Small Business Thought Leadership

5 Questions Your Small Business Communications Platform Needs to Answer

4 min read

Updated on February 16, 2023

Published on January 08, 2019

5 Questions Your Small Business Communications Platform Needs To Answer

In this blog

01 Is it easy (and a joy!) to use? - Jumplink to Is it easy (and a joy!) to use?
02 Does it cover all your bases? - Jumplink to Does it cover all your bases?
03 Can it grow with us? - Jumplink to Can it grow with us?
04 What about the conference room? - Jumplink to What about the conference room?
05 Is it going to cost an arm and a leg? - Jumplink to Is it going to cost an arm and a leg?

Matt Wesson

Senior Creative Projects Manager

Small businesses face big challenges. We know. Not too long ago we were one of those small businesses. But small businesses are also in a unique position to thrive in today’s business environment. Technology has created a world where things change fast. Very fast! While these constant changes can leave some larger companies scrambling to adapt, small businesses pivot quickly and efficiently, seizing opportunity and market share. Why are small businesses so agile? Their secret weapon is a simple one: communication. When teams are well-aligned and communicate clearly, velocity, efficiency, and execution all benefit. But this level of alignment isn’t a virtue of scale alone, though it is easier with fewer moving parts. No, we’ve all seen our share of dysfunctional small businesses or teams (pick any episode of The Office for example).

Small businesses that thrive take their communication tools and strategy seriously, knowing that they need to find the right platform that will meet their needs today and scale with them tomorrow. That’s why thousands of small businesses around the globe rely on Zoom for their communication and collaboration. The communication market is thriving, with hundreds of potential options out there. Taking the time to pick the RIGHT tool can turn your communication platform into a force multiplier for your team and save time switching down the road. So what questions should you ask when looking for a video tool for your small business?

We’re firmly in an era where customer experience is king. Multi-billion dollar businesses like Zendesk and Uber are built on the fact that they are easy and enjoyable to use. And this isn’t a nice to have when it comes to your communication platform. Your team is going to spend a large part of their day using this service and they’re not going to embrace something that’s difficult to use or hard to understand. It needs to be reliable, easy to use, and consistent across devices and operating systems. Go ahead and stress test your platform. Have your least technical colleagues give it a whirl with no instructions. Can they figure it out? Do they enjoy using it?

Some video conferencing tools are great for internal 1:1 meetings on desktops. But peer-to-peer collaboration is just one element of the communication that helps small businesses thrive. You need a platform that works just as well for your full team as it does for two or three individuals, and just as well meeting externally as it does internally, and just as well when you’re on-the-go as it does as your desk. Bringing individual teams and the whole company together on one call to engage and ask questions is crucial for alignment and execution, especially for a small business where your employees are handling 100 different things, possibly in 100 different locations.

If you are doing things right, your small business won't be small for long and your video communications platform shouldn’t be another growing pain. You need a platform that will still be reliable with any number of users. You need a platform that can outfit any size meeting space, from small huddle rooms to that 100 seat training center in which you’ll be welcoming new hires one day. You need a collaboration platform that will not only grow with you, but help you get there.

The days when your desktop video conferencing and your conference rooms were run on separate platforms are long gone. There is just too much efficiency to be gained by running them on the same platform. With Zoom Rooms, for example, the experience between the desktop and mobile apps and the conference room is seamless. There’s no learning curve. It’s also easy to invite anyone into a room, internal or external. And sharing happens wirelessly. No cables. No dongles. Just straight from your computer screen to the big screen.

Our pricing model is transparent and straightforward. You get a full-featured solution with unlimited minutes and meetings for just $15.99 per user - there are no hidden costs for features that every employee needs. Our free VoIP will slash your international calling costs and the subscription model keeps pricing predictable. Moreover, there is no catch when it comes to hardware for conference rooms since Zoom Rooms operates on off-the-shelf hardware (you can even order Zoom Rooms huddle kit bundles from Amazon). Communication might be a small business's secret weapon, but it doesn’t happen by accident. Whether you’re looking for your company’s first collaboration platform or you’ve had one in place for years, ask the five questions above and make sure you have a platform that can give your team the alignment, collaboration, and communication you need to succeed. Ready to learn how Zoom can help your small business succeed? Sign up for a 1-on-1 demo with a Zoom product specialist today! Demo request image