Focus Your Resources

During economic uncertainty, some people pull back and stop all new initiatives and focus on reducing expenses as much as possible. While it is always a good idea to run a lean organization, I don't agree with the philosophy that we can save ourselves into profitability. I do, however, agree that if the expense does not provide increased profitability or competitive advantage, then it probably is not a wise investment. In light of the previous information, you should comb your expenses for unnecessary allocations and fix them. Once you find some extra money in what you are already spending, try to divert some of those funds into an area that will provide your business with growth or increased return. For example, if your staff is less busy today that it was a few months ago, set up a plan to contact your customers and see what you can do to better serve them.

If we spend our excess human resources on driving more business, rather than laying them off, we can gain loyalty from our staff. In addition, when business does pick up again, you will not have to try to re–hire, re-train, and re–focus your group. Our customers are the most important part of our companies; without their buying the goods and services that we offer, we would not be in business.

I frequently ask the following questions when I meet a business owner:

"How many customers that are in our database are active?"

"Out of those customers, what happened to the ones who are not active?"

"If you knew why those customers left, do you think you could make changes to prevent some additional clients from leaving?"

The answers are astounding. Most of us agree that knowing that information could help us retain more clients and increase our profitability. We all know that it costs less to keep a customer than to attract a new one. My advice for these uncertain times is to use any resources you can, money or time, to understand how we can serve our clients better. Your business will emerge from this recession stronger, more knowledgeable and better–equipped to maintain your long–term viability.

Commscope Leads the Way With Structured Cabling

Commscope is a world leader in infrastructure for communications networks. Through its Systimax brand, which it acquired in 2003 from Avaya Communications, it holds the patents on twisted–pair wire. This is the same wire that was invented to carry the telephone calls early in our technology revolution. Twisted–pair wire has come a long way since those days. I remember back in the late 1980s when we were amazed at getting 2400 baud out of a modem. Today, we are transmitting speeds of 10–gigabit over twisted–pair wire. This is the only statistic that I can think of that is growing faster than the national deficit.

In today's terms, we talk a lot about the "blue wire" that anyone can string to make our computers work, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain the level of training, talent, equipment and testing gear required to properly install these new–age systems.

At Connect, we have invested in all of the above. We are constantly training our people to understand the new products and services and how they will benefit the businesses we serve.

I know we have all heard about Cat 5 or Cat 5e. These technologies are capable, under the right circumstances, of delivering up to 1gigabit of data to the desktop. The problem is our networks usually do not provide the right circumstances.

Today, we are talking about proposed Category 7 standards that will allow us to transmit up to 10 gigabits of information to the desktop, all the while providing for more overhead, also known as margin of error. If we don't have this margin, then the money we spent on our gigabit or 10–gigabit switching equipment may not deliver the productivity payback we expected when we purchased them.

Ethernet technology allows the equipment to slow the speed down when maximum speeds are not attainable, thus tricking us into thinking we are operating at a higher speed than we may be.

Some people say, "I don't know why I would ever need those speeds." The answer is simple: As we continue to go down the technology road, applications are starting to employ more and more video and visual elements that require more bandwidth. If you infrastructure cannot handle these applications, you will need to replace it. Replacing the cable after the building is built requires displacing workers, messes, moves and all kinds of interruptions that cost your business money. If you are looking at moving or building a new building, we would be happy to sit down with you discuss your current situation and where technology is going, then find a solution that fits your company and your budget.

Computer–Telephone Integration Can Enhance Your Customer Service Department.

In these challenging economic times, we all understand the importance of keeping in contact with our customers. In small and medium–sized businesses, we should understand that the customers are the boss and that they truly are the ones who sign our paycheck.

If we take this to heart and understand that we need to listen to them and strive to provide the things they are asking for quicker, faster, and easier than any of our competitors, then we really should make this process as efficient as possible.

Do we have a plan for what our process is when it comes to communicating with our customers:

• Who should we call?
• How often should we call?
• What should we talk about?
• Who does the calling?
• How do we get the information we collect turned into useful data to make our businesses stronger?

Once we have the plan made and we have answered the above questions along with a few others, then how do we manage this process, and how do we ensure that our plan gets acted upon?

I have heard it said that if something doesn't get tracked, then it doesn't move forward.

