quick callback to the customers at the earliest possible.
Integrated marketing for waiting clients: Gone are the days when callers had to listen to the traditional, boring ‘engaged’ tones. Hosted phone systems can be configured to fill the void with either a customised greeting, marketing messages about the firm and its services, or simply popular music tunes to keep them entertained.
Recording important calls and logging time: The clarity and sanctity of information exchanged with the client are very important in legal matters. Sometimes, it can be a rather difficult task to capture this information on notes whilst on the call with the client.

Hosted phone systems offer call recordings. These recordings can be securely stored in the database and accessed and re-heard anytime later.

Professional voicemail or live receptionist: First impressions are incredibly important in law firms. A customer phone call is, quite often, the first point of contact. Therefore, if circumstances prevent you from talking to an incoming call immediately, your phone system can be set up as an automated attendant configured to greet and guide the customer until someone is available to take the conversation forward.
Ability to remotely initiate voice or video calls: Owing to the pandemic, remote work has become a rather commonplace trend irrespective of the sector or location.
In the case of law firms, hosted phone systems solve this issue by enabling attorneys and staff to work from anywhere through Internet-connected devices. Through these interfaces, they can initiate voice or video calls with their clients from anywhere.

The need of the hour

Cloud-based VoIP phone services offer a range of features designed to boost law firm productivity and collaboration. However, to maximize these benefits, firms should first identify their specific needs by analyzing daily workflows.

They must ask themselves the question: What are the specific cases wherein I can put my hosted phone systems to use?

The adoption of a hosted phone system has become the minimum requirement for law firms to ensure top-level customer experience while ensuring maximum efficiency within the firm.

Here, we have discussed some of the questions that will guide these firms in their quest for the hosted phone system which suits their requirements the most.

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

The New Reality of Mobile Customer Experience

Book a demo call

Yukti Verma

Author

Operations

September 20, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Over the past two millennia (maybe more), humanity has transformed the world to suit our growing needs. Such events have left an indelible impact on our societal structure, modifying different aspects of public and private life for generations.

Amid these changes, there were hindrances that halted human progress. Some of the more prominent examples being the Black Death in the 1300s, the Spanish Flu of 1918, and World War II which played out between 1939 to 1945.

However, out of difficulties, miracles grow.

The Black Death decimated the social concept of feudalism and gave way to new goals of rationality and education. The Spanish Flu jolted various governments to concentrate their efforts and resources on public access to healthcare and international coordination on public health issues.

WWII saw women stepping up to perform jobs originally assigned to men, thus breaking social barriers and enhancing female participation.

Today, we find ourselves amid another similar event—the COVID-19 pandemic. After several months of national lockdowns, people across the world have adopted different ways to adapt to the new normal.

One such way was the digitisation of everyday activities.

The new normal

The global pandemic threw two major challenges in the path to normalcy.

The imposition of lockdowns to ensure social distancing and quarantines: This prompted companies to shift their operations from offices to homes. But even as people retreated to the confines of their personal spaces, they had to keep up with daily activities like their jobs or education. To break the monotony, people started finding new ways to do old activities.
The necessity of contactless interaction: Since surface and air contamination was seen as a major reason for the rapid spread of the infection, people could no longer go to the mall or even a mom-and-pop store to buy their groceries. Transactions had to be contactless, leading to a boom in digital payments.

We had long known the benefits of the digitisation of society—better access to healthcare, education, freedoms in business. COVID-19 helped accelerate this change. And amiid the pandemic, reaching these digital customers became the most pressing problem statement for every organisation.

Rise of the smartphone

Smartphones had long begun their advent into our daily lives. While technological revolutions kept making them more user-friendly, a majority of people still thought of them as a media entertainment device.

This changed with the pandemic.

With people stuck inside their homes, maintaining social distancing guidelines, communication of all forms—education, business, informal—moved to a virtual platform.

People began to rely heavily on their smartphones. More importantly, with everyday activities like attending virtual classes or virtual meetings, smartphones rose in stature.

