Use Communication Technologies to Grow Your Business

By Jeff Nolte



There are many ways to grow your business. Among them is the adoption of the right mix of communication technologies. You can help your staff become more productive and provide your customers with better support simply by taking advantage of today's advanced voice and data networks. The following five technologies are proven methods that have the power to take your business to the next level.



1. Implement a Telework Program

The idea behind teleworking is to allow remote staff at any location to access the same rich communication features and business applications that their main office colleagues enjoy. Using a simple broadband connection like cable modem or DSL, teleworkers can securely log in and communicate as if they were in the office for the day.

Telework increases staff productivity while reducing overall business costs. It can also be used as a recruiting tool, allowing your business to tap into a geographically wider pool of qualified candidates.



2. Add Mobility to Your Office

Another way to expedite growth is to extend your phone system with wireless coverage throughout your building. This is especially appropriate under these situations:

* Callers are left on hold until employees are tracked down

* Salespeople need faster access to customers calling in for help

* Maintenance personnel need to be dispatched more quickly and efficiently

* Very fast response is required, as in a medical environment where communications have a major impact on patient care

* Employees are spread across large, sprawling environments like a warehouse

In addition to better mobility for users, you get in-building and campus coverage - without cellular charges.

There are now wireless IP phones that support multiple lines and deliver most of the features available with desktop IP phones. They can even support text alerts that allow integration with existing processes such as security, fire alarm or even nurse call systems in health care settings. Some models also support push-to-talk functionality.



3. Add Voice Messages and Faxes to Your In-Box

"Unified messaging" gives you the ability to manage all your communications from either the telephone or PC. This flexibility makes accessing messages and managing calls easier and more convenient.

For instance, today your people could receive e-mails over the phone using text to speech recognition technology or they could quickly listen to their voice mails using their e-mail inbox.

Your staff can be more productive when they have the flexibility to manage all their messages using the method that is most convenient to them.



4. Build a 'Virtual' Private Network

Many companies use a variety of data network services to connect their staff, partners and customers. One very popular way to save money, consolidate networks and simplify management is to implement a virtual private network (VPN). Using inexpensive Internet technology, VPNs allow companies to securely extend the reach of their networks to anywhere the Internet goes. Many companies are even starting to run voice over their VPNs to eliminate the expense of long distance calls between their locations.

Basically, a VPN lets you carve out a "private" network of your own across the public Internet or a carrier's managed Internet backbone. By drawing on the economies and efficiencies of these networks, VPNs offer substantial cost savings over traditional data services. VPNs also eliminate the need for modem banks or long distance/800 costs to support remote users or road warriors who were once limited to dialing in.

For smaller companies with multiple locations or remote users, a managed VPN service entails paying a single, all-inclusive price for equipment, connections, maintenance and management by the service provider.

Mid-sized companies can leverage their dedicated Internet access connections and their own equipment to access the VPN and let the carrier manage the equipment and connections at their remote locations, often as part of a bundled service that includes local and long distance voice.

Larger companies that want to control and monitor their own networks can set up a VPN with their own equipment and dedicated Internet access connections leased from a service provider.

Whatever the implementation choice, VPNs are growing in popularity because they provide substantial cost savings to businesses of all types and sizes.



5. Centralize All Your Incoming Calls

Regional businesses with distributed sales forces can serve customers better and expand sales opportunities by arranging to have all their calls come into one location. Merchandiser Newspapers in Rockville, Md., has implemented this approach with great success.

The Merchandiser is a resource guide mailed to consumers throughout the mid-Atlantic. It helps readers make dining, shopping, professional services, automotive, home services and repair decisions.

Merchandiser advertisers call a local telephone number. All calls, no matter where they originate, are routed to the company's headquarters where sales inquiries or requests for assistance are handled promptly. Meanwhile, the local salespeople are free to pursue new business and client visits without becoming tied up with routine calls.

To stay competitive, businesses will always look for new ways to distinguish themselves in the market. Taking advantage of new communication technologies will improve your business by stimulating staff productivity, cutting costs and improving customer service.



Jeff Nolte is president of Chesapeake Telephone Systems (CTS) in Millersville. He can be reached at 800-787-4848 or jnolte@chesapeaketelephone.com.