In today’s digital world, a mobile phone is a vital communication tool for everyone, including business owners. In the work environment, these devices can also be used for several other functions. Most use it to follow up with suppliers and vendors, to keep themselves accessible to customers, and to communicate with employees.
But this kind of access often comes with a hefty price. Most business owners find that their phone bills make up a huge part of their operating costs.
To help your organization avoid excessive costs and get the most value for money, here are tips to help you find the best mobile device and business phone plans.
4 Tips for Choosing the Best Business Mobile Device
1. Check the physical ruggedness of the device
Checking the physical ruggedness of the device is crucial, especially if it is meant to be used in harsh industrial environments like the manufacturing floor and warehouse. Make sure that the mobile device is durable and can withstand accidental spills, dust or dirt, extreme temperatures, and countless drops.
Furthermore, you must consider how the users will use the device. For instance, if the workers will carry goods with both hands all the time or wear gloves while handling the device, voice-enabled applications will be helpful for any task at hand.
2. Look into the features it offers
Barcodes are everywhere these days and are crucial in allowing you to trace and track different assets. You have to examine how frequently the mobile devices will double as a scanner and how intensive the requirement is. When you need your device to read high volumes of RFID tags or barcodes, accuracy and speed should become a primary consideration.
Other crucial mobile features you have to consider are the device’s ability to capture photos and 2D barcodes, credit card payment capabilities, and signatures. Think of the mobile device as a future-proof solution, not just a short-term quick fix.
3. Consider how easy it would be to use
You must also consider if the device is convenient for workers who might have different skill sets and preferences to use. This is crucial, especially if your business relies heavily on seasonal or casual workers. The right operating system and form factor will significantly reduce the time required for training, so your workers can become more productive.
4. Evaluate the repair and support services
Keeping the mobile device running smoothly will require a fast turnaround on replacement options or repairs with pre-existing software. It is important for you to evaluate how likely you would be experiencing device failures and how this can affect your business and customer service. From there, find a support plan that will mitigate these risks.
4 Tips for Finding the Best Business Phone Plan
1. Study your usage patterns
Before searching for a phone plan for your business, you have to study your usage patterns. What features and services do you usually use? Pricing today is mostly organized so you can select different feature sets like unlimited long distance and weekend calls and low rate long distance.
2. Look for phone plan providers that cater to business owners
Check out the websites of reputable phone plan providers and look for their enterprise or business sections for information regarding business phone plans. Talk to a representative to know more about the data and voice solutions they offer to enterprise clients. Discuss your specific needs to find phone plans that can meet the telecom and internet connectivity requirements of your business.
3. Ask for perks
Most business plans come with plenty of extra perks like unlimited Closed User Group or CUG minutes. Also, they include hardware replacement guarantees as opposed to consumer plans.
4. Opt for bundle products or services
Most huge telecoms now offering small business pricing on all their offerings, which include cable and internet. Moreover, these plans offer higher bundle discounts than a regular consumer has access to.
Take your time to find and contact telecoms offering business phone plans. A few minutes spent discussing and negotiating your business phone plan with the provider can save you a significant amount of money each month.
Investing in mobile technology for your business isn’t enough to ensure improved efficiency, productivity, and customer services. You need to choose the right device and phone plan for your business’s particular needs. Remember that this is the only way for you to get a high return on investment.
A purpose-built mobile technology and phone plan will allow you to have better control over the features you want. Most importantly, this will help engineer your mobile device and phone plan to meet the specific requirements of your company.
AUTHOR BIO
Al-moottil P Antony is a C-Suite Executive Support Professional for Zain, a leading mobile and data services operator with a commercial footprint in 8 Middle Eastern and African countries.