Transformational Communication in Business
As an entrepreneur and business owner I always get questions from my peers or other entrepreneurs on what to do to take a business to the next level. And that’s a very deep question since I usually find myself struggling with what should I do myself but, here is the key, being part of the IT industry there are some strategies I know they are applicable to any type of business or organizations. And the answer is: you have to start a digital transformation.
It does not matter in what industry you are in, if you compare today’s businesses with those of 5 years or 10 years ago I think we may agree that the industry is most likely the same in terms of what the industry does, however there are two things different: consumers and technology. If you are reading this on a smartphone or tablet or while you are on the road, then I don’t need to make an essay about advantages of technology today. And in most part because of the influence of that technology, we see today that the average consumer has different expectations in regards of a particular brand, business or service.
So I’d like to cite Frost & Sullivan when they say that because “…technology is at the core of every business today it is necessary that companies leverage technological innovation to create new opportunities and even new markets for themselves”.
This basically means that technology can help organizations to remove the obstacles that impide their growth. Today they call this “Digital Transformation” and the easiest way to start is by transforming the way a company communicates internally and externally.
Transform Communications and You will Transform Productivity
Through my 20 years of experience I’ve seen how simple changes in the technology used for communications allowed big impacts on a company’s productivity. A few years ago I helped a pizza restaurant in Weston, FL. Just by switching them from analog copper lines to a cloud based VoIP phone system they increased sales. And the reason was that we did not impose a limit the amount of simultaneous calls they could receive at a given time and this triggered up their takeout orders.
So going back to the original question I was addressed, it turns out that most of friends and business owners that ask me how to get a competitive edge in today’s markets still rely on old on-premise communication infrastructure that is not compatible with their business goals. Cloud based Unified Communication services have been proved to be the best fit for organizations in growth and in this sense a recent research by TechValidate showed that 90% of companies claim main benefit of digital transformation is increased productivity. By moving communications to the cloud a company is building a foundation of digital transformation because cloud communications deliver unique possibilities to connect with colleagues, customers and partners.When a company relies on single mobile phones to conduct business or relies on traditional communication services is simply at disadvantage. The disadvantage comes from the fact that other players in the same segment are using better tools to engage in richer conversations with their customers, associates and/or partners.
Cloud Communications for a Smarter workforce and Smarter company
When a company moves its communications to the cloud they gain 
business agility because they can collaborate and communicate from anywhere using any device. This turns into more enthusiastic teams and a smarter workforce because they engage in high quality voice and /or video conversations regardless of the device or environment.
And since they can connect everywhere project and group meetings run smoother with a more efficient use of the time. Just recently we deployed a Unified Communication solution for a realty broker that was having disconnected workflows and fragmented communications with its team. The moment the realtors started to use a mobile app for instant messaging and group meetings the company regained its momentum.
Now, on top of that, by integrating cloud communications services with other cloud applications such as CRM, ERP, etc., companies see significant improvements in key business processes such as sales, customer service, development and manufacturing. For example having a pop-up window with mission critical information of a prospect or customer such as current deal or open ticket allows a customer rep to engage in a much better contextualized conversation.
Conclusion
Moving your on premise communication infrastructure to the cloud or upgrading from a very old VoIP solution is key to transform a business. The use of cloud based communications increases employee productivity and business agility. To develop a competitive edge and jump to the next level your business needs cloud based communications.
For more information on how cloud based communications can transform your business visit us at http://www.linkedip.com or send us an email to info@linkedip.com.