As per industry reports, smartphone growth is expected to reach its highest level since 2015 with the YoY figure touching 7.7% in 2021. This growth is expected to sustain in 2022 reaching 3.8% on a YoY basis.

This surge in the smartphone industry is attributed to increased use of Internet devices, delayed smartphone purchases in 2020, and the introduction of 5G communications. The sustained growth is an indication of the ubiquity of smartphones in the digital age.

Let us look at some numbers that show the rise of smartphones:

After a slump in purchasing for 2020, total smartphone shipments are expected to reach 1.38 billion units in 2021. This trend is expected to continue in 2022 with the figures touching 1.43 billion units
The smartphone industry is expected to rise at a CAGR of 3.7% for the next five years
With the introduction of 5G, consumers are excited to try new technology. As a result, 5G shipments are expected to grow up to 130% in 2021

Flourishing mobile experience

Following a lockdown-induced decline in smartphone sales across the world, the smartphone industry has risen again to meet the demands of modern consumers.

Stay-at-home orders paved the way for the development of several smartphone applications that provided quick, easy, and safe solutions to necessities like ordering takeout food, teleconsultation or groceries.

While these habits had to be adopted during the pandemic, their continued usage signals the evolving expectations of mobile customers.

Let us look at the different ways smartphones became essential tools during the pandemic:~National lockdowns forced people to find alternative channels to study or work remotely. Usage of video conferencing apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Classrooms shot up in the past year (reaching as high as 6M+ daily app sessions for Zoom in March 2020). The ease of these applications posits that they will continue to be used much after the pandemic subsides.

The benefits of telemedicine had been common knowledge until the pandemic provided the impetus to make it a reality. Virtual medical appointments were enabled through various teleconferencing apps safely and easily. As per industry surveys, 62% of customers are likely to continue with virtual appointments even after the pandemic ends.
Social distancing rules accelerated digital payment adoption. No-contact payments and online shopping rose hand in hand during the pandemic. There was a ten-fold increase in contactless payment through apps like Amazon Pay, Android Pay, and Apple Pay. Experts claim that this practice shall continue for the convenience they provide.
Despite the initial rumours linking 5G with the virus, it made a big splash in the tech world. The superior communication technology is expected to grow significantly over the next few years, driving the purchase of 5G-enabled smartphones. Reports indicate that 5G smartphones will total 539M units worldwide in 2021, approximately 35% of the total smartphone sales.

All in all

The pandemic forced people to switch to digital alternatives for everyday activities. While the initial days seemed bleak, modern innovations like the smartphone quickly got the world back on track.

Manufacturers paid special attention to the user-friendliness of such technologies, which in turn enhanced their mass appeal. This may just be the onset of the mobile communication revolution.

To know more about this, get on-call with our cloud experts at 1888-859-0450 or drop an email at [email protected]!

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

What is Cloud Storage and How Does It Ensure Data Security

Book a demo call

Yukti Verma

Author

Contact Center

September 17, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Several businesses are now choosing to store their data on the cloud. Cloud offers a safe and secure way to keep your data without losing out on the physical space in your office premises.

The advantages of relying on cloud storage are many. Advances in technology mean that it is more secure and cost-effective than ever and more businesses are able to harness its potential.

This article will help you get a better understanding of cloud storage and how it ensures data security.

What is cloud storage?

Cloud storage is a cloud computing model that stores your data online rather than storing it on physical on-premise servers. Since everything is stored online, you will be able to access all the information you need anytime and anywhere.

Cloud storage solutions eliminate the need for physical infrastructure, along with the cost it brings. And you don’t even have to worry about safeguarding your data, as the provider takes care of the day-to-day management and maintenance of their cloud storage systems.

All you need to do is log in and access your data.

To avail cloud storage, you only need to find a cloud communication provider who will work with you and ensure you have all the space you need for your data.

How secure is cloud storage?

Cloud storage is extremely secure. In most cases, it is safer than on-premise storage.

