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A Non-traditional Way of Sending Fax Messages

May 8th, 2013 | Comments Off | Posted in Internet, Technology

Fax messageDifferent technological advances gave us many easy ways of doing things. It has helped people get to places in the shortest time possible. Likewise, it has given us the means to keep in touch with our loved ones with more convenience and ease. In the realm of business communication, many new ways have been made. And with the Internet, keeping in touch with business associates and clients has been easier and faster. Traditionally, fax messaging is done through telephone lines. But now, technological advances made it possible to send fax messages using the Internet.

What can you and your business expect from Internet fax? First is that it can free you from the need to purchase fax machines. Yes! You can actually send fax messages without the need for fax machines, rather using the Internet. Also, you can receive your fax messages no matter where you are, any time of the day. And another thing, you can send your fax message as an email, thus it is more convenient compared to traditional fax messaging which uses paper.

But how does sending fax messages over the Internet actually work? RingCentral Internet fax services, for instance, only require a computer and an Internet modem for Internet connection. In sending a fax message this way, the fax is first sent to a server which converts the message to a suitable format. After conversion, this is then sent through the Internet and into the email of the receiver. It’s simple, right?

Now that you know how Internet fax works, you might want to learn how to actually send a fax message through the Internet.  It is easy and it requires no special or technical knowledge. Here are the steps:

  • Register an account with service providers and get a fax number
  • Create an email address for this fax number
  • Create a new email
  • Attach to this email the document you want to fax
  • Key in the fax number of the intended receiver

Receiving fax messages through mail is also easy. All incoming fax messages are simply converted as email attachments and goes directly to your email account. As soon as you receive the fax message, you can already open and read it right away. There is no need for the fax machine to print it before you receive the entire document or file which obviously minimizes delay.

One important feature of Internet fax is that you can have mobile settings enabled. This way you do not have to stay in the office waiting for an incoming fax message. Internet fax highly benefits you if you are always on the go as it can link your cell phone number with your Internet fax number. With this function, you can receive notifications whenever a fax message gets in your inbox.

Another thing, Internet fax service is versatile. How so? The answer lies in its ability to support many file formats. It does not matter whether a file is a slideshow, image, audio file, or a spreadsheet, you can send or receive it through Internet fax messaging.

Now that you know more about this business communication technology, it is important to consider different service providers. There are quite a number out there which promise to offer the best service. So be sure you choose the right one for your business.


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So You’ve Started an Online Business…now what?

May 3rd, 2013 | Comments Off | Posted in Business, Technology

Getting an online business up and running, ready for customers, is pretty easy these days. Often, there are websites that can do all of that for you. Places like eBay, Multiply, Storenvy, Etsy…all of these places are websites dedicated to allowing people to set up shop somewhere and allow them to sell things to other people online. Even Facebook is a platform for selling these days with online vendors starting up pages and posting up album after album of available wares.

And if in case you’re not inclined to doing all that yourself or maybe you just want a more professional look to your business, you can even hire companies to set up your website, design a fancy looking online storefront on your own domain, and put up the images of whatever services or wares you may be selling.

But it’s one thing to get started—and it’s another thing to actually start bringing in customers.

What should the start-up businessman remember?

Get your name out there – There’s no point in setting up all the fancy storefronts and websites when you don’t have anyone looking. The more hits you get on your site, the more likely the chance someone will want to buy. And the way to get more hits is to get the attention of the people you’re selling to. This is done best through various social media platforms. A recent RingCentral blog entry has been tackling the issue of businesses and urging them to remember the important keywords in mixing business with social media. One of them is the word “viral”. As the “Holy Grail” of social media marketing, you want to make a campaign that is eye-catching, attention grabbing, to the point that users will share it all around, virtually springboarding you and your brand name to the attention of thousands or even millions. This is something even big businesses strive to achieve.

Keep an eye on what your customers want – As the business owner, you should know better than anyone what your target demographic wants or needs. You have to cater to those needs adequately. Try to find out what they are looking for the most and what they are always looking to buy. Having a comments section on your site will also help enable you to hear back from your customers. Attend to their needs, and reply when you can. This will make them know that you care about their wants and needs and what you should improve on.

Attend to orders, stay updated, and do it promptlySpeed is the name of the game on the internet. This is, of course, why people are shopping online to begin with. They want to get what they need and they want it now. It’s important to be as prompt as possible when answering orders and giving services. The worst thing you could do is to have customers’ orders piling up and keeping them waiting for too long. If you have to ship something out to them, ship it out as soon as possible and keep them updated every step of the way. Customers will know exactly where their orders are at and when to get to them. Prompt and reliable service will elicit great responses from customers who will likewise tell others to purchase wares or services from your shop, helping getting your name out.


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Business SMS: A New Form of Advertising

April 16th, 2013 | Comments Off | Posted in Business, Technology

Text messaging has become one of the most popular ways to communicate instantly. With just a cellular phone, you can stay connected to anyone even if you are miles away from each other. Last 2010, Americans sent around 2 trillion text messages. Also, 95% of text messages are opened in a short period of time compared to email which only has a 25% guarantee.

