Growing businesses juggle a multitude of critical activities every day. Quite often task workflows can become confusing, making them difficult to navigate, juggle and prioritize. A common goal for business owners is to ensure their company is as streamlined as possible. Those businesses leveraging technology to meet growth goals are leading the way and proving that with the help of integrated communication systems, automation can be put in place to optimize and streamline operations. Today, voice, data, video conferencing, instant messaging, wireless connections, and other tools and applications can be now managed together through centralized technology systems. The following article explores the smartest ways to simplify your business processes:
Introduce a Cloud-based PBX
Your monthly business phone bill should not be a significant expense. If it is, then perhaps it is time to switch to an internet-based or cloud-based communication solution. A virtual private branch exchange (PBX) is a cloud VoIP phone system that can switch calls throughout an organization’s network. A cloud PBX phone service stores all data in the cloud. They often come with added value call handling features to bolster business call performance and capability. These may include call routing, recording, and call forwarding as well as voicemail and call reporting.
The primary purpose of a PBX system is to cut costs, however, businesses claim that the introduction of a PBX fundamentally simplifies call handling processes, along with supercharging their communication offer.
Introduce a Cloud-based CRM
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system allows multiple members of a team to manage relationships with customers, sales processes, and marketing through a centralized solution. By having all the data in one place, processes are optimized. It is easier to detect errors, which saves time, and ultimately more sales can be achieved. If you are looking for ways to simplify your sales, marketing, and customer data, then migrating all your business data to the cloud is highly advantageous.
The better CRMs will also have internal dashboards allowing you to monitor your lead pipeline and general performance statistics. CRM dashboards provide significant time savings as they can offer you a quick view of your performance tasks. For instance, CRM tracking dashboards can tell you the total number of new clients or leads gained in a week, the number of tasks related to a specific agent, and the number of incoming and outgoing calls on a particular day, week, or month. With a CRM in place, you will be able to save time and avoid the hassle of searching through customer files. All your data will be saved centrally.
Introduce a speech analytics tool
Speech analytics is a tool that allows for the analysis of recorded calls and interactions with a particular customer. Call analytics can often identify competitive situations as well as contextual understanding around why sales deals are proving difficult to close. Through speech analytics, you can build a robust profile of your prospective clients, as well as a thorough knowledge of your workforce’s call-handling strengths and weaknesses. With speech analytics, you can re-listen to calls, and evaluate the prophecy of calls, call duration, and quality, as well as the response rate. With speech analytics in place, you will be able to identify more quickly the reason why certain customers have become dissatisfied from customer service-related conversations. You can use these data insights to make necessary changes to streamline your customer care processes.
Adopt AI applications
Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications can assist in making faster decisions, and simplify your processes through leveraging machine learning. There are all sorts of AI applications, some more complex than others. Put simply, AI is enabling businesses to automate their routine operations and free up their staff to focus on more business-critical tasks. We see call center employees using AI-powered chatbots for raising request tickets, allowing them to prioritize inquiries and delegate tasks against each follow-up. Your workforce will have more time to focus on more complex business critical cases as a result. By adopting AI, you can automate, forecast, and generate deeper insights that help you make improved decisions. These insights will allow you to unlock new strategies and better optimize your sales and marketing efforts. AI solutions are being used to forecast the performance of sales and marketing channels to improve return on investment. AI applications are capable of identifying opportunities much faster than humans can, and so speed up your decision-making processes. Faster, more targeted decision-making not only optimizes your business processes but accelerates growth opportunities.
To conclude:
Making the best use of available technology should be at the forefront of every business owner’s agenda. Leveraging trusted technologies such as integrated VoIP, along with AI and analytics tools, can help you to continually evolve and improve your business processes. However, you cannot rely on technology alone. Your entire organization needs to be a part of your optimization plan and to be aligned with the company’s objectives, to achieve your long-term business goals.