For instance, in the event of damage to your physical location or infrastructural malfunction, you could lose years of valuable data. With cloud storage, your data remains unaffected even during natural disasters—ready to be accessed from anywhere.

This is owing to the fact that providers host data in multiple locations, ensuring that if there is a problem in one location, that they can get you back up and running in a few minutes.

Cloud storage offers safety features as well, and is completely regulation-compliant, adhering to PIC, FCC, GDPR and CPNI. This means that whatever industry you work in, you can rest assured that the cloud will keep your and even your customers’ data safe.

What are the benefits of cloud storage?

Aside from the amazing security it provides, cloud storage comes with a range of fantastic features for your business. These features can save you money, enhance your data collecting capabilities, and much more.

Let’s look at these in detail.

Cost-effective storage solutions

With cloud storage, you don’t need any expensive hardware and, thus, don’t have to pay for any sort of maintenance. So, there is no need to buy multiple systems to store and share data, as you can do it all right within your phone system’s online portal.

The icing on the cake? Your portal will seamlessly integrate with most CRM systems. This means you don’t need to hire additional admin staff or waste your team’s precious time on duplicating admin tasks.

Additionally, when buying hardware, many businesses are tempted to buy more than they need in anticipation of business growth—with cloud storage, this is no longer an issue.

You can add or remove cloud storage on demand through your provider. So, no matter what is going on in your business, you can rest assured that your data storage won’t eat into your profits.

Thus, you’re able to remove all unnecessary costs, and even efforts, and only pay for the space you need.

Convenient for a remote workforce

Particularly through the pandemic, remote working has gained immense popularity. And it is safe to say that the work-from-home model is definitely here to stay.

Thanks to cloud storage, remote employees can access data and collaborate with ease, irrespective of the time zone or location they’re in. Better yet—these files are updated in real-time.

The only thing that a remote workforce needs are a stable Internet connection. So, the service is perfect for those looking to work remotely but still remain connected to their coworkers.

And the advantages don’t end there. Not only can you store and share files with your colleagues but can also share files externally. This way, you’re able to give any contractors or clients access to requisite data and files whenever you need to.

With the simplicity of adding and removing users via your cloud communication system’s online portal, it’s never been easier to work collaboratively wherever you are.

Don’t risk losing data or files you’re working on with cloud storage

With cloud storage, files are updated in real-time. So, if you work within your cloud storage platform and make edits to files, you don’t risk losing any changes should you suddenly lose connection.

Often with remote workers, Internet connections may not be as stable as an office connection, or staff could be out and about and forget to save their important work. With cloud storage, this is no longer a worry!

User-friendly interfaces

Cloud storage is notoriously simple to use and makes it easy for staff to access files and store data. Often, storage systems in businesses can get complicated and outdated. But with a cloud phone system, users can easily find the latest version.

With most cloud storage systems, users can also access previous versions of a file or data. This means that files or data does not have to be duplicated and your cloud storage becomes more streamlined and easier to navigate for employees.

With traditional storage solutions often being slow and hard to navigate, it is no surprise that many people (particularly businesses with remote workers) are turning to cloud-based storage solutions for both personal and business use.

Want a secure, feature-rich storage solution? Look no further

Cloud storage is highly secure, offers several benefits and is unbelievably simple for remote teams to use. The popularity of cloud storage is ever increasing, especially as many businesses are reconsidering investing in infrastructure that is bulky and hard to move.

The pandemic has changed the way businesses operate. Organisations now need an agile solution that allows both remote and office employees to work and collaborate with ease.

Cloud communications and storage solutions can offer this and more. For organisations that are serious about taking their growth to the next level, we are here to help you do just that.

To find out more about cloud storage solutions call us today at 1888-859-0450 or drop us an email at [email protected].

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Yukti Verma

Author

Yukti is a content marketing enthusiast with a soft spot for Saas. She loves weaving complicated concepts into simple stories. When not at work, she is found reading books or watching movies.

7 Things Contact Center Agents are Afraid to Tell Their Managers

Book a demo call

Saurabh Sharma

Author

Contact Center

September 15, 2021

8 mins read eye

Table of content

Communication is the most essential ingredient for the success of any organisation, and most companies cripple due to a lack of it.

