Optimise business communications to meet the demands of a mobile world

How smartphones have changed the way we communicate for business! According to Forrester Research, 66% of us now use two or more mobile devices for work and 25% work from home or on the road. Now you can work from anywhere, any time on a range of mobile devices designed to keep you connected 24/7 – and that’s often great for work/life balance.

While the mobile phone is central to the way we do business these days, many small to medium businesses have yet to fully optimise their communications infrastructure for their mobile workforce – and they’re missing out big savings and more customers as a result.

Whether you’re a sole trader or employ a crack team of experts, making sure your business communications are fully ‘mobilised’ can:

1. Save you more money and time
2. Give you greater working flexibility and productivity
3. Allow you to capture more clients when and where they’re ready to buy
4. Save overhead costs on office infrastructure – like costly phone systems and training people to answer them.

Virtual phone solutions are designed to make your business even more mobile We may not sell smartphones or mobile plans, but Alltel virtual phone solutions can still cleverly optimise and add value to your business mobile phone. For us, it’s all about giving you the power to focus on what’s most important.

Our smart mobile solutions range from ‘virtual’ numbers (1300, 1800 and 13 numbers), call redirection options, live answering and Hosted Business Phone systems – all designed to enhance your business image, increase call response rates and allow you to take your office systems everywhere you go.

Mobile solution #1: Promote yourself nationally. Answer your phone locally.

When you want your business to make an impression on potential customers, 1300, 1800 and 13 numbers help you appear larger than you are.

These virtual inbound numbers aren’t tied to specific phones in the same way that landline and mobile numbers are. Instead, you can route them to a range of business ‘answer points’ – including landlines, mobile phones, VoIP lines, fax machines and call answering services.

That means you can:

1. Instantaneously forward incoming office phone calls to your mobile based on your availability and business (or after hours) requirements
2. Answer business calls from the road, overseas, home or local café – wherever you work best
3. Enjoy better business continuity and master disaster recovery – your business number moves with you
4. Choose when and where to redirect calls to other employees, your office (or an interstate office) or an Alltel ‘Live Answering’ operator.

Alltel can configure virtual numbers to meet your business needs:

1. 1300 numbers are ideal for businesses that deal largely with ‘local’ customers. Callers dial for the cost of a local call.
2. 1800 numbers are great for businesses that want to encourage customers to call by offering a free-call number. They increase call response rates.
3. 13 numbers are only 6 digits to make them easier for your customers to remember. Callers can dial for the cost of a local call.

We’ve also got some great mobile phone plans for business owners who make or receive the majority of their work calls via mobile phone, such as our 1300 ‘Super-Saver’ call plan.

Not sure what you need? Check out our handy cost estimator tool to determine best plan to suit you, including highly competitive call rates and brilliant features for highly mobile businesses.

Mobile solution #2: Give your mobile business a real, live voice, no matter how busy you are.

When your business is mobile, it’s important to keep up the right impression. Although your customers might prefer to be able to reach you anytime, anywhere, they still like to think they’re dealing with a solid, dependable bricks and mortar business.

However, when you’re working away from the office, it’s not always convenient to take a business call on your mobile phone – you might be behind the wheel, speaking to a customer face-to-face, presenting a pitch or grabbing a bite to eat in a noisy restaurant. Sometimes it’s easier to just let that call go to voicemail.

But did you know that almost 75% of potential customers will hang up without leaving a message if they get your voicemail? That’s a lot of warm leads to pass up!

Our live phone answering service offers a great solution. With live answering, your calls are answered by a real person, not a machine or recording, which helps to increase customer satisfaction and sales. It also helps you create a more professional, big business image by having professionally trained, Australian based virtual receptionists answer in your business name, ring your mobile to check whether you’re available, then connect you to your caller or take a message if you’re busy.

Messages are then emailed and texted your mobile device, complete with the customer’s name, message and return number. It’s like hiring your own full-time, in-house receptionist but at a fraction of the cost! And you get all the great flexibility that comes with being truly mobile.

Boost your brand image with a professional Live Answering Service.

Mobile solution #3: Control your office communications from anywhere in the world

Use your mobile device as an extension of your Hosted Business Phone System and control your office phone system from your mobile… anywhere in the world.

Most of us associate premises-based PBX phone systems with busy corporate offices – lots of extensions, hardware and features for a hefty price tag. However, an Alltel Hosted Business Phone System (or Hosted PBX) delivers big business features to small to medium businesses for a fraction of the cost.

Even better, you no longer need to be tied to a desk all day to make it seem as if you’re a large, busy office. Here are some other benefits Hosted PBX offers businesses on the move:

Benefit 1. Your mobile device is now your office phone.

Your Hosted PBX service allows incoming calls to ring simultaneously on your mobile phone and your work landline. You can immediately see the incoming call is work-related and answer that call no matter where you are.

Benefit 2. Make mobile calls using your office number.

Our hosted PBX ‘Remote Office’ feature allows you to make outgoing calls from your mobile while showing your office phone number to the person you call. This is fantastic for maintaining your business identity when you’re out and about or for businesses with staff working from home. Also, you’ll get full reports of all calls to help control and manage your business telephony costs for your remote workers.

Benefit 3. Know why your customers are calling before you pick up.

Great for those with multiple businesses or different numbers for different marketing channels, your Hosted PBX phone’s display panel shows a user-assigned description for every incoming call, so you can answer in the correct business name or respond to a specific advertising campaign.

Benefit 4. Queue callers when you’re busy.

Automatically place callers on hold while you’re on another call – when you’re done they’ll be put through immediately. Play customised information to them while they’re waiting to speak with you.

Benefit 5. Let your customers choose.

Call Forwarding Menus (e.g. For sales, press 1; For support, press 2) make your business look more professional and can be configured to answer your office phone directly, ring your mobile or be automatically forwarded to your Alltel Live Answering service, depending on your customer’s selection.

Benefit 6. Email notifications of your messages.

Get an email notification of missed calls, even if the caller did not leave a voice message. That means you can follow up on sales leads while they’re still piping hot!

Benefit 7. Record your business phone calls.

Hosted PBX Call Recording can automatically record your conversation so verbal contracts are a breeze. You can even monitor the success of your marketing campaigns.

Benefit 8. Get detailed reports.

Call records show details including the date, time and length of ALL calls you make and receive (including unanswered calls). Measure the effectiveness of your different marketing channels, plus provide an audit trail showing all communications with individual customers. You can even get information about callers while they’re still on the phone.

Benefit 9. Optimise your mobile call spend.

Alltel Hosted PBX Phone Bundle plans also come with the option of 200 minutes fully included mobile call spend each month! So, in a world that’s increasingly mobile, you can also reduce your outgoing call spend when making calls to mobile numbers from your Hosted PBX.

Combine all of the above now for a powerful mobile solution that allows you to better manage your business wherever you are.

Learn more about Alltel's Hosted PBX business phone systems, or for customised advice on how to optimise your business in a mobile world, call 1300 ALLTEL.