Speed and high performance are extremely critical in today’s competitive environment. Businesses need to deliver quality service to their clients in the shortest time possible. It has become extremely necessary for Employees within an organisation to collaborate. Collaboration allows staff in a business to work on the same document the same time, it also allows for division of Labour, Collaboration is the core of team work. That’s why businesses are finding new ways to collaborate better. Apart from collaboration, there is an urgent need for traditional business processes to be automated. Paper work has to be totally eliminated to meet today’s business demands. To give your business a competitive edge, you need these tools:
Customer Relationship Management Software (CRM)
A CRM is a tool that helps businesses maintain their relationship with their clients and also increase the opportunity of landing new clients. A CRM can be used for customer support or to manage supplier/vendor relationship. CRM’s make businesses more responsive when dealing with client, partners and vendor relationships. From when a lead has been won and turned to a client, to when the client’s project has been completed, it is important to manage the relationship for future prospects.
Quotes and invoice
A business should be able create and send quotes and invoices to their customers. You need to have the capability to send invoices or estimates to prospective clients or leads. A good CRM software should be able to do that. This way you should be able to keep track of your pipeline.
Project and task management
It is important for businesses to assign responsibilities and give timelines when executing a job for a client. A project management software helps plan a client’s job and puts employees on the same page when working on the project. Project Management tools drive collaboration and teamwork in organisations. Good teamwork leads to successful execution of projects.
Business Process Management (Automated Workflow)
Business Process Automation is the bedrock of modern enterprises. Businesses save cost and time by going paperless using automated workflow. Rather than using printed sheets of paper to fill a purchase order or leave request, electronic forms and approvals is the way to go. A business can save as much as 60% less time in an automated environment. Businesses can also save resources such as printing paper and equipment thereby reducing carbon footprint.
E-Learning
Keeping staff up-to-date on industry knowledge is key to remaining competitive. Learning is a constant process and it gives your employees an edge. Businesses need to carry out constant training for their employees. This will avoid the process of recruiting a replacement staff, which is expensive, time-consuming and risky. Staff training is advisable as it increases job satisfaction, morale and motivation.
Document Management (DMS)
A typical scenario in a business is searching for documents which are usually scattered across storage devices and in the possession of different employees. An organised Document Management System saves the time of repeatedly looking for a document anytime it is needed. It also allows for a single version of the truth, which is a consistent version of the document. Duplication of documents is a productivity killer, documents should be easy to access for employees. Furthermore, a good document management system allows for proper document control, It is imperative every business has a DMS in place.
Unified Communication
Communication is critical in everything, from employee/customer relationships to project execution. The ability for you to interact with your staff, customers and clients is key to your business success. Communication channel may include Corporate Social Networks, internal chats, emails, video calls and conferencing, telephony, etc. Effective Enterprise messaging continues to save businesses from potential disaster, Do not let important information get lost in transit, Put a robust communication platform in place.
Helpdesk/ IT Support ticket
Hello, this is IT, how may I help you? Helpdesk can never be underestimated for businesses. It’s mandatory and indispensable. IT department can fix your system or provide you with the necessary technical knowledge without you leaving your office. Today’s workplace cannot afford to suffer any minute of downtime, a good Helpdesk system with a knowledge base, provides the business with solutions to frequent problems. This way even your IT is self-service.
Bringing it all together.
It would be great if you had a Unified platform that combines all these tools into an integrated solution.
Bitrix24 is a collaboration platform with over 35 work tools to keep your business highly competitive. Surprisingly, it cost far less than most products in the market while offering more. Bitrix24 comes with a CRM, Telephony, video conferencing, extranet, quotes, invoice, Telephony, Clock in/out, Google docs/Microsoft online document editing, email integration, helpdesk/ticketing, e-learning and a mobile app for both android and iOS.
It even has a free version for 12 users and an unlimited 30 day trial for you to take on a spin. Give Bitrix24 a shot and thank me later.
A unified communication platform is very important, indeed. I was working in a company one, where there had a terrible mixture of a dozen communication tools (Skype, Whatsapp, Slack, etc.) leading to strange situations that you could never reach the person, you wanted to talk with. So, you definitely have got a point there!