Communication is critical to the success of almost any business.
The costs, on the other hand, can quickly add up. Traditionally, these include telephone and fax equipment costs, internet access, fixed phone line rates, and cell phone costs. They also include the costs of transportation and venue for face-to-face meetings.
Advanced technology and low-cost business services not only change the way we communicate, but they can also reduce monthly costs.
Here are four simple ways to slash the cost of business communication.
Video conferencing
You can communicate with people in different locations using video conferencing, without having to arrange or pay for transportation or a meeting venue. This is especially important now we are in a world where many of us work remotely. Skype and Zoom are the best freeware if you need to communicate one-on-one and high voice and image quality are not critical. There is no need to purchase expensive equipment; a simple headset or webcam will suffice.
For businesses that require polished, multi-point conferencing functionality on a regular basis, a dedicated video conferencing system is the answer. Real-time multi-point video conferencing is a safer, more efficient, and less expensive solution to live conferencing.
VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP as it is also known, uses internet protocols to perform voice calls rather than traditional phone lines, basically making phone calls free.
VoIP serves as the foundation for www.phone.com, Skype, instant messaging, and video conferencing, and is used by a plethora of business and communication apps.
The bare minimum of hardware required to make and receive VoIP calls is a headset connected to a PC. More sophisticated hardware requirements, such as routers, analog telephone adaptors, and telephone sets or handsets, may exist for more established businesses.
Fax to email services
The days of feeding paper documents into a fax machine are long gone. Instead, businesses can use a variety of free services to scan and fax documents over the internet.
Gmail, for example, lets you create your own fax number and sends received faxes as attachments to your Gmail account. Microsoft includes fax software as standard, alongside the scan function.
Businesses could also choose to pay for fax to email services that include additional features. This type of service, for example, may simply convert inbound faxes to PDF format and forward them to your email.
Co-working spaces and serviced offices
Another modern solution that has the potential to significantly reduce business communication costs is the use of co-working spaces and serviced offices. A fully equipped and managed serviced office or coworking space is already available. This eliminates the need to invest in communication infrastructure. You can simply rent the space you require and relocate.
Meeting rooms and boardrooms, as well as video conferencing equipment, are available for business clients and partners to meet. On-site business services include everything from reception to courier services.
It’s a simple, convenient, and cost-effective way to slash your business communication costs.