small business

What can a small business person do in order to help survive in a 'down' economy? Are you faced with a slowdown in business and revenues? How can you survive long-term? You might be surprised at the answers. The overriding concerns are to cut costs where possible. This is sound advice. But there is something else that you need to do: examine how you do business.

Be Frugal. You already know that you must reduce expenses where you can in order to meet the demands of your business while still maintaining your customer service. Where you concentrate these efforts might actually hamper your overall business. Look for ways to trim non-essentials first. Those items that do not directly connect you to your customers are a good place to start.

Spend More Money? Here is one that will surprise you: get an 800 number and associated PBX system. The reason is that it will cost you very little and at the same time will deliver essential communications options to your business that will help keep it going for your existing customers and prospects as well. Do you have multiple phone lines that ring into your business? Drop them and go with ONE singular phone number. With an 800 number and PBX system, you can route calls via a 'follow-me' option that will send calls to cell phones (which you probably already have anyway) and voicemail boxes.

Increase Business. Once your customers and prospects see a toll-free way of contacting you, they will use that method. It is like sledding down an ice covered hill - you pick up momentum as you go. An 800 number works the same way. When people see an 800 number it screams 'CALL ME.' Your calls will increase and so will your orders.

Make it Easier to Do Business. With a PBX system in place, you can handle customer and prospect calls more efficiently. You can easily route incoming customer calls via the auto-attendant prompts and also get useful information from various pre-recorded instructions to the most common questions and problems. Also, by giving the option of directing their call to a department or specific person, they have the power to reach whoever is their primary contact.

In Business All of the Time. One final area that an 800 number and PBX system can help you is that it is available 24x7. You need to be 'open for business' at all hours of the day and night in order to maximize income potential. A system which is in place and functioning properly delivers this scenario.

The way you perform business with an 800 number and PBX system sends a message to your customers that they come first and their issues are of the utmost importance to you. If business is tough right now, it is not the time to scale back the method in which to contact you. If you approach this carefully, you can maintain your 'less is more' attitude while keeping costs low.

About the Author:
Lee Percival is a small business owner who uses Get800Today.com toll freephone service. He recommends getting toll free numbers for business use to improve your professional image and customer service.