But we’ll tell you something: the secret sauce of success is to have an open-door policy.

Businesses should build an environment where employees can raise their concerns—provide feedback and suggest improvements in the system—without having to worry about hierarchical barriers.

For instance, contact centers rely on their agents to provide excellent customer service via different mediums of communication (voice, video, chat). But what if your agent is struggling with a personal problem? What if they can be more productive at work and have suggestions? What if they have an issue, but are too afraid to confront it?

The answers to these questions are simple. Management should encourage conversations and try to empathise with their employees or agents. An agent should be able to talk freely and raise their issues without any hesitations.

Agents interact with your customers daily. Simply listening to them and trying to make their work easier should be the end goal of a contact center. Sadly, that’s not the case.

Due to lousy leadership, improper management, or a lack of structure, agents are hesitant to raise their concerns.

Let’s look at some of the most common things that contact center agents are afraid to tell their managers.

I need flexibility at work

Covid-19 has made work from home a practical reality. And home is no longer restricted to your house, and it can be anywhere in the world. Agents have been remotely working from their hometowns, or even hill stations and beaches.

With the lockdown restrictions lifted, companies now have a decision to make. Do they want to continue working from home, or do they want to work from the office?

Some agents would want to work from the office, while others would like to work from home. Sparking up a conversation and listening to their opinions can be valuable feedback for an organisation. There is no point in calling employees to the office against their wish as they won’t feel productive or motivated to work.

By taking into account everyone’s opinions, management can make better decisions for both the employee and the organisation.

We have an outdated software

The management selects the tools for your contact center, but your agents are the ones who utilise them daily. There could be a software issue, or agents might need different tools for better functioning and efficiency; management should hear them out.

After all, agents are the first ones to encounter any such issue with the system. Preparing your contact centers with the right tools is necessary. It could be because agents have outgrown the current toolbox, or perhaps they need better resources for better results.

All contact centers should re-evaluate their tools, software and resources. It will help them stay one step ahead of their competition and will help them better prepare for difficult periods.

I have made a mistake

We are all humans, and humans will make mistakes. That’s how we learn.

“I have made a mistake,” is something every employee is afraid to say.

However, if your agents accept their mistakes without worrying about the consequences, you will be more likely to have a successful business. But if your agents are too afraid to speak, you might never know about the mistake, or even worse, it would be too late by the time you do.

Providing constructive feedback to your employees and helping them out will lead to better work efficiency. Your agents will be more willing to work and won’t get scared whenever they make a mistake. It also creates opportunities for other agents to come forward and speak up.

I am feeling burnt out

Contact centers face a spike in the volume of calls every year. It can happen due to a seasonal sale, a promotional event, or generally due to high business demand.

One way to manage the same is by hiring employees who can handle high-pressure situations. Another way is to normalise the high call volumes, so agents understand that it is the requirement of the job.

However, contact centers should not push agents to the limits of exhaustion. The primary goal should be to motivate the agents so that they can overcome the challenging phase.

Managers should take regular feedback and listen to their employees if they feel pressured at work.

To handle large call volumes in a short period is not an easy task, and even the most skilled agents can suffer.

Buying tools that can help you manage sudden call spikes can save your agents from tiring mentally and improve the organisation’s efficiency. By keeping tabs on your agents, managers can save them from burnout and maintain their productivity.

The process needs improvement

Contact centers should encourage their employees to speak up and provide feedback. If your system needs improvement or there is a scope of doing something better, management should be aware of it.

They should take criticism positively and try different ways to improve the organisation’s overall structure. If your agents are scared to voice their opinions and raise their concerns, then you might never know about them in the first place. Managers can have anonymous submissions from employees if they don’t feel comfortable having their names on the notes.

I am struggling to finish my work

Agents can get affected mentally, physically, and emotionally. An agent can feel demotivated because of challenging work, personal problems, or simply feeling burned out.

