Is your business communicating or miscommunicating? Mishandling the exchange of information with customers and clients or even staff and business partners can have major repercussions on your bottom line. Fortunately, help is on the way through a number of mobile apps you can download to streamline your business communications.
Keep reading for a list of the best communication apps for small business owners.
Microsoft Teams
Whether you want to join a conference with a client abroad, speak face-to-face with a vendor or chat privately with a teammate in your local office, you can do it all and more in the Microsoft Teams app (Android, iOS). When you're finished chatting, save your conversations or use the app's advanced search functionality to pull them up later when you need a reminder. Of course, collaboration doesn't end with audio calls or chats. App features such as Mentions lets you address individuals or teams. Furthermore, on-the-go file editing keeps the communication loop open throughout the project life cycle.
Skype for Business
For all-in-one VoIP communications platform that handles calling, conferencing and messaging, you can't beat Skype. When linked with your copy of Skype for Business or Office 365, the powerful and popular app (Android, iOS) let you start or join a Skype for Business meeting, send and receive group instant messages, view the speaker of a conference via video and start, send or receive messages or add invitees in a group chat. Make use of additional app features such as single-click conference attendance and muting conference attendees, and you may well find that you can ditch your traditional landline business phone altogether for Skype.
RingCentral
Sign up for a RingCentral Office plan, and you'll gain access to a powerful VoIP phone and video conferencing service. Moreover, is the inclusion of a full-featured messaging and collaboration feature known as Glip.
Equipped with all of these features, the RingCentral app (Android, iOS) lets you send and receive unlimited phone calls or business texts, conduct video meetings and chat with teammates or share files in real time. Task management functions in the app even let you create teams and assign tasks to individuals within them. Which means that project help is always only a few taps only.
HipChat
Who said Internet chat rooms died in the 90s? HipChat revolutionized traditional chat tools by equipping its instant messaging app (Android, iOS) with the concept of customizable chat rooms.
Using the feature, you can create an unlimited number of group chat rooms for different teams or topics. Anytime in the future, search for the room or a specific conversation, which enable you to start or resume communication. For confidential communications, you can easily send or receive secure one-on-one messages‚ custom emoticons included!
DialMyCalls
Need to gently nudge your team to attend an upcoming all-hands meeting? Or, perhaps you want to remind your staff about this year's annual holiday party? The DialMyCalls app (Android, iOS) lets you type or record and then digitally blast the message via a text or a voice message to a selected group of phone numbers at a desired date and time.
If no one picks up an alert call, DialMyCalls will leave the message on the recipient's voicemail. You can send a single blast to up to 25 phone numbers per week at no charge. Businesses with increased communication needs will only pay a couple of cents per call.
Flock
Is no one at your business stopping to read the office bulletin board? You'll need to deliver crucial announcements, such as HR policies and work safety guidelines using a more attention-getting method. That's where Flock comes in handy.
In addition to supporting audio and video calls and direct messaging, the app (Android, iOS) has a unique Announcements feature that lets only team members with administrative privileges send out one-way broadcasts of important information to the whole team. The clean, minimalist interface is sure to draw more eyes to the news, events or agenda items that matter most to your business.
