Picture this. Your business is blossoming and most of it is off-site. Although you have a home office, your work is in the field. A colleague of yours is in town and wants to meet with you. He suggests getting together for a quick meeting, or if you have time, lunch at that famous bistro you told him about. Your wallet and credit cards are at the office. Ouch . . . luckily, you have a great mobile app to process your stored credit card number. Next, use the OpenTable app for lunch reservations, and later, use a solid video conferencing app. All from your phone? Yes.
Restaurant Reservations Made Easy
Forbes says that OpenTable is one of the most successful restaurant reservation apps. This mobile app, accessed from your iPhone, Android, or iPad, is simple to use. Search for the time of day, lunch or dinner, and the number of people dining. Restaurants with seats available in the area you choose will pop up. Click, and the reservation is made, and a quick email on its way, complete with a confirmation number.
Mobile Video Conferencing and Training
Having the flu isn’t fun, and neither is missing one of your most important business meetings because of it. But, no worries; with mobile apps like Skype and GoToMeeting, you don’t have to miss it. Both are solid video conferencing apps used from your phone. With Skype, conferencing with up to ten people, each viewing and sharing the video, makes training a cinch. GoToMeeting is a bit more advanced: it hosts up to 25 people, has screen share, speaker ID, and the ability to send an email inviting people to the session.
Mobile Credit Card Processing
Today most successful businesses accept credit card payments. One measure of success today is the acceptance of payments while on the go from anywhere, anytime. Mobile payment systems help companies large and small to supply better, faster customer service, allowing for an increase in overall business. One of the best mobile payment systems used by small businesses is the pay-as-you-go Sage mobile payment systems. Sage takes credit and debit cards, is secure and compliant, with full Payment Card Industry (PCI) certification, and lets you set up automatic and recurring billing, too. Your smartphone literally becomes a credit card terminal without the high point-of-sale fees.
Apps to Save You Time
Your mobile phone, tablet, or iPad is a powerhouse. The capabilities are endless with the use of business mobile apps. There are apps for finding Wi-Fi hot spots close by, and obtaining airport gate assignments. What about printing to a wireless printer from your phone? Maybe you need to fax that receipt you just received from your phone; there’s an app for that too. This go-anywhere, do-anything business model using apps is a major time saver while in the field.
Many of these apps designed for smartphones have changed the way we conduct business. They help us to conduct business any time while on the go, appearing as if we are behind a desk. This is only the beginning. Others, like the social media app Mention, help you take your company’s “temperature.” It monitors your business and gives you the ability to respond to comments, positive or negative, immediately. Finally, there’s Evernote, used either to dictate or write important notes and store them in the cloud, so that accessing them any time, from anywhere, is easy.
Two Mobile Phone Lines on One Phone
At one time, you carried one mobile phone for business and another for personal use. One of the coolest smartphone apps today is Go Business Call. With two lines on your phone, distinguishing one from the other is simple. Each has its own telephone number where you can receive and make calls, and a distinct ring tone.
More business solutions are developed each day, filling a need in this instant and immediate response time we live in. Getting ahead of the curve makes sense, so download some of these solutions for your business today.