Realizing this potential, businesses are also taking advantage of text messaging as a way of marketing their products and services. This form of advertising is becoming an option most businesses consider.

Row of five friends using cellular phones smiling

Text messaging only costs pennies, therefore it is cost efficient. It would only cost around 10 to 20 dollars for small businesses.

Since text messaging reaches customers instantly, it is then considered as an extremely fast method of delivering a campaign. It only takes seconds to send an SMS compared to other forms of campaign, wherein you still need to have it proofread or it would take you weeks to materialize a campaign. With business SMS, you can create new campaigns in just a few minutes.

Business text messaging also guarantees high return of investment. It has a redemption rate of 20% to 70% compared to other forms like print, TV, radio or direct mail which only averages to 1.5%. Say for example you are an owner of a local restaurant and you want to announce a new promotion, so you send a text message to 100 customers. Let’s say only 20 of your customers redeemed the promotion, it is still considered as a high ROI for you. Also, service packages from VoIP providers, like RingCentral (RingCentral blog) for instance, offer unlimited business text messaging for a reasonable monthly rate.

Business SMS are also sent only to opt-in customers. This means that these are sent to customers that gave you the permission to send them text messages about your business. These customers are the ones who want to do more business with you. Their permission is an indication that they want to have a continuous positive relationship with your company.

Since business SMS are limited to 160 characters only, then, your text marketing delivers your message in a short and direct way which is usually what the customers want. Because your message is concise and direct to the point, there is no need for them to overanalyze the message you want to impart to them.

It also allows you to choose specific customers for certain campaigns. This feature guarantees high redemption rate and immediate sales since you are sending a text advertisement to the right people.

Lastly, text messaging helps the environment. Since text messages are digital then it means that it is “green”. No need for you to add additional trash in your garbage if you are not interested with the direct mail advertisements sent to you.

Other than informing your customers, business SMS also allows you to remind your colleagues about meetings and appointments.

Before, we used to create messages and send them individually to people. If our mobile phone allows us, we can create groups and send them the same message (usually 10 at a time). But today, computers already allow us to make and distribute our text messages in an easier and quicker way. This advancement in technology only proves us that we can only be limited by our imagination.

In a time where almost everyone owns a cellular phone and pays much attention to it, taking advantage of mobile advertising tells your customers that you are in a cutting edge from your competitors.


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A First Look at the Huawei Ascend P2 Smartphone

April 14th, 2013 | Comments Off | Posted in Technology

huaweiAs an underdog in the Smartphone industry, Huawei has to come up with a device that will give Apple and Samsung a run for their money. And this is what this Chinese company is aiming for with their introduction of the Huawei Ascend P2 in the recently concluded 2013 Mobile World Congress. Huawei in the past has a reputation of giving out ‘world’s first’ claims and this year, we can see that they are at it again by claiming that their Ascend P2 is the world’s fastest 4G speed device. This article will give a first look at this intriguing new Smartphone.

Design

The Ascend P2 design is very similar in terms of style and shape as that of its predecessor, the Ascend P1. However, a change in industrial design such as replacing the smooth plastic back with a rubberized textured material makes handling the Ascend P2 more practical. The Ascend P2 has a dedicated camera button which will be appreciated by people who will use this device frequently for taking pictures. There are no physical buttons at the front panel but the P2 has the capacitive home, back and menu buttons at the bottom which has been standard now for most Android Smartphone devices.

The display of the Ascend P2 is relatively large with 4.7-inches in diagonal measurement. It is designed to taper with 8.4mm at the thickest end. Its 122g weight is surprisingly light considering that the P2 includes a 2420mAH battery.

Specifications

The Ascend P2 can hold its own against the flagship devices of other smartphone manufacturers with its 1.5 GHz Quad-core processor and 1GB of RAM. The 1GB RAM of the Ascend P2 is at par with most high-end phones in the market today. However, a lot of newer models or the about to be released models are now coming up with 2GB of RAM.

The P2 comes with a 16GB internal storage which is enough for the average techie. But this may not be enough for users who want to have the option of expanding the storage space using external memory cards. Its powerful 2420mAH battery will give you more usage time with the P2 than with its competitors.

Cameras

The Huawei Ascend P2 comes equipped with both front and back cameras with the back having a very noteworthy performance. The 13 megapixel back camera makes the Ascend P2 rank above the other high-end smartphone devices. What is noteworthy is that the camera can record both HDR photos and videos at 1080p settings.

Connectivity

Connecting to the Internet is a huge factor for a smartphone device to become successful in the market. This will allow its users to download and upload huge amounts of data at the least amount of time. Subscribers to VoIP services such as RingCentral greatly benefit with devices that have high connectivity ratings. The Huawei Ascend P2 boasts of offering the fastest 4G speeds reaching a maximum of 150Mbps. This is possible due to Huawei’s CAT 4 LTE technology. With these speeds, Huawei boasts that its Ascend P2 can download a 2-hour Full HD movie in less than 5 minutes.

With the pending release of the Huawei Ascend P2 scheduled late March 2013, we just need to find out if its sales will catapult Huawei into the number 1 Smartphone Manufacturer.


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