It gets easier to manage your team if you are aware of the mental state of your employee. But agents are scared of sharing their problems because they think their supervisor might think they are incompetent for the job.

A manager’s job is to ensure a healthy work environment where employees can share their issues without any hesitancy. By providing a solution to their problem, contact centers can improve the growth of the employee and the organisation.

Stop wasting our time

Managers can be too keen on taking meetings and reports at times. It is important to take meetings and keep everyone on the same page, but there are times when an employee adds no value to a meeting.

Try to avoid meetings that would hamper your agent’s work as they are overloaded, especially during peak times. Useless activities hamper time and kill the motivation of the employees.

Smartly conclude meetings and communicate with your agents, and you will learn different ways to be more productive at work.

Conclusion

Managers should encourage employees to speak up and share their feedback. The line of communication should always be open between employees and their managers.

By listening to their problems, managers can better handle their team and maintain their productivity.

If you want to build connections with your customers and agents in these challenging times, contact us at 1888-859-0450 or send an email to [email protected].

If you're interested in improving your business communication solution

Give us a call on

1888-859-0450

Write an email to

[email protected]

Reviews

0(0)

Saurabh Sharma

Author

Saurabh is a content writer at Acefone. He is a fan of standup comedy, football, and Hindu mythology. He is fond of travelling to unexplored places, meeting new people, and having newer experiences that enrich his soul. Connect with him on Linkedin

11 Ways to Integrate a Virtual Phone Number System into your E-Commerce Business

Below are some of the explanations of how a virtual phone number system can help businesses today.

1. Trust generation in the customer base

2. Enhanced user experience

3. Automated greetings & attendants

4. Remote access & access to mobility

5. No time constraints

6. Improved CRM integration & call management solutions

7. Toll free calling

8. Call routing & call forwarding

9. Order management with virtual numbers

10. Simple setup

11. Increased room for teamwork

Conclusion

Top picks for you

Data Privacy: Why It Matters for Your Consumers, Your Business, and Your Brand

What is Data Privacy?

The importance of data privacy

Privacy as seen by customers

Value of privacy to businesses

Impact on Brand value

Conclusion

Top picks for you

The Rise of Customer Support During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The way forward

Evolving customer behaviour:

Shifting business ecosystem:

Expectation imbalance:

Customer self-service

Better customer relations

More revenue

Omni-channel customer service

Conversational AI

Top picks for you

5 Calls Made Easy with Interactive Voice Response or IVR

These are 5 kinds of calls that can be easily automated using an IVR system.

1) Bill payments

2) Customer feedback

3) Automate simple queries

4) Automate call back requests

5) FAQ calls

IVR pitfalls to avoid

Conclusion

Top picks for you

How DRaaS and CCaaS help Keep Businesses Running Through Difficult Times

How can DRaaS and CCaaS help businesses through natural disasters?

Ensure emergency communications reach the people

Protect the jobs of workers

Protect sensitive information

Keep costs low and protection levels high

IS CCaaS really necessary to keep operating after a calamity?

Combine CCaaS and DRaaS to create a robust disaster recovery plan

Top picks for you

How your Business can Launch their ‘Prime Day’ with Cloud Communications

Spread the word with SMS blasts

Keep customers updated via your IVR system

Use auto diallers to contact as many customers as possible

Offer personalised suggestions

Deal with the influx of enquiries with remote workers

Launch your prime day with the help of cloud communications

Top picks for you

How to Choose Right VoIP for Law Firms?

How does a hosted phone system help law firms?

What types of hosted phone solutions are available for purchase?

What are some features essential to the functioning of a law firm?

The need of the hour

Top picks for you

The New Reality of Mobile Customer Experience

The new normal

Rise of the smartphone

Flourishing mobile experience

All in all

Top picks for you

What is Cloud Storage and How Does It Ensure Data Security

What is cloud storage?

How secure is cloud storage?

What are the benefits of cloud storage?

Cost-effective storage solutions

Convenient for a remote workforce

Don’t risk losing data or files you’re working on with cloud storage