Deciding to invest in business mobile phones is a big decision (if not a necessary one today as we all adapt to remote and mobile working).
But choosing a business mobile phone provider is an even bigger decision.
It’s not choosing a phone contract for yourself.
Your business will thrive or die on the basis of how well your employees can communicate with customers, and each other.
So you need to make sure you’ve considered a few basic things before committing to a supplier.
In this blog we’ll run through a few considerations that will help you choose the best supplier and get the best deal for your business.
Plan features
There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to choosing the right features in a business mobile phone plan.
For one, how long do you expect your staff to be using their business phones during the day.
As we’re working from home more often, there’s a high chance some of your staff (like sales teams) will be spending more time on their business phones – which means they’ll be using more minutes.
Yes, there are video conferencing platforms which are being used, but initial conversations and sales calls are still taking place over the phone.
Factoring in the amount of data’ plan is therefore essential if you want to avoid unexpected phone charges.
The same goes for the amount of data you’ll need.
For the time your employees are working from home (or the office) they’ll likely have access to WiFi.
But if they’re spending more time out of the office and on the road, then they’ll likely use up more data.
This could either be directly through their phone use (browsing and researching online or using email, or tethering their laptop to their phone’s network).
Again, if they exceed their data limit they either won’t be able to work, or you’ll face a hefty phone bill at the end of the month.
Cost of ownership
You might think that investing in a business mobile phone for employees is an expense.
But you have to consider the total cost of ownership over the full length of the contract.
If you’re buying mobile phones for your business in bulk, you might be able to negotiate better deals, rather than just supplementing individual plans.
Over time, the cost of investing in dedicated business phones could be much less than paying towards your employees’ own devices.
Support
If you only supplement the cost of your employee’s contract, you have to keep in mind that you won’t have access to any support if that employee breaks their phone and suffers from technical problems.
You’ll be reliant on them to replace the phone themselves or get it fixed.
If you’ve invested in business mobile phones, your supplier should be able to provide technical service that can ensure any technical problems are fixed quickly, or that your employee is issued with a new phone as soon as possible.
Remember, a business mobile phone forms part of your business’ communication network and you can’t afford for part of it to go down for a sustained period of time – especially if clients or customers expect to be able to contact your employees.
Communications infrastructure
What current infrastructure are you using for your business when it comes to communications?
Are you able to get in touch with employees when you need them?
Are clients able to contact them?
If your employees are using personal phones for work, are they going to be happy giving this information to clients? Or having it published on your website?
If you’re a remote or mobile business, it would definitely benefit you to have a dedicated communication infrastructure, of which business mobile phones would be a major part.
Future needs
You might have five employees today.
- But what about a year from now?
- Or 10 years from now?
- How easy will it be to add additional phones to your plan?
- Or remove them if employees leave?
This is something you need to consider before choosing a business mobile phone provider.
Supplier expertise
Business phones are a big investment for your business, so you want to be sure your supplier is able to meet your needs for the duration of your contract.
This includes quickly dealing with technical support or replacing phones when you need them.
If you’re a larger business, are they able to deal with the size of your business?
Can they meet the challenges that come with supporting the communication network of a large business?
If you’re a smaller business do they understand the challenges you face and can they provide the personal level of support you’ll need?
Check your suppliers credentials and ask for case studies, testimonials or recommendations from existing clients to prove their expertise.
Choosing O2 business mobile phones with Communications Plus
At Communications Plus we’ve got years of experience providing O2 business mobile phones and collaboration software to businesses of all sizes across a range of industries.
Our 24/7 support service makes sure you have help on hand when you need us to solve your problems quickly so you can get back to doing business.
We’ve also helped numerous businesses save money on their business mobile phones contracts and software.
To see how much you could save by choosing us as your business mobile phone provider, use our savings calculator to see how much you can save.
