Communication is at the heart of any successful company. That\’s why we all run through countless emails and texts every day: it\’s essential for everyone within your organization to stay on the same page and be able to easily reach their vendors, clients, partners, and potential customers. If you need 19 different messaging and content storage apps across three devices to keep this train on the track, well, that\’s what you\’ll do.

Except you don\’t need 19 apps. Or three devices. You really just need one, if it\’s the right one. 

Mobile collaboration platforms allow for streamlined communication that goes beyond the quick texts that may or may not be able to describe the complete picture. They provide a way to stay in touch as well as share information and updates, engage the entire team, track progress, and more.

A right communication app is an essential tool for keeping your business moving at a competitive pace. 

Improve Communication

Cut down on the \”I didn\’t get the memo\” problem. With all communications staying within the app, everyone receives the same message; no one has to worry they might have missed something. This allows quick, easy access to all company or client updates, so everyone, from the sales team to customer support and everyone in between, knows the status of a given situation. It also ensures the necessary people fully understand the project at hand and their roles within it.

Effective communication is partly about efficiency which, as we all know, means it\’s also about the bottom line. Poor communication could cost your company thousands or, in some of the largest companies, even millions of dollars per year. 

Engage All Employees

Centralizing your communications gives everyone a voice. It\’s easy to contribute to discussions, and everyone feels connected because they all have access to the same client and company information and updates. When employees are engaged, they are excited about work and eager to innovate.

This also helps your newest employees get up-to-speed. They have a means of easily contacting your long-time workers, which helps them feel like a part of the team and gives them a way to get their questions answered. As an additional cost-saving benefit, it may help reduce turnover: when new employees have the tools to do their jobs well, they are less likely to quit. They become more productive, more quickly, and feel more at home in their role with your company. By eliminating misunderstandings, clear communication can also help prevent burnout and improve employee relationships, two more things that can impact an employee\’s decision to stay with your company—or not.

Bring Your Content Together

After a client poses a question, you might need to take a look at your CRM, refer to a manual, email the client, and message the sales team about a potential up-sell. Do you even remember where that manual is stored? Is that the out-of-date version you forgot to delete?
 
Content takes time to create; unfortunately, it often goes unused—or someone takes even more time to re-create it when they need it—because it is not easily accessible. This is frustrating for the marketing department, who spent resources to create the perfect piece, and for the sales team, who hurriedly created a sub-par piece of content when they could have been doing what they do best.

What if all that (relevant and up-to-date) information was available in the same place? Manuals, documents, employee data, and more can be centrally stored and accessed by anyone who needs them. You want your platform to be able to sync to your CRM and HRIS to enable seamless sharing; it\’s also handy to be able to automatically populate forms with meeting information and client details because that\’s less time you have to spend at your desk manually entering the data.

When your sales and marketing teams are connected, for example, you can speed up your sales cycle by giving your sales team access to the information that could drive the sale—right when it\’s needed. With less time spent digging for the right material, you get to spend more time with your customers, creating a more personal experience for them.

Track Progress

What\’s working? What\’s not? Again, clear communication between teams gives them the opportunity to adjust based on client feedback and whether the sale was won or lost. Analytics from your current CRM paint a clear picture and allow your teams to adapt.

Guesswork, and the associated trial and error, takes time—time that could be better spent closing deals, providing for customers, or handling an internal situation. Get the data and use it to streamline your processes.

Make It Work For You

Every company is different, not only because of the systems they have in place, but because of the way team members interact with each other. The way you do business and your company culture may both play a role in how you want your communication app to function. A flexible module allows you to customize the app to suit your unique needs and create something that truly matches who you are as a team. There\’s no reason to force your team to comply with an app that just isn\’t working for them when you can design the app to meet them where they are.

Being competitive in the market today means having a great product or service, of course, and you need to have the best talent working for you. But if that talent is using yesterday\’s systems in today\’s fast-paced world, you\’ll never get the edge you need to stay at the top of your industry. Every minute your employees can put toward making the sale, perfecting the product or service, and making your customers happy is a minute that will help grow your business. Every minute spent trying to find information, sharing outdated information, or missing a key point that impacts a sale, client retention, or employee retention is a minute that takes you two steps back. The right communication app is one way to keep your company moving forward quickly.