Most technology systems today have features and functions that can help us track this more efficiently. Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) software packages have become increasingly popular in recent years, and they usually have the ability to "journal" interactions with clients, including e–mails and phone calls. With the power of these CRM systems, we can now track all interactions with our clients, who made them and what they discussed or what action was taken. Once the information is in the database, then reporting simply becomes a matter of choosing the information you need to manage the process.

In addition to the information within these databases, in many instances, we can integrate the information kept here with other technologies in the office, such as phone systems. This can give your customer service representatives the ability to have the account opened on their desktop using the caller's information provided by the phone company. This will save the time of asking who they are with and what the call is regarding. It also avoids that scenario we've all experienced: Calling somewhere and explaining to several different people the reason for the call.

On the outbound basis, we can click to dial the customer's phone number and a journal appears where we can type what we talked about, and in some cases even record the call for future use.

If you would like to explore the capabilities of your technology to help you stay in better contact with your clients, please call, click or come by today.

Is Your Website Sending the Right Message?

Atomic8Ball is a website development company based in San Diego. It has developed a better mousetrap for companies that want to focus on delivering a consistent message to their customers. We have recently partnered with Atomic8Ball to revamp the Connect site. One of the reasons we chose Atomic8Ball was to allow us to make the site a place for new information all the time without having to employ a web development specialist

The company's approach to websites is pretty refreshing: pay a fixed price and get updates added quickly for no additional charges. Some of the things that we need to add to our website are new press releases, new training classes, new upcoming technology webinars, as well as managing our customer and partner portals. This was increasingly difficult with our old web design firm, not to mention cost–prohibitive.

In addition to doing a better job of updates, Atomic8Ball will create an electronic newsletter that will canvas your client list every quarter. Imagine having the ability to communicate your news, product enhancements and new offerings to your clients every quarter with no additional costs. You simply provide the information, and Atomic8Ball will take it from there. If you would like to see an example of its work, please see our site: www.theconnectgroup.com or give us a call and we can put you in touch with Atomic8Ball.

When You Put Customers on Hold, Do They Hear Your Story?

Sometimes we get so busy doing all the things we do that we forget to inform our customers about all of the products and services we offer. At Connect, we also struggle with this phenomenon. We provide all types of technology services, yet not all of our existing and prospective clients know about all of them.

We have a service that we think can help with this. Connect has recently partnered with Audiomax message on hold systems. Audiomax can help by making the process of on–hold messaging simple for the business owner.

Audiomax has several professional voices to choose from along with myriad background music choices. If you are like me, you may also struggle with clarifying your message. Audiomax has script writers who can help you get the messages across to your potential customers with the greatest of ease.

In fact, I recently worked with a client that had absolutely no time to work on this, so we simply directed the scriptwriters to the client's website and they were able to have a message mocked up and in his e–mail within a week. The message was superbly written and professionally put together. It informs callers on hold about all of the services the company offers.

In addition to messages for your callers on hold, Audiomax and its team of professionals can help by recording your auto attendant and voicemail prompts and scripts to make a consistent voice and message across all of your audio marketing. We can ensure that your messages are updated on a schedule that makes sense for you.

So when you feel the time is right to create the "voice" of your company, give us a call and we'll be happy to create a plan that fits your company and your budget.

Connect Receives Major Award at 2009 TAG Convention

The Connect Group was invited to speak at the 2009 Technology Assurance Group (TAG) National Convention. TAG is an association of independently owned voice and data providers, representing close to $400 million in annual sales.

The audience consisted of the most successful and reputable providers in the United states and Canada. TAG's National Convention was held in San Diego.

The theme for the convention was "The Future is Leading Our Industry".

In addition to speaking, participating in the roundtables, and listening to the keynote speakers, TAG held its annual awards ceremony, where The Connect Group was honored for a large increase in new system sales.

"I believe that since our technology truly lowers the costs of our customers, especially in a down economy, it is important for progressive companies to adopt technology. Therefore, I don't think the increase in sales is an anomaly at all," said Matt Duray, when he was asked how he was able to increase market share in an economy when most business are hesitant to make purchase decisions.

The sales team at the Connect Group truly believes that if our technology does not lower the cost of our companies or increase their profitability, then the customer should not purchase it from us or anyone. If you would be interested in seeing what technologies could improve your bottom line, please call, click or stop by today.

