Business is often full of clichés, you need to spend money to make money, fortune favors the brave, the road to success and the road to failure are the same, every problem is a gift, and so on and so forth.
It is not to say that there is no truth in the inspirational quote, but if followed without careful analysis and meticulous planning, they possess the ability to lead you down dark alleys from which it is impossible to return.
Let's take a new company for example. It is regularly said that more than half of new businesses fail during the first year of existence.
In the brief time it has taken you to read the introduction to this article, an estimated forty to fifty new startups were founded. In broader terms, that is fifty million per year, of which a staggering 90% will ultimately fail.
It is no wonder that so many new businesses are eager to invest money into anything that they believe will separate them from the rest of the pack. Business, like sport, is a game of fine margins, and this instantly adds an extra level of pressure to every small decision.
It is the intense pressure of competition that all too often leads startups, in a fit of desperation, to succumb to foolish decisions.
In the vast majority of cases, money is extremely tight when new businesses begin their journey and unsurprisingly, how they oversee their funding will be a direct determiner on whether or not they succeed or fail.
The best advice is to eliminate any unnecessary expenses. It is quite simple, the lower your expenses and the smarter your decisions, the bigger chance you have of survival.
In order to become a successful business, your sales and budgets should grow proportionately. This is not to suggest that you cut costs across the board, as this would be detrimental to your business.
Instead, that you employ forward thinking when budgeting, which will in turn free up capital to be invested directly in your future.
This is where it is vital for a new company to be aware of the difference between necessary and unnecessary spending. This is a difficult task and there is no simple solution.
Take your hiring process as an example, this is not an area that you should try and cut costs.
If you hire incorrectly by not paying your employees sufficiently, it can be detrimental to you in the short term and cost you in the long term. Your employees are often the point of contact between your business and the customer and they represent your values on every level, whether it is a handshake or the presentation of an ordered product.
A bad hire can potentially set a company back up to six months of time. It is also worth taking into account that you will lose out on the recruitment cost and the wages paid to the unsuitable employee.
The world is changing at a faster pace than ever before, the same can be said about business. But one thing that has not changed – customer is king.
The world is changing at a faster pace than ever before, the same can be said about business. But one thing that has not changed – customer is king.
In the digital age, customers have come to expect service on demand and new companies win or lose based the experiences of their potential clients. Word of mouth is still an important factor when it comes to getting a business off the ground and in today's connected world, what used to be a conversation between friends regarding inadequate service, is now a review shared with the entire world.
This is why an open and secure means of communication with consumers is of the utmost importance. Telecommunication services is a necessary area to get right, but there is good news for startups. As technology has advanced, it is an area in which it is possible to cut expenses without sacrificing quality.
So how exactly are startups without a large budget meant to compete with established businesses when it comes to telecommunications?
Voice communication is one of the most important aspects of business and while text communication has increased in importance over the last decade, when it comes to customer satisfaction, voice communication trumps all.
So even for startups without a large budget, a well-organized voice communications system is vital for gaining and maintaining customer satisfaction.
A World Without Borders
Luckily for startups, the Zadarma business phone system allows organizing your voice communications without paying over the odds. A private branch exchange (PBX) is a private telephone network used within a company that allows them to communicate both internally and externally – a necessity for any business attempting to get their foot in the door.
Zadarma offers PBX for free, providing ready-made solutions for your business. The cloud-based PBX is customized to your needs, offering individual and business solutions.
So, whether you want an efficient phone system set-up for your office, a call center set-up and configuration, or international virtual offices all under a single telephone network, Zadarma has you covered.
The Zadarma PBX makes the world a smaller place by expanding the geographical range of your business. The hosted PBX lets you set up your business phone system in just five minutes and means that you will never miss a single client’s call again. It provides you with the ability to use a personal number or a local number in any of 100 countries. It also has toll-free numbers, meaning your clients can call you for free and not have to worry about being overcharged for the service they deserve and expect.
All of this means that it simply does not matter where your employees are located in the world, Zadarma guarantees high quality connection in a matter of seconds. Plus, you only have to pay for the phone call, and with unbeatably low prices, it is a difficult offer to refuse.
It gets even better
One of the most useful features of the cloud PBX is that all incoming calls are routed according to customized call scenarios. This means that you are able to have a separate call scenario for each user group and menu item.
Work calls can be clearly marked, allowing you to instantaneously know exactly who is calling you, why they are calling you and from where. Along with this, all of your incoming calls are routed to your extension numbers set up in the call scenarios menu, allowing you to cater for any and all situations.
And if for whatever reason there are certain phone numbers that you do not wish to receive calls from, you can create a separate call scenario and add them to a blacklist in the PBX settings of your personal profile.
And if for whatever reason there are certain phone numbers that you do not wish to receive calls from, you can create a separate call scenario and add them to a blacklist in the PBX settings of your personal profile.
