Internet Business
Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Your Small Business?
By Lee Percival
What can a small business person do in order to help survive in
a ‘down’ economy? Are you faced with a slowdown in business and
revenues? How can you survive long-term? You might be surprised
at the answers. The overriding concerns are to cut costs where
possible. This is sound advice. But there is something else that
you need to do: examine how you do business.
Be Frugal. You already know that you must reduce expenses where
you can in order to meet the demands of your business while
still maintaining your customer service. Where you concentrate
these efforts might actually hamper your overall business. Look
for ways to trim non-essentials first. Those items that do not
directly connect you to your customers are a good place to
start.
Spend More Money? Here is one that will surprise you: get an
800 number and associated PBX system. The reason is that it will
cost you very little and at the same time will deliver essential
communications options to your business that will help keep it
going for your existing customers and prospects as well. Do you
have multiple phone lines that ring into your business? Drop
them and go with ONE singular phone number. With an 800 number
and PBX system, you can route calls via a ‘follow-me’ option
that will send calls to cell phones (which you probably already
have anyway) and voicemail boxes.
Increase Business. Once your customers and prospects see a
toll-free way of contacting you, they will use that method. It
is like sledding down an ice covered hill – you pick up momentum
as you go. An 800 number works the same way. When people see an
800 number it screams ‘CALL ME.’ Your calls will increase and so
will your orders.
Make it Easier to Do Business. With a PBX system in place, you
can handle customer and prospect calls more efficiently. You can
easily route incoming customer calls via the auto-attendant
prompts and also get useful information from various
pre-recorded instructions to the most common questions and
problems. Also, by giving the option of directing their call to
a department or specific person, they have the power to reach
whoever is their primary contact.
In Business All of the Time. One final area that an 800 number
and PBX system can help you is that it is available 24×7. You
need to be ‘open for business’ at all hours of the day and night
in order to maximize income potential. A system which is in
place and functioning properly delivers this scenario.
The way you perform business with an 800 number and PBX system
sends a message to your customers that they come first and their
issues are of the utmost importance to you. If business is tough
right now, it is not the time to scale back the method in which
to contact you. If you approach this carefully, you can maintain
your ‘less is more’ attitude while keeping costs low.
About the Author: Lee Percival is a small business owner who
uses http://Get800Today.com toll free phone service. He
recommends getting toll free numbers for business use to improve
your professional image and customer service.
Source: http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=354318&ca=Business+Management
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