5 effective communication tools every SME needs in the bag

Regardless of the size of your company or how long you have been in operation, it is essential that you have communication tools in place that will allow you to better connect with your employees, vendors, and customers. Efficient and reliable business communication tools will lead to productive interpersonal relationships, successful resolutions of customer service issues, and effective marketing campaigns.

A successful business will also understand that effective communication will rely on tailoring messages and services to obtain maximum results.

Email Hosting Provider

Many people prefer email communication over picking up the phone to make a simple phone call, so it is important to choose a good email hosting provider to support your business email functions. A good email hosting service provider will allow your business to access information from anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection. Some email hosting providers will offer a synchronise feature that can allow a business to pass on and share files to other devices and employees, and the feature will include anti-virus programs and filters needed to protect information from corruption.

Email hosts may also act as a backup storage system for files. Some providers will offer unlimited storage space, and this can be extremely helpful if you need to hold onto large data files. When your servers are down, you’ll be able to obtain your important files via the email host, and all files will be stored in an easily accessible and secure manner until they are deleted.

Business Phone System

A reliable and efficient automated phone system is essential for any business, as these systems allow customers to contact your company and your employees to stay in constant connection with the office regardless of whether they are on the road or working remotely.

A PBX phone system is a popular option, as these private telephone networks allow users to share a variety of outside lines for the purpose of making external phone calls. A PBX will connect internal phones within a business while also connecting them to SIP trunks, VoIP providers, and PSTN in order to provide your business with optimal phone communication services.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship management, or CRM, is an essential communication tool for every business. CRM refers to the strategies, practices, and technologies that businesses use to record, evaluate, and manage customer interactions in order to improve sales growth by enriching relationships with customers. CRM software will consolidate customer documents and information into a single database so that business can more easily manage and access it.

These software programs will include ways to record customer interactions, to automate workflow processes, and to allow managers the chance to track productivity and performance based on the information in the system. Common CRM software features include:

• Sales force automation
• Marketing automation
• Contact center automation
• Location based or Geo-location technology services

File Sharing

Before the days in which secure, online file sharing programs existed, if you wanted to share multiple documents with your team you would need to email each one. This would need to be done if you were sending something to a worker that was on the road or if you needed to get a file to an employee sitting five feet away from you. If the files were too large to send via email the process would get even more cumbersome, as you would need to find a flash drive to save them to before passing it off to the next person.

File sharing services allow your business to share files and folders that reside on your computer, and after a file has been added or updated, it can be shared with another person instantly. These services are essential for improved business communication.

Email Marketing

An email marketing service should be included in every company’s advertising budget. Email marketing leads to increased brand awareness of a business and may result in higher conversions. Email marketing is a low-cost marketing channel to implement, and a good email marketing provider will allow you to customise your messages to choose who receives them and who doesn’t.

Email marketing is an important communication tool for building relationships with current customers, leads, prospects, and former clients, as you’ll be given the chance to speak to them directly at a time that is convenient for them. These services are also measurable, so you’ll be able to track open, unsubscribed, delivery, click through, and bounce rates.

Effective business communication tools are needed to craft strong partnerships with customers and employees. By investing in solid business communication, you will help to develop a solid client base, and your organisation will build a reputation as an engaged listener.

By taking the time to investigate business communication strategies for your company, you will be rewarded with improved sales and customer satisfaction.