Visual Communications Will Improve Your Bottom Line

by Russ Palmer

The difference between the average small business that can't seem to break the million–dollar mark, the business with owners living paycheck to paycheck, and a profitable company with owners taking vacations and sending their kids to college comes down to a very simple issue: process. I've seen businesses possess drive, talent, intellect, even great products or services, and yet they go down in flames because they can't get their heads around processes that increase the efficiency and efficacy of communication between themselves and their clients. More efficient communication equals increased profitability and competitive advantage. The bottom line is this: Great companies invest in process, and investing in process means investing in technology.

We have all heard the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words," and any sociologist worth his salt will tell you that 80 percent of human communication comes from reading facial expressions. Clearly, we know how powerful visual support is to communication, yet we continue to conduct business every day in a world that relies primarily on phone (voice) conversation or e–mail and fax (data) communication. The process issue here is simply that we leave half of our communication game at the table unless we establish face–to–face time with our client or prospect.

The challenge is finding cost–effective methods to accomplish that "face time." Many times, the mind picture created when someone mentions "visual communications" is a conference center with high–dollar audio–visual equipment.

Let's modify that perception by talking about progressively adding visual aids to a conversation that will dramatically improve communication at a cost most any business can afford.

Business conversations generally come down to product or service–related issues, and the associated supporting media of those products or services. Materials can be marketing media, brochures, videos, slide shows or accounting documents such as agreements or contracts. Whatever the case, the ability to take a client or prospective client through the material as you discuss it increases understanding by 60 percent!

A fantastic tool for such sharing is web conferencing. Web conferencing allows two or more people to be on a phone call while viewing the same material via the Internet in real time. This material may be a video clip, a presentation, an agreement — nearly anything visual. The process enhancement is the ability to "come together" without being in the same location. Typically, web conferencing is associated with marketing; however, I find this tool very useful when discussing contracts and agreements with a client. If I am giving a presentation to several people, I can submit polling questions to them and get real–time feed back on the material. Furthermore, I have the ability to record the voice and video portions of the meeting for archiving or sharing at a later date. The most impressive part of this technology is the price. Most web conferencing services can be acquired for a fee range of $29.00 to $69.00 per month. This is a return on investment that is hard to argue with.

Next up the ladder of visual communication tools is the web camera. This is a small device that typically sits on top of your monitor and provides a video image of your face. This can be used in conjunction with the web conferencing tool or by itself. The advantage of a web cam is the ability to see and read facial expressions in a dialog adding that face–to–face element to the conversation. Web cams can be purchased readily for less than $30.00.

At the top of the visual food chain is the full video conference. This is an excellent tool when groups of people need to come together and share information. Advantages of video conferencing include the ability to be combined with web sharing tools, allowing simultaneous viewing of documents and media and the ability to bring large groups of people together without the expense of travel and associated travel costs. In other words, all of the benefits of face–to–face conversation, with none of the flights, meals, or hotels. Of course, full video conferencing systems have a larger cost of ownership. However, if the name of your game is reaching out and meeting on a regular basis, the return on investment in this process can be quite impressive.

Emerging Technology Webinars

As technology advances at a rapid pace, we as consumers need to understand the goals of that technology to see if it will truly help us do our business better.

At Connect, we spend a huge amount of time just listening to the claims of the vendors of these technologies to see if they have merit. One thing I do understand is this: "We don't know what we don't know." Put more simply, if we don't understand what technology is out there, it is impossible to take advantage of it. One of the challenges we have had is getting this information out to our own staff and our clients. We have tried to set up information portals on the network, holding internal informational meetings and just on a one–on–one basis. We kept getting the same results: Some people within the company did not know the opportunities that were out there.

We have since discovered a new technology in web conferencing. This will allow us to present information on new technologies to our internal employees and our customers and partners more efficiently.

Anyone who has access to the Internet and a phone can now access our knowledge database in a format that is easy to use and allows for increased learning as opposed to the phone only.

We have the schedule for 2009 posted on the website, under "Events & Learning," and we have opened up registration for all partners, customers and employees.

Please take a moment and go to our website and see if there is a topic that you, or someone you know, would like to learn more about. These webinars are scheduled for 20 minutes of information and 10 minutes of questions. You will need to register your attendance. If, at the end of the presentation, you would like to learn more about the technology, we will have a check box and will follow up with a contact. Remember: "We don't know what we don't know." So let's all get out and learn what we don't know!