Unified Communications ? The Benefits | Digital Exchange

Posted by Editor on January 10, 2013 ? Leave a Comment?

Six reasons to link your telephone and back office systems
Integrating your telephone systems and business applications to create a unified communications (UC) system can bring significant benefits to your company.

Here?s why?

?
Island Solutions

For many businesses, the typical experience when a customer calls is that they?re kept waiting while the business locates the information they need. Companies still tend to rely on ?island solutions?, using a number of different, independent systems that are not integrated with the telephone system.

Staff either have to open several applications to find the information they need, or end up transferring the call to someone else. Either way, it creates delays and frustrations for customers.

But what if you could integrate the information from all your systems and display it on a single screen? A unified communications system can do just that, delivering these significant benefits:

1. Be more responsive

If your telephone system is integrated with your customer relationship management?(CRM) solution, then when a customer calls, the system will use their phone number to automatically identify them and then show relevant information.

In a single window on your screen you can see everything you need to know about the customer, including their name, address, what they?ve bought in the past, and so on.

Having instant access to this information allows you to respond more quickly to the customer?s requests.

2. Provide faster turnarounds

Whether it?s a sales or support query, sometimes you need to transfer a call to a different person or department. With an integrated telephony system that can read information from employee calendars, you can immediately see who is available and where they are.

This avoids games of ?telephone tag? that can prolong the sales or service cycle. You can even incorporate remote or mobile workers too, so that clicking a button on-screen puts the call through. In a competitive market being able to put a sales call through immediately can stop a customer going elsewhere.

3. Offer better support and service

According to YouGov, 58% of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK suffered as a result of severe winter weather?in 2009/2010. Many workers were unable to make it into work and as a result companies found themselves shorthanded.

A good unified communications system should be location independent, meaning staff can work just as easily from home with the same access to internal documents and resources as if they were in the office.

Likewise, unified communications enables employees to share documents across different offices or sites.

4. Improve credit control

Perhaps one of the most surprising benefits of a unified telephone system is the impact it can have on cash flow.

If your telephone system can pull information from your accounts system, then when a customer calls you can flag if they have unpaid bills. You can even transfer them straight to the finance team and request they make payment before placing another order.

5. Boost customer retention

Every business appreciates how building one-to-one relationships can be the key to long-term success. The telephone is a wonderfully intimate and direct tool for developing a rapport with new and existing customers.

When combined with software-based unified communications, you have access to even more tools to make your customers feel special. For instance, you can integrate web-based information like details of the weather where that customer is or local news that?s relevant to them.

It?s the little things that can make the difference between good service and exceptional service.

6. Stand apart from the crowd

It?s becoming increasingly difficult to stand apart from the crowd, so it?s areas like customer service that can really differentiate your business.

By combining data from several sources, you can keep the optimum amount of information at your fingertips. Knowledge is power, giving you everything you need to match customer requirements with the right product or service.

To learn more about unified communications, book a demo, or simply chat to us about your telecoms requirements call 0800 073 1701, or email info@thedigitalgroup.co.uk.

?

Source: http://www.thedigitalgroup.co.uk/news/unified-communications-the-benefits/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=unified-communications-the-benefits

the national enquirer marie colvin cm punk cm punk lint buenos aires train crash argentina train crash