How to Choose a Mobile Phone Plan for Your Business

Whitepaper

Technology in mobile phones is changing all the time, so it’s easy for businesses to be blindsided by the actual devices and forget to get the best out of the mobile plan that supports them. Lister Unified Communications has put together this simple guide to help you find the right mobile plan, to get the most out of your business mobile communications:

1. Pull together some copies of past mobile phone bills to get an accurate read on your company’s calling patterns. In most cases your bills will be online to make this easier

• Are your business calls UK only? • How much data are you using?• Would texting be useful for your business?

At Lister we can help you to find the answers, so you can start to see what kind of mobile phone plan will best suit your company’s needs.

2. Outfitting your key staff Assess the mobility needs of each member of your team:

• Are they client-facing? • How much time do they spend away from the office? • Do their responsibilities end at 5pm, or are they always somewhat ‘on the clock’? • Will their phone be used primarily for calls, or will they be heavy data users, checking emails and accessing files on the fly?• If there’s a crisis in the company, who will need to be immediately reachable?

At Lister we can help you map out your company’s communication needs. Once you know how many employees and members of management you will have to equip and how they will be likely to use their mobile, we’ll be able to help you pin down a plan that will not only provide you with a package of talk time and data services to accommodate everyone, but may also include a discount on the phones themselves.

3. Finding the right service provider Coverage area maps are available on every mobile carrier’s website. Check out not only your local area, but the coverage in all the areas in which you expect to be doing business.

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At Lister we compare O2, Vodafone and EE carriers: their plans, network coverage, range of services, whether they provide monthly plans, prepaid plans, contract plans and whether they have unlimited plans or a 4G network.

4. Consider security If you anticipate the use of smart phones to access sensitive data while out in the field, security will be an important consideration when choosing a provider. While basic security measures start with the handset, make sure your service provider allows you the ability to maintain some control over the equipment. You should be able to trigger a ‘wipe’ of any company mobile phone if the device gets lost or the user leaves the company. Lister can advise on mobile device management solutions.

5. Plan your plan Things to watch out for:

• Unlimited data plans have largely become a thing of the past and data overuse can be very expensive. It is relatively easy to calculate voice minutes, but because data is expressed in megabytes and gigabytes, it can be hard to translate that into files, presentations and other pieces of data that can be moved across to a mobile phone.

• Plans which offer shared pools of minutes may offer lower costs, but make sure the network can issue individual phone reports along with it, to keep tabs on where the minutes are being used.

• While the pricing is laid out in black and white, there may still be some room to negotiate with the mobile network provider on some aspects of your plan and equipment.

• Pay attention, not only to the costs, but also to the customer service the provider offers. You may find that you want to shop around near the end of your company’s contract, not just for a better deal, but for a better customer experience. Lister can offer a fully managed service, dealing with your new starters and leavers and leaving you free to run your business.

At Lister we offer a ‘Multiple Networks: One Bill’ solution. This, beyond simplifying the billing process considerably, also allows us to work outside of the normal tariffs and plans, to put together a completely bespoke business mobile package, ensuring that you only pay for exactly what you need. It also means that if you have issues with your billing or want to make any changes to your package, you don’t have to sit on hold with the big networks’ customer services lines - you can come straight to us and discuss your bill with your dedicated account manager, who will be able to upgrade or dial back your package, as required. We can even supply the same tariff but on three different networks so the end users can choose the network for them but your business has the same tariff and is billed by one provider.

If you are looking for a truly unique and flexible mobile phone strategy, designed specifically for your business, talk to us today to arrange a review of your current business mobile communications infrastructure.

Call us today for a FREE mobile plan audit on 0800 652 413.

Talk to us about bespoke mobile plans

@listercomltd

0800 652 4133hello@lister-communications.co.ukwww.lister-communications.co.ukBrunel Way, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 3SX

Talk to us about bespoke mobile plans