Tag: Phone system for small business

5 Important Digital Tools for Small Businesses

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Starting a small business is daunting to say the least.

Picture this: a great idea for a business pops into your head one day. 

Ready to launch now? Absolutely yes. 

After months of hard work, you finally launch your business in high spirits. Then as your business grows, you are hit with an ever-growing mountain of things to do; from managing your employees to finances and every little detail in between. You are feeling overwhelmed and wondering how you will ever get on top of this mountain. 

No worries, we’ve got you. 

We know you’re extremely busy running your business so here are 5 of the most useful digital tools you can take advantage of: 

 

Communication tools:

Communication is the key to any successful relationship whether that be with your employees or your customers. To help with this you could get… 

 

  • Devyce – 2 numbers, 1 phone

Devyce is a cost-effective and sustainable digital solution to the work phone. 

It allows you to have an additional phone number on your phone to use for work communications. On average phones are replaced every two years [1] and each phone during its lifetime can create up to 110kg of CO2 per year [2]. Eliminate the use of a second phone and get Devyce. 

Another great feature of Devyce is the team management portal for you to monitor and manage your employee call activity and quickly access call logs. 

 

We know what you’re thinking, having your work communications operating on your personal phone might disrupt your personal life (or vice versa) however Devyce also has a handy ‘do not disturb’ feature where you can turn off work notifications to keep a healthy work life balance.

All these features make Devyce a great telecommunications tool for your small business! 

  • FreshDesk – A customer service software for your website 

Maintaining an open line of communication with your customers can be harder than it seems. 

Customers will reach out to customer support through multiple channels. This can become difficult to keep track of so let FreshDesk ‘delight your customers with effortless customer service’. 

 

Financing tools:

One of the top reasons why startups/small businesses fail is a lack of cash or failure to raise new capital. [3] Sounds pretty obvious right? However, many business owners struggle to manage their finances and budgeting. 

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a financial expert to be able to start your own business (even accountants struggle with the papers sometimes). There are many digital tools to assist you. Spendesk being one of them. 

  • Spendesk – A 7-in-1 spend management tool 

Spendesk encourages smarter spending decisions by providing:

  • A management platform where you can view and manage spending from company cards 
  • Review and pay invoices
  • Track expenses
  • Generate financial reports
  • Automate accounting
  • Create and optimise budget plans for your business

Make smarter money decisions, budget better and stay on top of your finances with Spendesk. 

 

Marketing tools:

Developing a solid marketing plan and creating great content for it is one of the key reasons for success for many businesses. 

  • BuzzSumo – an all in one content marketing tool 

BuzzSumo is a hub platform where you can:

  • Discover and research new content ideas
  • Find relevant influencers to work with 
  • Industry trend updates
  • Develop your content strategy and create compelling content
  • Analytics for content engagement

This all inclusive platform is great for industry trend research, allowing you to create and optimise your content marketing strategy. 

 

  • Buffer – social media management tool 

Buffer is a great tool for starting out with social media management as it offers a clear and easy to navigate platform for:

  • Creating and scheduling social media posts
  • Accessing all your social media messages across all platforms in one inbox
  • Social media analytics 

All of these features are great for effective communication with your audience, learning more about their preferences in regard to your business and utilising new insights to optimise your services and marketing plan. 

So, will you be using any of these digital tools? Feel free to head to our socials to share your business story and what digital tools you’re currently using! 

 

References:

[1]

https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/environment/the-hidden-environmental-toll-of-smartphones/#:~:text=Smartphones%20generate%20more%20greenhouse%20gases,the%20energy%20sector%20and%20transportation.

[2]

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europe2019s-consumption-in-a-circular/benefits-of-longer-lasting-electronics

[3]

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/startup-failure-reasons-top/

The Essential Guide To Voip Systems For Small Businesses

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The ultimate guide to setting up your team with the best VoIP phone system to enhance your small business!

What Is A Voip Phone System?

VoIP phone systems are the new age landlines. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) does as it says, uses the internet to make and receive calls completely wirelessly. VoIP systems digitise calls and texts and send them through internet lines, rather than ordinary landlines. VoIP has been around for a while, but is becoming more and more popular as it is evolving to be quicker, cheaper and more efficient. Many businesses and households already use VoIP systems for their communications, a seemingly clever move as landlines are slowly becoming obsolete.

 

How Do You Use A Voip Phone System?

 

VoIP systems work over the internet, but what does that mean?

Well, in the simplest of explanations, VoIP systems digitise your voice into online data and send it to your phone provider via the internet, which is then passed on to the receiver. VoIP phone systems rely on high speed internet to make and receive communications; this means you can make calls with a VoIP system on a computer, a mobile phone or a VoIP adapter.

 

Why Should You Use A Voip Phone System For Your Small Business?

Having a digital communication system for your team is the new trend in business. Giving employees a second phone number for work, all on the same system, instead of a second mobile phone or office phone, benefits the business and the employee, allowing companies to maintain professionalism and employees to stay connected no matter where they are.

