Although each one has different needs, for any company, regardless of its size, communication is a fundamental aspect. Currently, many companies are taking the leap into international markets. And in these cases, communication takes on an even more important role, as there are several company headquarters in different countries and it is necessary to maintain good contact with both employees and customers.
The elements of external and internal communication that a company has will be decisive in gaining our client’s trust or losing it and making them not want to continue with us, which will affect our corporate image. That is why today we want to show you what are the key elements that any international business must have in order to communicate correctly. Keep reading!
International numbers
The basic element that any business should have is an international virtual number. The difference with the traditional ones is that they are in the cloud, so that, although they have the appearance of a local telephone number of the country, they are not associated with any specific device. Thus, we can answer voice and video calls and messages from our customers from anywhere and from any device connected to the Internet, whether it is a computer, mobile or tablet.
WhatsApp API
Although there are still many people who prefer to communicate with businesses via voice calls, we cannot deny that the telephone is no longer a preferred medium. Instead, instant messaging applications have emerged as users favorites, among other advantages, because they are straightforward and easy to use.
Thus, for any international business that wants to improve its communications, offering its customers the possibility of contacting through an instant messaging application that has 2 billion active users worldwide is an element that will guarantee success. With WhatsApp API for international businesses, anyone, regardless of the country they are in, will be able to chat with the company easily and free of charge.
Telegram
Behind WhatsApp’s 2 billion active users are Telegram’s 500 million, being the second most used application in the world. There is no difference between them, as both are free for customers and, among other features, they allow you to know the status of messages (sent, received, read…); communications are encrypted, which guarantees security; and you can send images, voice notes and documents.
Therefore, just as there are people who still prefer being contacted by phone, there will also be others who want to talk to your company via Telegram. As we will see below, it is important to have a virtual PBX or a call centre software, solutions that we offer at Fonvirtual and with which you can manage all communications with your international customers from the same interface.
Live Chat
A Live Chat or web chat is an element that many companies are looking to incorporate into their international communication strategies. It is a button that is inserted into the company’s website and, like WhatsApp and Telegram, also allows real-time communication between an agent and the customer. However, there are two fundamental differences:
- It is not associated with any phone number: in the case of WhatsApp, a number is required to verify the account and for customers to write to that number. However, with the Live Chat service there is no need. However, we should not confuse that it is not associated with a specific number with the fact that it can be connected to other tools. In fact, it is advisable to connect the web chat to our virtual PBX to be able to carry out actions such as making a voice call to the customer from the conversation itself and without the customer having to give their telephone number.
- It can only be used via web: although with WhatsApp and Telegram customers can choose to send a message from their mobile phone or from the web version of the application, in the case of Live Chat, communication takes place only through the computer.
A live chat helps international business solve customer queries quicker, while providing an element of differentiation from competitors.
Web Buttons
A good way for international businesses to improve communication with customers is to include call, video conference and instant messaging buttons on your website. Users simply click on them to launch a voice or video call or chat with an agent in real time. To do this, we will provide you with a unique code that you can insert in as many places as you wish on your website.
The main advantage of this element is that customers will not have to pay to make use of this direct form of contact, which will encourage them to get to know your company better from anywhere in the world. In addition, all conversations will be managed from the same platform and in any location.
Internal communication tools
So far, we have been talking about key elements in communicating with international clients. However, for this part to work properly, it is essential to maintain good communications with the rest of the team, since, as we said at the beginning, international businesses are characterised by having offices in different countries.
Thus, we must have tools that allow communication between employees of these offices through calls, voice and video, and, if possible, on the same platform from which we manage interactions with customers. This is precisely one of the advantages that you will obtain with Fonvirtual’s virtual PBX. With it you will have access to functionalities such as:
- Corporate chat and videoconferencing: as we said before, voice calls are no longer the only way of contact. That’s why, with our virtual PBX you can talk to any member of the company through messages in real time, or if you prefer, you can also do it by video call.
- Create mailing lists: this is a very useful feature, as it allows you to create groups to communicate with specific employees. For example, in the case of international businesses, this can be used to create lists of employees working at each site or in each department. In this way, it will be easier to send them a message and even talk to several people at the same time without having to resort to third-party services.
- Display the status of employees: from the PBX interface, employees can change their status at any time to indicate to their colleagues whether they are available or not. It will be very useful to know if it is possible to talk to a specific person.
If you want to improve the communication of your international business, Fonvirtual provides you with the elements you need. Discover everything you can get with us by filling out our contact form. We will help you to include in your solution the functionalities that best suit your needs.
