Modern times call for modern communications apps and services. With a start-up, business owners need a service that is reliable, secure, and most importantly – affordable.
Often, new business owners choose to rely on free or barebones services just to stretch the budget. But they soon discover that to keep their team connected and properly reach out to intended customers, they need a different set of functionalities that many of these services won’t be able to meet.
Therefore, it’s important to back your communications with tried-and-tested tools that will deliver tangible results.
Below is a list of web-based services that you can use to communicate with colleagues and customers effectively without having to break the bank.
RingCentral
Every start-up should have a business phone number that customers can call whenever they want to. This should be backed by a powerful and reliable phone system that facilitates a range of functions like making outgoing calls, recording voicemail, sending and receiving faxes, and conducting meetings or phone conferences, among others.
These days, a cloud-based system like RingCentral is the only way to go. Because such services are delivered digitally, call data transmission is always of top-notch quality and subscription prices are more competitive than their traditional counterparts.
If you need a phone service that is professional and will make your company sound like a big, multinational business, features such as auto receptionist, virtual switchboard, hold music, and extensions are super important. You should also be able to expand these features while you grow your business.
Slack
If you move within the modern business world, you may have heard of Slack. Slack, the billion-dollar unicorn, is a real-time team messaging tool that allows organizations to divide group messages into topics so that team members stay organized and effective in every project or undertaking.
Slack is accessible via your browser or through an app that you can download on your desktop, laptop, or smart device. It also integrates with major start-up must-haves such as Google, Dropbox, Twitter, and others.
Simple, practical, and instant. This productivity tool has successfully found a new purpose for the otherwise straightforward instant messaging, which is internal communication and collaboration for teams.
LiveChat
For start-ups whose line of business involves interacting with customers through instant chat applications on a website, LiveChat is the perfect fit. It combines powerful features and cost-effectiveness in delivering web-powered customer service.
Using the service on your website is pretty simple. When a customer starts a live chat with you, you can immediately connect the customer to an available operator. Or, you can automatically send your chat transcripts and other details to your CRM like Salesforce and Zendesk so that you can follow up with the client with just a few clicks.
Its customizability – from the colors, the layout, the custom text, and the buttons – makes it extremely ideal for small businesses that aim to have a specific look and feel for their widget. Users on your website, meanwhile, will benefit from the lean, yet professional, design that takes into account the needs of tech savvy and non-tech savvy audiences alike.
Five9
If your team requires a high-capacity platform due to large call volumes, it’s pretty clear that you might opt for a contact center solution. Now, you might think that a traditional on-premise solution is the only way to go, but you should also consider a hosted or cloud-based service, especially if you’re just about to set up shop.
Five9 focuses on ensuring that business owners are able to set up a complete contact center without having to use external resources like manpower or extra hardware. The idea is to get team members straight to having results-yielding conversations with customers immediately after the process of configuration.
Whether you need to run an inbound, outbound, or blended contact center, you can rely on Five9’s advanced technology for omnichannel interactions, with standout features such as an intuitive interface, intelligent routing, predictive dialling, reporting, recording, workforce management, and quality monitoring, among plenty of other functionalities.
GoToWebinar
Sometimes, business owners need to engage employees, potential clients, and existing customers through presentations and live conversations. This is especially true when you’re selling a product or service that requires extensive demonstrations, presentations, or trainings. So, when you want to engage people from all over the world without leaving the confines of your office, you can always count on webinars to do the job for you.
Webinar services such as the one offered by GoToWebinar allow you to interact with your audience live and over the internet by sharing videos, audio, slides, and documents. You can train employees and customers, generate awareness about your company, gather new leads, and improve sales.
Users say the platform is complex in the sense that there are advanced features involving poll questions, the number of speakers, handouts, and the like; but still simple enough to be used by even a novice host or participant.
These are just a few of the standout services or apps you can use to enrich communications in your start-up. There are many others, but these five are a great place to start!
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