When choosing a cell phone service provider and plan for your business's cell phone needs, you should consider a few important factors, including accessibility, features, risk of overage fees and dependability.
Many cell phone plans are available, and finding the perfect cell phone plan for your business can mean saving money and getting the most useful features that are relevant to your business needs.
Accessibility and Dependability
Look for cell phone plans on reliable networks that provide the kind of dependable access you and your employees need. Consider whether you need a national or international network. If you need a cell phone plan that works around the world, choosing a national network plan will not be sufficient for your business.
Read consumer and industry reviews of cell phone service providers, and take the time to view a provider's covered service area. Again, accessibility and dependability are key to choosing a good business cell phone plan. Make sure the service provider offers service in your business's home area as well as wherever your employees may be located.
Minutes and Rates
Look for cell phone plans that allow unlimited calling between users on the same plan or network. If your employees need to communicate with each other often throughout the day, this feature is crucial to saving money on your business cell phone plan.
Check the rates as well. Having unlimited night and weekend usage on a cell phone plan is a nice feature if you conduct business around the clock or if your employees will be using their cell phones for personal use as well.
Consider the rates of multiple service providers. A plan that includes 1,000 anytime minutes may cost more with one provider because its network is global, while another provider is focused on giving users low-cost rates in a limited network area.
Also consider whether the minutes are shared between the accounts. A plan with 1,000 anytime minutes pooled between two phones may be sufficient, but 1,000 minutes spread across 20 phones is hardly adequate.
Texting and Web Access
Think about your needs as a business and how communication plays a part in that business. If your employees need on-the-go access to business email accounts and the Internet, an unlimited Web and data plan added to your cell phone account is a must.
Employees may communicate via text messaging, and you will need to consider that cost as well. Unlimited texting plans are often a good deal for accounts that include multiple phones.
Limitations
Read the fine print carefully. Consider the number of phones that can be added to one account, and look for discounts for businesses that open multiple accounts at the same time.
Consider whether an unlimited-rate plan is better for your business needs then a set-rate plan. Unlimited-rate plans cost more than standard plans, but they will help your business avoid overage fees and usage charges and could be a better investment depending on how heavy your business cell phone use will be.
Tags: cell phone, your business, cell phone plan, phone plan, your employees, business cell
