Telecom Essentials: Start-ups, You Need To Read This!

In the beginning, there was just you. Or maybe even you and a business partner. You had a couple of smartphones and an ancient laptop. You got very good at making a small cappuccino last two hours just so you could take advantage of the coffee shop’s free wifi for as long as possible. These were the early days of your start-up. The crazy days when your office was pretty much wherever you were. Your home, your car, and more coffee shops than you care to remember. In fact, you can pretty much trace the start of your slight over-reliance on the biscuits that came with your coffee back to those trying times. Who needed to waste money on food when you got a whole biscotti free with your cuppa joe? Thankfully, although it may still be just you and your business partner, you can at least now afford to buy your own rusks. And you’ve at last moved off the Friends-style couch at Café Ole and into an actual office. Yes, it’s small, and no, it can’t claim to hold a torch to the offices of some of the other businesses in the area that do what you do. But it’s yours. Your business has a name, it has people and it (finally) has premises. What it needs now is great telecoms.

What Telecom Essentials Does My Start-Up Need?

One of the biggest challenges facing all startup businesses is money. Or rather, a lack of money. And that’s the issue right there. To get more money, you need to sell more stuff. To sell more stuff, you need great telecoms to communicate with your customers. But to get great telecoms, you need money… Stop. And breathe. You may have a small budget, but this doesn’t mean you have to rely on smoke signals and messengers with forked sticks to communicate with your consumers. If you make sure you have a few key telecom essentials, to begin with, your start-up will have what it needs to not only stay in business but also to grow and thrive.

Internet Access

Only a little over a decade ago, Internet access was something most businesses viewed as a luxury. Some even thought it was a fad that wouldn’t last. Today, fast, reliable Internet access is absolutely critical for every business. Different businesses will have different needs, but don’t make the mistake of starting too small! It’s tempting when you’re on a limited budget to opt for cheap internet plans that offer the bare minimum. So often, however, this ends up being a case of false economy. The savings you make on your telecoms plan could end up costing you in terms of lost customers. It’s pretty much the norm these days to communicate via video or have multi-party conference calls. You might also need to host webinars or have Skype meetings. By scrimping on your technology, you run the very real risk of exposing your clients to dropped calls, buffering, freezing and lags. This makes you look unprofessional; the last thing you need when trying to impress. It’s the same with bandwidth. The more connected devices you have, the more bandwidth you use. A small plan might be fine for right now, but what about in six months’ time, when you’ve taken on two more staff members? Suddenly that discounted deal you signed, tying you into a 24-month contract, is woefully inadequate for your needs. It’s always better to go bigger at the beginning so that you have room to grow, and won’t have to compromise on the quality of the communication you have with your customers.

Telephone service

It’s important not to underestimate how many customers still pick up the phone to call a company and ask about its services, office hours and location. It’s therefore still vital that your startup has a quality phone service. Increasingly, service providers offer a double package that includes a phone service along with internet access. The advantages of a virtual business number include:

• Integration of all your communication channels. Your portable device suddenly becomes a powerful communications hub.
• Consistent contact data. You can assign extensions to staff and specific divisions, meaning your customers don’t have to remember multiple numbers.
• Added privacy and security. Having your personal contact details published in open sources makes you vulnerable to pranks and scams. A virtual business number also helps you separate your work life from your personal life.

Website hosting

No one from the Millennial generation has even heard of the Yellow Pages! And as for print ads, what are print ads? Ok yes, print ads are still used, some to great effect, but there’s no denying that the vast majority of potential clients look online to find the businesses they need. You need a website so people can find you at any time of the day or night. You also need quality website hosting so that your site operates online in a secure environment. This is particularly important if eCommerce is part of your business.

Email service

Once clients find you online, they will very often email you to find out more information or, if you’re really lucky, to place an order. You will also have outgoing email requirements as well: emailing vendors and clients, for example. This is why a reliable email service is a definite telecom essential for your start-up. Different services provide different features, depending on your needs. If you have average usage, a service providing both traditional POP and IMAP access should be sufficient. If you need strict email security and privacy, you should rather look into a dedicated email server.

Reliable Technical Support

As a newly-established business, investing in reliable technical support is absolutely critical. You have to make sure every customer’s interaction with your website is a happy one. This cuts down on the number of complaints received and makes your company look professional (even if you’re fielding calls and replying to emails in your pyjamas!) If you have an eCommerce site, for example, it’s always very exciting when someone new visits your page. It’s even more exciting when they sign up for a new account! At this stage, it’s critical not to lose them, so offering instantaneous technical support elements, such as an online chat or phone call service, makes them feel valuable. Technical support is also important so that you can quickly help your customers when they have an issue with your product or service. Without it, you leave yourself wide open to negative, and potentially very harmful, online reviews. Of course, your company needs technical support as well! Your service provider/s should always be on hand to help you with any problems you’re having with your phone or internet service. If customers can’t find your website because you’re having hosting problems, you lose business. If they can’t get hold of you because your phone lines are down, you lose business. And if you can’t respond to email enquiries because there’s a glitch in your server, you lose business. This is why it’s so important to partner with a reliable, experienced telecoms provider.

What Should You Look For In A Telecoms Provider?

Now that you know what telecoms are essential for your start-up, it’s time to start thinking about which service provider can give them to you. You need to work out your priorities – are you focused on cost-effectiveness? Do you want someone to partner with you and manage all your telecoms on an ongoing basis? Huge Connect is South Africa’s premier provider of telecommunications connectivity solutions. We offer a full range of managed services that incorporate quality, reliability and service excellence. Trust us to handle your mission-critical voice and Internet requirements.