There’s much to gain from expanding the communication channels you support, not only for your customers but for your employees as well. There’s another piece to it, too. You can’t just add a bunch of channels without thinking about your business workflows and how you’ll service all the different channels—you want to personally experience how streamlining communication can enhance efficiency. A joint study from Qatalog and Cornell University found that on a typical day, people spend 59 minutes simply looking for information trapped within tools and applications. That’s where unified communications solutions come into the picture. You get multi-channel communication in one program for the best user and customer experiences possible.
Have you wanted to add business SMS or video capabilities to your business but are unsure of the best way to implement them? This article is here to walk you through what to expect and answer any lingering questions you may have.
What is a Unified Communications Solution?
A unified communications solution (or UCaaS) is a user-friendly platform that integrates multiple communication methods within a business, including voice calling, video conferencing, individual and group messaging, chat, business SMS, and collaboration tools. By increasing the communication channels offered and introducing more sophisticated communication management, you can boost collaboration and consolidate communication platforms, making for an all-around better experience for everyone.
Unified communications solutions are designed to raise business productivity by providing a single platform for all communication needs. The ability to keep the majority of your work inside one platform makes managing the customer experience much more straightforward. For instance, one of your employees calls out sick but has a client meeting on the books. Since all the communication history is in one place, even without the agent available to take the call, someone can jump in and take care of the client without issue. According to a recent report from Salesforce, 73 percent of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations. It’s an advantage for all involved.
Related content: 5 Pain Points UCaaS Solves for Your Business
Benefits of Unified Communications
The goal shouldn’t be implementing a new unified communication solution just because it’s the hot thing to do; it needs to be for strategic business advantages, and the benefits of UCaaS hit the mark in that respect. If you look at it through the lens of the customer experience, UCaaS adds significant benefits to the quality of interaction resolution.
For example, you have a doctor’s office, and your staff consistently answers questions about client accounts. One patient doesn’t understand the explanation being given, and you offer to send a video conference link and can screenshare with them to show exactly how the account looks and the payment in question. The option to, at any moment, bring in an additional tool that helps clarify the situation lessens confusion and creates a better relationship with that patient – just by trying another communication channel.
Some additional benefits you'll get from utilizing unified communications include:
- Improved collaboration and productivity through streamlined communication channels and visibility across the platform.
- Enhanced customer service through video conferencing, voice calls, and SMS. Not every customer is the same, so providing additional channels is more inclusive for all.
- Increased flexibility for remote work and mobility through the ConnectUC mobile app, and cloud-based unified communications adds a level of support for all types of company needs.
- Cost savings through the reduced need for multiple communication platforms and devices. More productivity equals reduced overhead costs.
- Improved security and compliance through features like call recording and visual voicemail. You’ll be able to have more targeted training and issue resolution with real-time access to every interaction from anywhere.
Related content: Unleashing Seamless Connectivity with ConnectUC
Key Components of a Unified Communications System
The underappreciated greatness of unified communications systems is the built-in options to meet your business’s needs and your customers’ expectations. What you need is unique to your business, but being able to plug in various options to get the most out of the system isn’t something to take lightly. The available options within a UCaaS system ensure you can piece together the operational powerhouse your organization has been craving.
- Integrated voice calling and video conferencing for real-time communication.
- Individual and group messaging for instant communication with added presence/status.
- Enhanced collaboration tools like video and screen sharing for increased productivity.
- Streamline connections through APIs (application programming interface) with other business applications and systems.
- The ConnectUC mobile app provides on-the-go and remote access to communication channels.
Industry Examples
The benefits of unified communications go well beyond the corporate world and call centers. The breadth of business use cases reaches all the way to small businesses and startups and what you’d traditionally imagine for comprehensive software platforms like UCaaS. There’s really no industry that wouldn’t benefit from what’s offered with unified communications solutions.
- Healthcare: UCaaS can help facilitate a broader patient communication strategy, including telehealth appointments and voicemail-to-email for faster doctor response, and can streamline communication between patient care teams across a network of offices.
- Retail and restaurants: Boost customer experiences via SMS for promotional offers, order updates, and one-to-one text communication.
- Education: Prepare for any situation with virtual classroom or conference experiences and improve communication between parents, students, and teachers.
The Future of Unified Communications
The explosion of access to unified communications began because the cloud became more than just a marketing term. Once the infrastructure for enterprise cloud deployments matured, the cost of unified communications as cloud-based solutions became much more affordable. Then, the pandemic struck and forced many businesses to adopt strategies, like cloud solutions, that afforded their organizations to stay operational during the emergency. Now, with the pandemic behind us, technology isn’t going anywhere, and, in fact, it continues its maturation in more markets.
- The UCaaS market is expected to continue growing as more businesses adopt cloud-based unified communications solutions. A report from Fortune Business Insights estimates that by 2032 the UCaaS market will swell to USD $107.51 billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 14.5 percent during the period.
- Artificial intelligence and machine learning will play a much larger role in unified communications, enabling more advanced real-time reporting analysis and functionality.
- The continued push of API configurations will make unified communications solutions even more integrated with other business applications and systems.
Gamut Delivers Cutting-Edge Unified Communications Solutions
When you spend the time and resources to bring in the proper communications platform, you'll immediately see the positive impact. The truth is that making it easier to conduct business with you shows your customers that you care. People don't want to be just another number, and with a UCaaS solution from Gamut, you can start making that shift. Contact us today; we're the experts in business communications.
