The Secret to Providing Fast Customer Service

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Whether or not “the customer is always right” may be debatable, the customer does have the final word. If you treat your customers with respect and provide good service, odds re they will continue to be your customers. On the other hand, it only takes one bad customer experience to lose a client. According to a report from Dimensional Research, 96% of customers were much more likely to change their behavior after receiving poor customer service. A typical response from customers shows that 5Read More…

Do This Before Choosing a Cloud Phone Provider, or You’ll Be Sorry

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No matter the size of your business, using outdated technology can be a drain on your company and hindrance to the point of losing out to the competition. Being able to reach out to new customers and properly manage the customer base you currently have are critical to your day-to-day operations as well as your bottom line. In the digital age, more and more companies are adopting cloud-based telephone service over conventional phone service to expedite their business communications. If youRead More…

Toll-Free Phone Numbers – What You Need to Know

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on Toll-Free Phone Numbers – What You Need to Know

The benefit of toll-free telephone numbers for businesses is to enhance your marketing by giving customers and potential customers a free option to contact you. Many phone carriers offer toll-free numbers with a multitude of options. So, the question you need to ask yourself is, “Do I need a toll-free phone number?” While a toll-free number is free to your customers, it will add a cost to your service. One advantage of a toll-free phone number is the ability to personalize it to fit yoRead More…

Security: Cloud-Based Phones Vs Landline Phones

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on Security: Cloud-Based Phones Vs Landline Phones

Security is always a concern these days and for good reason. Data breaches can be extremely costly. Remember the Target breach in 2013? It ultimately ended up costing the retail giant $162 million. The Epsilon breach back in 2011 topped-out at 4 billion dollars. Most breaches aren’t as costly as these famous cases. But, all infringements are expensive and can take years to fix. The bottom line is this – businesses need to be proactive to minimize the chances that of a breach in data. BelievRead More…

Some VoIP Facts That May Surprise You

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on Some VoIP Facts That May Surprise You

A recent FCC Voice Telephone Services report, states that two-thirds of companies in the US still use switched access telephone lines (PSTN or POTS). Why have they not made the switch to cloud-based telephone or VoIP (voice over internet protocol)? Well, there are many reasons. One of the most common myths about cloud-based phone service is that the quality is worse or not as reliable as that of conventional telephone lines. The truth is cloud-based telephone technology has evolved to a point whRead More…

The Dangers of Accepting “The New Normal”

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January 2020 seems like a lifetime ago for many of us. For business owners, it may feel like a good deal longer. But that’s the last time many of us can remember operating under normal parameters before COVID-19 changed everything. For months we’ve had to cope with crippling uncertainty and ulcer-inducing anxiety. They’ve had to adjust to a state of affairs that’s terrifyingly referred to as “The New Normal”. A state of affairs that’s anathema to the tireless entrepreneur. BusinRead More…

Charting a Course to Safely Restart the North Carolina Economy

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With signs that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic may finally be receding into our rearview mirror, it’s time to focus our attention on restarting North Carolina’s economy. But where do we start on the roadmap to recovery? Certainly, we don’t want to do anything to fuel the second wave of potentially more severe infections or mortality. However, we need to recognize the catastrophic economic hardship inflicted on businesses and workers. A slow road into a recession is one thing. It’sRead More…

Do This Before You Reopen Your Business

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on Do This Before You Reopen Your Business

As businesses worldwide begin coming out of their coronavirus induced hibernation, the world is a very different place. Having a plan for reopening your business is imperative. Also critical is having a plan to communicate with your customers what to expect. Even before they walk in your door, your customers are faced with a laundry list of do and don’ts. They must be made aware of any services you may have (temporarily) modified or discontinued as well as precautions you are taking and procedRead More…

The #1 Mistake Businesses Make When Buying a Cloud Phone System

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on The #1 Mistake Businesses Make When Buying a Cloud Phone System

Learning from our own mistakes is smart. But learning from the mistakes of others is wise — and also a heck of a lot less painful, tragic, awful…you get the picture. If your business has decided to switch from your conventional landline phone system to a cloud phone system, here is the biggest and costliest mistake that others have made, but that you can wisely avoid: underestimating the importance of OUTSTANDING SERVICE. Factors like features, functionality, scalability, and price areRead More…

What NOT to do When You Move to the Cloud

Nicky SmithLeave a Comment on What NOT to do When You Move to the Cloud

Cloud migrations have been increasing rapidly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, companies have been moving more data, services, and applications to the cloud as a means to become more streamlined and productive. Businesses migrating information to the cloud is not a new trend. The move toward cloud adoption, however, has been picking up steam during the worldwide lockdown with some interesting results: A major shift to remote working Reduction in capital investment InnovRead More…