Tag Archive: Services
October 7, 2011 9:37 am |
As a business owner, I bet you get several calls a week from companies promising to upgrade your office technology with revolutionary new systems that will transform the way you work.
But when you take the plunge and install this technology, you find that these claims were overhyped, or certainly premature, as the technology fails to work as well as you were expecting, or deliver the benefits that justified the investment.
Phone systems are a classic example of this. With the advent of the Internet and mobile communications, many people have forecast the demise of the office phone as it becomes superseded by newer, more advanced technology.
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October 6, 2011 10:45 am |
In his Party Conference speech yesterday The Prime Minister said that you can’t get out of debt by spending more money.
Of course, I’m paraphrasing, because a) party conference speeches are long and boring and b) in business, you are already well aware of this and that’s why in times of recession businesses seek to reduce costs wherever possible.
In many cases, the marketing budget is often the first casualty, but this has a negative influence on sales and profitability. So although there is some sense in what David Cameron said, we believe you have to cut the right costs and spend your remaining money in the most effective ways.
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October 3, 2011 10:48 am |
With the party conference season in full swing, the news has been full of conflicting views about how to get the UK’s faltering economy back on track.
As a business owner you know the pain of the times we are living in, so you may be pleased to hear that one organisation has decided to tell the Government exactly what it should do to boost the UK’s business prospects.
The Institute of Directors’ Route Back to Growth report outlines 15 proposals which it says “could make the UK one of the most competitive advanced economies in the world by 2020-25″.
The proposals include a second round of quantitative easing (whereby the Bank of England injects new money into the financial system to try to boost banks’ lending, and in turn the wider economy) and also cutting the top rate of income tax from 50% to 40%.
“I think there is a despair around Britain as a whole, and around British business, about the way the economy is trending,” new IoD director general, Simon Walker told the BBC.
Driving growth was urgent, he said, and although the government was on the right track, it ought to be going “faster and further”.
The IoD’s other proposals are:
- Cutting corporation tax to 15% by 2020. It currently stands at 26% and the government plans to reduce this to 23% by 2014
- Improve labour market flexibility
- Ring-fence transport, energy and IT and telecoms spending
- Ensuring that energy policy “does not sacrifice UK competitiveness for green credentials”
- Expand free school provision with profit incentives
- End the £100,000 personal allowance taxation “anomaly”
- Intensify competition policy, both domestically and within the European Union
- Carry out radical civil service reforms to promote deregulation
- Reduce political influence over infrastructure planning
- Greater decentralisation of public sector pay
- No watering down of public sector pension reforms
- Reduce public spending to 35% of GDP by 2020
- Repatriate key employer power rules from the EU
The IoD wants the Bank of England to spend an initial extra £50bn on quantitative easing (QE).
Minutes of the Bank’s last Monetary Policy Committee meeting indicated that the Bank is looking at the possibility of more QE.
The full version of the IoD’s Route Back to Growth Plan can be read here
What do you think of the IoD’s plans? Would they make make a difference to your business?
September 30, 2011 9:08 am |
Not quite equal, but agency workers will have similar rights to permanent staff from 1st October
A couple of days ago we blogged about how red tape for businesses can sometimes be a good thing. But today’s post highlights new rules which are unlikely to be received warmly by UK SMEs.
From tomorrow, agency workers will have additional rights in pay and benefits which are similar to full-time staff once they have completed 12 weeks of service doing comparable work. This means you’ll have to pay agency staff overtime, shift allowances, holiday pay and bonuses not attributable to individual performance, as well as maternity rights after 12 weeks’ service.
Business groups have suggested the changes could cost firms up to £2bn a year.
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November 2, 2010 2:23 pm |
Are consumers overlooking a good deal these days because of scepticism or the worry of being caught out by a scammer……..?
08 Direct’s services are completely free with our wide range of bronze numbers all available free of charge but what’s the catch? Well, there isn’t one……
Recently we have noticed that consumers find our services too good to be true and shy away from our sales team believing nothing comes for free.
To be honest I understand the dilemma and can generally sniff out a sales pitch at 50 paces, only to do my best to avoid any kind of conversation or commitment on my part. I’m not so sure this is a good thing though, are we as consumers kicking ourselves in the foot? How many genuinely good ideas or money saving tips have I missed?
Too many scammers out there have reduced people’s confidence in genuine business, believing good offers only ever come with a price.
At 08 Direct we offer all our numbers free when selecting from a bronze package and all our call management services completely free of charge when connecting to a landline. On top of this if you select a 0844 or 0871 number you could earn a rebate on your inbound calls of up to 7.5 pence per minute.
If you currently experience high call volume but don’t earn a rebate you really have nothing to lose. There is no contract so you can leave at any time if you feel the services do not match your criteria but we are sure they will.
How do we do it?
Basically, we earn our revenue from the inbound minutes, not on the actual numbers or call management features.
What’s the Catch?
There isn’t one, all our number on our bronze packages are free…
No installation, no setup and no contract just clear pricing structures and exceptional customer service.
August 11, 2010 9:18 am |
Outsourcing your telecoms services management requirements can make significant differences to your call cost, marketability and response rates.
No matter what the size of your business, telecommunications is always a necessity, whether it’s a simple telephone small business system or a corporate infrastructure. By handling your telecoms services requirements in-house you may be incurring unnecessary costs.
Telecoms services provided by external companies can ease the time and effort required by your business, reducing costs and improving business perception.
It is often taken for granted that telecoms services come at a price and that that price is conclusive to all companies. Your competitors may actually be paying a lot less by having telecoms services provided or their telephony infrastructure assessed and managed. You can turn your business necessity into a cost saving device.
On top of providing cheaper call costs many telecoms services come with call management packages to help your business deal with incoming calls in a more professional and efficient manner. By monitoring your incoming calls, your business is also able to identify the structure, peaks and trophs of response rates.
How can telecoms services provided by 08 Direct help your business?
At 08 Direct we provide a range of non geographical numbers available with free call management telecoms services.
Your business can benefit from telecoms services:
Auto Attendant, Welcome Message, Voicemail, Call Whisper, Call Forwarding and Fax to Email.
At 08 Direct our telecoms services also offer our specialist Code Blue Call Statistics, which allow you to analyse all your business’s incoming calls. By identifying response rates marketing campaigns can be more effective, as the type of customer using your business can be highlighted, therefore allowing you to gear your services and advertising toward the right market.
A non geographical number such as a 0844 from 08 Direct can offer huge benefits to your telecoms services. 0844 numbers are fixed rate at 5 pence per minute, which are cheap for your customers to call, and are free to your business through 08 Direct. A non geographical number will give your business presence and a national identity. With every 0844 number registered with 08 Direct your company will receive a free call management package, with the benefits highlighted above. Our Code Blue Call Statistics come as standard allowing you to monitor how well your new non geographical number suits your business.
Choose 08 Direct as your telecoms services provider and you can be setup within 24 hours, benefit from UK based support, free setup, free installation, free number and free call management package.
As a business owner, I bet you get several calls a week from companies promising to upgrade your office technology with revolutionary new systems that will transform the way you work.
