Executive Thought Leadership

Close the Gap with Larger Competitors

A converged network allows SMBs to once again get closer to their customers.

Traditionally, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been more agile and more intimate with their customers than the typical large company could ever hope to be.

But we saw a major shift in the late 90s when large enterprises began taking advantage of networked solutions to establish effective communications channels and enable systems to share up-to-date customer information. This allowed customer-facing representatives across the enterprise to provide an enhanced customer experience thanks to their improved access to information. Suddenly, even the biggest companies could be closer to their customers and more effectively address their needs. Now the tide has turned once again. These network-based tools like voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP—once reserved for large companies with dedicated IT staffs and hefty budgets—are now easy for SMBs to buy, deploy, and support as well.

One Network, Many Applications

A number of reasons have now made these sophisticated applications available for SMBs. Chief among these is the network itself. In the past, companies maintained disparate networks—one for voice communications, another for data, and possibly others for discrete business systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Increasingly, SMBs are merging these networks into one intelligent, secure Internet Protocol (IP) network that reduces operating costs and boosts employee productivity. By 2010, approximately 40 percent of companies will have integrated their voice and data communications into a single network, according to estimates from research-firm Gartner.

A converged IP network is less expensive to design and operate, simpler to manage and maintain, and handles data, voice, and video traffic. This makes it possible for SMBs to enhance their interactions with customers, who increasingly expect an efficient, positive experience when they communicate with companies, no matter the size.

SMBs that have already converged their networks are deploying a wide variety of applications that take advantage of this synthesis. For example, they can integrate a call-center application to their customer and— increasingly—ERP systems, allowing representatives not only to instantly retrieve updated customer information, but also accurate supply-chain data such as current inventory levels or delivery schedules.

Also consider the range of unified communications applications available to SMBs. A large percentage of customer interactions still take place over the phone. Tools like integrated voice and data messaging—which allows you to retrieve voice mail and e-mail from a single in-box—help employees communicate more efficiently with customers. Calls can also roll from one device to another—from a desk phone to a mobile device to a home phone, for example— which enables customers to connect with employees with a single call.

IP-based call-center solutions for SMBs allow businesses to route customer calls to the employee who can best address the customer issue—even based on parameters such as availability, language preference, or specialized expertise. Employees also have fast access to current customer data, improving their ability to provide superior service and increase loyalty.

Enhanced Customer Interactions

Vendors such as Microsoft and Salesforce.com have developed IP-based customer-relationship management (CRM) solutions designed for the needs and budgets of SMBs, allowing these businesses to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate information about customers, including purchases and returns, buying habits and behaviors, preferences and anecdotal information, and service history and contracts.

With CRM running on a network platform, SMBs can also monitor business activity and employee performance across the entire company and use that information to improve the customer experience. For example, managers can analyze call duration and first-call resolution in a contact center to optimize staffing levels, or improve billing and invoice tracking.

Now here where the power of a converged network really shines. By combining unified communications and CRM, SMBs can deliver customer-contact information to the screen of any IP telephone on the network. Employees in any department, such as accounting or shipping/receiving, can view the latest customer information and better answer customer inquiries or take advantage of cross-sell and upsell opportunities. SMBs can provide the same information to remote workers to extend their customer-facing capabilities beyond the confines of traditional offices, improving operational efficiencies and providing strategic opportunities not before available.

A Shared View

ERP solutions designed and priced for SMBs are also now emerging, and they have enormous potential to help SMBs enhance customer interactions by providing customer-facing agents with appropriate supply-chain information.

ERP systems help companies better communicate with vendors and suppliers, track orders more easily, and coordinate manufacturing, inventory, and shipping among many different locations simultaneously. Using the network to standardize supply-chain information flow can save time, increase efficiency, and empower employees throughout your organization to better address customer needs.

No longer necessary are proprietary, standalone ERP systems—traditionally a costly alternative for resource-strapped SMBs. Along with CRM and unified communications, ERP becomes affordable for SMBs when everything shares the same standards-based IP network.

A Natural Advantage

SMBs never lost their advantage over larger competitors—they are, by nature, closer and more in tune with their customers. The recognition of this by large enterprises―and the innovative network-based applications pioneered to help them compensate―has now come full circle to benefit SMBs. With the SMB-focused solutions now available to help smaller businesses provide the type of customer interactions customers now demand, their ability to take advantage of their closeness becomes even more distinct.