Another impressive and useful feature of the cloud PBX is active call recordings for extension numbers. Call recordings will be automatically sent to up to three email addresses of your choice, meaning that you will never miss being away from the “office”, no matter where you are. This feature is great for the overall monitoring of your business and creates relevant resources for training current and future agents.
Zadarma Free PBX Features
- Voice menu (IVR)
- Call pick-up and call transfer
- Conditional and unconditional call forwarding
- Auto-response set-up
- External phone line connection
- Call recording
- Voicemail system
- API interface for integration with other services
- Voice menu (IVR)
- Call pick-up and call transfer
- Conditional and unconditional call forwarding
- Auto-response set-up
- External phone line connection
- Call recording
- Voicemail system
- API interface for integration with other services
Free Zadarma CRM
The free CRM system will allow you to monitor your relationship with both existing and potential clients and partners. It means that you can simply and quickly organize your tasks for the foreseeable future, and at the same time oversee the progress and sales record of your agents by continually updating analytical reports.
This is all clearly displayed in a Kanban system, a list or in a calendar, allowing you to create and manage an extensive team. Running a business is a complicated operation and the ZCRM makes it that little bit easier. In one location, you have the ability to manage clients, employees and leads, as well as create responsible points of contact to ensure nothing gets missed.
You are able to individually select which extension number will receive each call depending on who is calling and when they are calling. You can select multiple extension numbers, meaning that if one of your employees is unavailable, the client will still be answered. The scenarios menu allows you to decide which extension number the call will be forwarded to, the order in which they will be called and even the time gap between the incoming calls.
Zadarma CRM Features
Zadarma CRM Features
- Clear and intuitive interface
- One click calls from the browser
- Automatic call routing to the responsible agent
- Automatic lead creation
- Full customer interaction history displayed in client cards
- Convenient display of current tasks
- Export and import of client database to and from other CRM systems
- One click calls from the browser
- Automatic call routing to the responsible agent
- Automatic lead creation
- Full customer interaction history displayed in client cards
- Convenient display of current tasks
- Export and import of client database to and from other CRM systems
Work Smarter, Not Harder
The professional world celebrates a hard work ethic, with many claiming to be the only way to survive in the dog eat dog world of business. While there is a huge element of truth to this, it is also important to schedule yourself some downtime.
The professional world celebrates a hard work ethic, with many claiming to be the only way to survive in the dog eat dog world of business. While there is a huge element of truth to this, it is also important to schedule yourself some downtime.
Downtime provides our bodies a time for reflection and has been proven to positively affect your productivity as well as your mental and physical health.
So, whether you are at the top of the mountain or just getting started, it is important to resist the temptation to burn the candle at both ends and ensure that you schedule yourself some time to take a well-earned rest.
Zadarma understands the importance of downtime and has installed a special feature to assist you in maintaining your optimal work – life balance.
Zadarma understands the importance of downtime and has installed a special feature to assist you in maintaining your optimal work – life balance.
With the Zadarma app, you can set up your very own personal and working hours. For example, if a client calls you during your non-working hours, you can activate a personalized auto-response as well as stay up to date regarding any calls you receive during your out of office times.
When it comes to voice communications, Zadarma phone system is the fastest and most efficient way to ensure that you never leave a customer feeling like they are not the priority.
Going An Extra Mile, So You Don’t Have To
There are no guarantees in business, and this is most definitely the case when it comes to founding a startup. You will need to deal with the chaotic ups and downs that come hand in hand with starting your own business.
You will be competing with companies that potentially have more money, more employees and more resources, so in order to succeed you will have to make sure you put yourself in the best possible position to not just survive, but to thrive.
Depending on the resources available, the definition of your role can change on a weekly basis and in order to embrace the responsibility, you need to build a solid foundation from which to work. Zadarma business phone system gives you that bedrock.
Depending on the resources available, the definition of your role can change on a weekly basis and in order to embrace the responsibility, you need to build a solid foundation from which to work. Zadarma business phone system gives you that bedrock.
It allows small and medium businesses to be able to compete on an international level in a way that was only previously only reserved for established companies.
It turns the small fish into one that has the opportunity to compete in the big pond, saving the expenses of an office and travel that all too often are the demise of a startup. Zadarma is the economically sound choice, without compromising on the quality of service.
It is beneficial to both the customer and the business, and helps you significantly increase the possibility of being there for the client when they need you most, ensuring that you get the deal done.
It is beneficial to both the customer and the business, and helps you significantly increase the possibility of being there for the client when they need you most, ensuring that you get the deal done.
Overall, the Zadarma business phone system is user friendly and available on your office phone, mobile, or on an application on your laptop or tablet.
We are living a world connected by telecommunications, a world in which borders no longer limit our ability to interact, so don’t let yourself fall behind the pack before you have even had the chance get going. If you are looking to connect, make sure to give your business every chance for success – guarantee your entry with Zadarma.