How to embrace the new normal: Virtual communication post Covid

Since the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis hit, you may have been surprised at just how many phone and video (VOIP) calls you have had to make to colleagues or your customers. Employees and business leaders have become aware of just how important it is to stay in contact. Easy, fluid communication across networks of clients, customers, and suppliers has proven pivotal to keeping business alive. Of all the behavioural changes the pandemic necessitated, remote working stood out as a positive for many. The success stories have been driven by the correct technology. Businesses are reporting reduced costs, raised productivity whilst employees enjoy a new sense of autonomy, responsibility and job satisfaction.

As businesses navigate and adapt towards this new normal, business leaders are adjusting how their organisation sells in the face of new customer habits and their path to purchase. For CEOs, sales leaders & operational management teams, contemplating how to react and take care of their employees and customers is a key priority. Sales operations going forward will look fundamentally different from what they were pre-Covid.

Business transformation trends show an increase in two key business operational areas from Covid:

1. Remote working and remote communication has been effective for many organisations; with nearly 90% of sales operations moving to a video and telephone conferencing web sales model.

2. Digital transformation; with an increase in focus towards digital communication as well as digital marketing and sales interactions. Many businesses have pivoted away from traditional sales & marketing. Looking forward, B2B companies see digital interactions as more important for their customers than traditional methods used pre-Covid. China and India are leading the way in the scale of this shift with Europe not far behind. The trend is of course, more pronounced in the tech, media and telecoms sectors.

Why improving your cloud phone & video conferencing operations, ensures you have the optimum communication model in place for business growth recovery post-Covid.

Your business telephone software (or more widely known as business phone systems) can easily adapt to accommodate the new remote working environment. Here are a couple of examples you may like to explore:

• Cloud-based business phone software systems are being increasingly used globally. Zadarma’s Cloud PBX is a cloud phone system. Once set up, your workforce is able to work from home and make/receive calls as if they were in the office. All you need is a smartphone application or program for your computer or laptop.
• Virtual voice communications, like PBX, allows you to connect vast amounts of phone numbers in regions, convenient for your clients and allows you to direct calls to appropriate employees. If your company has more than one employee or would like your customer to believe you do, you should try Zadarma’s Cloud PBX for voice communications.
• CRM with cloud integration is perfect for centralizing transactions and maintaining a history of contacts with customers. Integration with your office PBX allows you and your employees to make calls to customers and plan tasks in one click. This provides centralized communication from any device, from anywhere in the world. Zadarma’s Teamsale CRM is a single system that all employees have access to, but each employee can have limited access to functionality or data. Teamsale CRM is fully integrated with PBX or with your own software for free.
• Video conferencing is one of the best collaboration tools, bringing remote teams together, allowing virtual meetings to continue and agenda’s to be followed and actioned effectively. The increase in use of video conferencing software has reduced costs and provided faster lead responses. Zadarma’s simple video conferencing software is used globally. This recommended VOIP system provides quality video communication that is widely supported through browsers, PCs, smartphones, and tablets. The setup and registration are simple, with one participant signing up and sharing the link to the meeting team.

The full implications of the Covid pandemic are far from certain. What we do know is that to recover and prosper, businesses will have to embrace and adapt to change. Improving your virtual communication operations is at the heart of this adaption. Zadarma’s cloud telephone business systems are quick, easy, and cost-effective to set up and use. Businesses making these core transformations towards focused and centralized communications in their operations are set to enjoy the advantage of reduced costs, raised productivity along with engaged customers and colleagues.