Changing your business phone over to use Skype may not have been a great idea a few years ago with call quality and other issues but now with the increase in internet speed and other improvements, using Skype for your business is a very viable option, the call quality is excellent and its very financially effective.
Most people relate the use of Skype as a useful way to keep in touch with family and friends by skype to skype calls or video but it can be so much more. Skype can be used very effectively in your business, even to he point of replacing your office phone system which is exactly the path we have taken. There is still some downside but the upside more than makes up for the this.
This is what we have done and what you can do to implement it in your business:
Skype number : you can request a Skype number, this is a local number and you are able to request the area code for where you are based. Clients/customers that call this number as a local call and you get to answer it where ever you are working from at the time even overseas. The cost of each number is AUD40.00 for 12 months.
Skype subscription : Skype subscriptions are great value, you can save huge amounts on your call costs, Skype currently has an unlimited premium subscription that includes unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles in over 50 countries for only AUD116.49 for 12 months. You will need to buy a subscription for each user but there is no doubt that each user is currently costing your company much more than this amount each year for their calls.
Call Quality : Forget about the bad old days of noisy lines and delayed voice, Skype call quality is very close to as good as landline and for overseas calls better, there is still a ever so slight delay but with a good internet connection this is hardly noticeable.
Instant Messaging : The other major benefit of using Skype is using the instant messaging function, I know there are plenty of other IM options out there but the whole idea is minimize the number of platforms you are using rather than switching from one to the other. One of the other benefits of using IM is that you can see when the person you would like to chat to is online. We use Skype IM as the main form of communication during the working day between staff members working from different locations, it is very effective.
This is a brief summary of the benefits and uses of Skype in your "Working from Anywhere" office or even for your bricks and mortar office, there is much more that I will address in a future post.
Call Quality : Forget about the bad old days of noisy lines and delayed voice, Skype call quality is very close to as good as landline and for overseas calls better, there is still a ever so slight delay but with a good internet connection this is hardly noticeable.
Instant Messaging : The other major benefit of using Skype is using the instant messaging function, I know there are plenty of other IM options out there but the whole idea is minimize the number of platforms you are using rather than switching from one to the other. One of the other benefits of using IM is that you can see when the person you would like to chat to is online. We use Skype IM as the main form of communication during the working day between staff members working from different locations, it is very effective.
This is a brief summary of the benefits and uses of Skype in your "Working from Anywhere" office or even for your bricks and mortar office, there is much more that I will address in a future post.
Skype makes doing business with you so easy.. nice to know I can get you anywhere!
ReplyDeleteEven better, Skype's business-grade big sister, Lync, provides advanced features and is part of the Office 365 Cloud service. It inter-operates with Skype. Clients don't need Lync or Skype as they may connect with you for online conferences via a web app.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Colin, we have Lync as part of our MS365 package but haven't done much with it as yet, sounds like its worth investigating...thanks
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