A Good Internet Connection Helps Your Business Succeed
When it comes to using the internet for your business, it’s vital you make sure you have a good internet connection. A good connection will make the difference between succeeding in business and losing customers/clients.
Some people try to get what they think is the best broadband access they can but often tend to choose broadband without a phone line because it can be cheaper. Unfortunately this method of connection is not always very reliable, which means your business can suffer.
Your business will succeed with the help of a decent phone line broadband or optical fibre connection because:
• A good broadband connection will help you to in touch with clients over Skype and other instant chat methods. Even if you don’t use instant messaging, if you can access your emails without any connection problems your clients know they can contact you easily.
• You will also be able to search the web for competitors and see what they are doing. This can help you to determine what you need to change/do better in order to improve your slice of the action.
• Having a good internet connection will also mean you can easily search the web for suppliers and get online discounts. Often trade suppliers will give you good discounts if you shop online, this means you could save as much as 10% off your purchases, and this could amount to quite a lot.
• If you sell your products or services online, your customers and a wider ‘Audience’ will become more aware of who you are, what you do and what you sell. Selling online is vital these days as it offers you the chance to bring in custom you wouldn’t otherwise have.
If you decide to scrimp and save when it comes to using your broadband connection, you could run into a few difficulties. This is because:
• A bad connection will not look good; it will create problems for you and your employees, meaning a lot of time will be wasted trying to get online.
• You may lose trade because you cannot get in touch with your customers. If you keep potential customers waiting too long, they will get fed up and decide to shop elsewhere.
• If you’re unable to take a good look at a competitor’s website and see what they’re doing, you may put your prices up too high or fail to match your competitor’s range because you haven’t been able to look thanks to your bad connection.
• A bad connection won't help you to feel good about your business, in fact it’s likely that you will become frustrated with your business and you’ll probably dread trying to get online.
• Your employees won’t be impressed that you haven’t bothered to fix the connection problem, and it will send the message that A) You can’t be bothered to fix it because it’s not important to you or B) You aren’t prepared to spend the money to get the broadband connection fixed properly. This will agitate your employees and speak volumes about you and your business. Remember that employees will talk to friends and family about their work and the last thing you want is for someone else to hear that you don’t care about your business.
• Your clients won’t be impressed because you haven’t bothered to fix the problem, and you will get a bad reputation for being unconcerned about things that really do matter. Chances are your clients will also wonder if you are really bothered about their business as they will need to get in touch with you via emails etc. rather than Skype.
Here are some things you can do to make the situation so much better:
1. Avoid trying to save money by using mobile broadband as it won’t work, yes you may get some good deals, but you can also get some good fixed broadband deals too, and that will inevitably mean you can get in touch with your clients quickly and easily. Mobile broadband can be good if you want to work on the go, but it’s not always the best when it comes to working in the office. What’s more is the connection is likely to slow down if you have multiple people working from your mobile broadband connection.
2. Broadband without a phone line solutions are often unstable and you won’t be doing yourself any favours. The weather can and does affect satellite and mobile broadband, so make sure you get a stable broadband connection so you can continue to talk to your customers even when the rain is pouring down outside.
3. Do your research and shop around; decide on the best deal for you and your business. A lot of broadband providers will offer you a good deal if they know you’re getting broadband for your business. This way you will be able to use as much internet data as you need, while helping to keep the costs down, and that’s something every business needs to do.
If you work hard to ensure you get the best internet deal you can, you can be sure that your employees will be thankful for it. You can also be sure that your business will benefit from it too as you will be able to keep in touch with a lot of your clients at the touch of a button.
We all want to save money these days, but it’s important that you don’t scrimp and save too much. It’s also important that if you want to go places in the business world, that you’re prepared to pull out all the stops and be there when your clients need you.
You may have already thought about being an ‘Offline’ business, but an internet connection is vital, as is your own website. If you can manage to set up an online store, you will be helping your business to succeed.
Think about the progress you want to make, think about your business and how it can be improved. Then use the power of a stable internet connection to help you out.
Phil Turner has looked at broadband without phone line solutions and has realised that they are not for him. He gets annoyed at paying line rental just like everyone else, but until optical fibre reaches his area he is stuck with ADSL.