Features included with VoIP systems include:

✅ Virtual receptionist

✅ Call forwarding

✅ Voicemail transcription

✅ Do Not Disturb button

✅ Conference call

✅ Call recording

✅ Call logs

✅ On-hold music

Cost efficient
Perhaps the best advantage of the VoIP phone system is the price. Most VoIP providers charge a monthly fee, based on how many users are on it rather than how many minutes are used; meaning you can have unlimited calls for a lower price. For example, most VoIP providers will charge around £20-30 a month, whereas landlines will charge around £50-75 a month.

Easy Setup
Setting up a second phone number on your personal phone is easy as pie. Most VoIP systems work through a phone app and can be downloaded and running within minutes with a smartphone. No need to spend extra hours installing complicated technology.

Professionalism
Having a second phone number allows you to stay connected with colleagues, clients and customers while still maintaining professionalism. Whether you are part of, or running, a small business, or working for yourself, or as a freelancer, having a professional phone number can go a long way in gaining customers’ trust and confidence in you and your business. Giving out your personal number is not only ideal for you, but also perhaps not comfortable for the customer. Virtual phone numbers allow you to have an online landline number, if you chose, for your business to maintain professionalism and privacy.

Enhances Communication
Despite more people than ever working from home, business communication cannot stop; it can be difficult to stay in touch from home with colleagues and clients.

A virtual number makes you accessible wherever you are, enhancing team collaboration by making it easy and simple to send and receive messages and important information, no matter if a team member is in the office, at home or the other side of the world. Having a solid communication system that supports your employees’ lifestyle of remote working, for example, can build morale and keep them motivated despite communication limits created by the pandemic.

Call from anywhere
Remote and hybrid working is the new normal since the pandemic. VoIP phone systems support the remote and hybrid work model, as it allows employees to communicate from wherever they are, whether it is at home, at work or on the other side of the world.

Scalability
With a cloud-based phone system you can add or remove phone lines for new or leaving employees. As your business grows, your phone system can too, without any stress or hassle.

Better Customer Support
Being able to contact customer support in case of an emergency is essential when running a small business. If your phone lines are down, it can negatively affect the accessibility of your business and leave customers stranded and unhappy with your service. Most VoIP service providers maintain direct contact with you and your company, so that if you have any issues they are available straight away to fix your problem; you won’t have to wait hours or days to get a reply from a big corporation that owns your landline.

Simple Equipment
VoIP being a cloud based service not only provides better quality and service, it also presents a more practical solution for small businesses. To use a VoIP phone system you don’t need any extra equipment or IT specialists to install and manage it, which not only makes life easier for you but also saves time and money for your business

 

Which Is The Best Voip Phone System For Small Businesses?

There are many VoIP phone systems on offer to small businesses, you’ll want to get the best one for the best price. The good thing about VoIP phone systems is that all you need is high quality internet connection, a router and a modem, all which businesses have anyway, to get started. The big question is which provider to go with.

Devyce is a VoIP service that specialises in fitting the needs of a small business. We know what a small business needs in terms of communication, and Devyce deliver. Devyce offer a special Teams Package tailored to small businesses at only £15.99 a month per user. With Devyce, the account manager has access to our Portal, which provides instant number allocation and deallocation, call forwarding, call recording, full call reporting and analytics and CRM integration. You can give your employees a new number, or bring their number to Devyce by porting. Devyce provides an easy, cheap and efficient VoIP phone system that optimises your small businesses communication and, with customer support available 24/7, supports you every step of the way.

 

Step By Step Guide

An easy guide on how to get Devyce for your team:

1️⃣Purchase Your Team Devyce Plan Here: https://devyce.com/pricing/

2️⃣Log In To Your Devyce Account And Access The Portal Here: https://login.devyce.io/u/login?state=hKFo2SBKMW8tSk1pd0dUd2NHSXoxN3FJZ3NNb29LdnE2Ukdtd6Fur3VuaXZlcnNhbC1sb2dpbqN0aWTZIEMwLWFWNGM4YUVsVS0tejZNRGgwbzJwLWZaNldKUHo5o2NpZNkgN0NxRk41bDlWV3FSalR6UXE2MHdOaWdJV1NGTjdTMGg 

3️⃣Add Amount of Numbers Needed

4️⃣Allocate Numbers To Employees

5️⃣Employees Download Devyce App

6️⃣ Monitor Team Communication via The Portal

 

Sources

https://www.grammarly.com/business/learn/digital-communication-strategies/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search1gbnbstyleguidedsa&utm_targetid=dsa-1296364243343&gclid=CjwKCAjw8sCRBhA6EiwA6_IF4XLPe0nJsgPPCguig9KGXqbwu-Xfj7R7pyul_Fia3eBvqjZ2TMYN4hoC7hMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.ukpostbox.com/blog/how-to-digitise-your-business-comms

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8955-virtual-phone-numbers.html

https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-what-is-voip-and-how-does-it-work-explained/

https://www.business.com/articles/voip/

https://www.broadbandchoices.co.uk/guides/internet/internet-phone-voip-offers

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8924-voip-for-business.html

https://fitsmallbusiness.com/voip-vs-landline/

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