Did you know that 95% of customers feel that the businesses they work for could improve their communication? Only 26% of businesses rate their communication as excellent.
Understandably, this is a significant problem. It’s simple, if you or your team don’t communicate well, you’ll lose customers. In turn, this has a direct impact on your bottom line.
Fortunately, there are many tools available that you can use to make your communication more efficient and effective. This post will look at the 10 best small business communication tools.
ULTATEL
At the foundation of a successful and growing businesss lies a reliable VoIP phone system. And this is where ULTATEL comes in. Its cloud-based phone system unifies how your team communicates and how you communicate with your customers.
The system is cost-efficient, offers excellent reliability with a 99.999% uptime guarantee, and can be scaled quickly and easily. As a result, it can effectively support your business as it grows. Some other features include video conferencing, auto-attendant, voicemail to email, integrations, and more.
RingCentral
RingCentral offers a variety of solutions that combine messaging, video calling, and a phone system in one tool. Its business offering includes app integrations, video conferencing, voice calling, and more. To ensure reliability, it also provides an uptime guarantee.
Depending on your business’s needs and budget, RingCentral has several plans available with varying features that you can consider.
Zoom
With about 13 million active monthly users globally, Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing platforms. It’s easy to see why when you consider some of its features. For example, while on video calls, you can quickly and easily share files and documents.
The platform also provides a screen recording feature and free transcription is available on some of its pricing plans. In respect of these plans, Zoom has four options, including a free plan. Keep in mind that the free plan has some limitations, such as limiting to 40 minutes of meeting time.
Cisco WebEx
With over 300 million users, Cisco’s WebEx is a viable voice conferencing alternative, especially since there have been some security concerns about Zoom in the past. Some of the cross-platform features include screen sharing, voice and video calls, encryption, integration, etc.
WebEx has three pricing plans that suit a range of budgets and requirements. It also features a free pricing plan but, with it, you’ll be limited to one user and a maximum meeting length of 50 minutes.
Google Meet
Google created a video conferencing platform called Google Meet to replace Hangouts and Chat. It’s fully integrated with the Google suite of products and, as such, provides extensive communication features. These include video conferencing, video calling, messaging, scheduling, and more.
The basic version of Meet is free, and Google offers more feature-rich versions when you subscribe to Google Workspace. This subscription then also includes upgraded versions of Google’s other apps.
Slack
Slack is probably one of the most well-known collaboration and communication tools available. Its instant chat messaging feature makes communication effortless. For instance, it lets your team create their own topic channels resulting in streamlined communication. Slack also offers a searchable chat history, video and voice calling, file sharing and storage, and more.
The platform offers several pricing plans, including a free option. Just remember that the free plan doesn’t include all the features but, if your budget is limited, it’s an excellent starting point.
Microsoft Teams
A newer entrant into the market, Microsoft’s Teams replaced its Skype for Business product. Like many other platforms on this list, Teams has various features designed to simplify communication. These tools include video calling, chat, messaging, file sharing, storage, and more.
Microsoft offers four different pricing plans and has a free option available. A major benefit of the paid Business Standard version of Teams is that it includes desktop versions of the Microsoft Office suite.
Also available with Teams is the ability to integrate phone services so that you can make and receive calls natively within your Teams app. This integration, sometimes referred to as Direct Routing, also allows you to add phone callers directly into a conference call. This feature can be accomplished through an integration like ULTATEL’s Session Border Controller (SBC).
GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar is definitely an option to consider for online webinar software. The platform was specifically designed for businesses that want to promote and sell their products using the webinar medium.
Its features include customizable registration forms, email reminders, and scheduling. A major plus of the tool is that it allows you to host events with up to 3,000 participants. Like most other platforms available, it offers several pricing plans to suit every budget or requirement.
GoTo
GoTo has a range of tools to help your team communicate more effectively. GoTo Meeting will be the perfect video conferencing solution for many small business owners. This cross-platform tool includes features like cloud recording, transcriptions, chat and messaging, screen sharing, and several integrations.
To cater to different budgets and requirements, GoTo Meeting is available with three pricing options. Although there’s no free option available, the platform does offer a free trial.
monday.com
Like Slack, monday.com is more of a project management tool. However, it offers several features that make it an effective communication tool. As such, it allows you and your team to communicate no matter where you are. The platform also offers integrations, file storage, automation, and collaboration features.
monday.com has four pricing plans which include a free option for individuals. Like with many of the other tools, however, the free option lacks some of the features you would want.
The Bottom Line
Let’s face it, nowadays, effective communication is a must for any small business. In fact, 86% of employees say the lack of workplace communication is one of the main reasons for workplace failures. Effective communication makes businesses more efficient and helps them serve their customers better. Luckily, many small business communication tools are available to help you with this.
Undoubtedly, ULTATEL is one of these tools. Starting at only $17.95 per user per month, its small business phone systems have the potential to revolutionize the way you do business by delivering an extensive range of cloud telephony services.
To learn more about these systems and how they can help you, request a demo today.
