Choosing or renewing a business mobile contract is not a glamorous task. Often you’ll have dozens of employees who all need suitable phones at once, and potentially the added stress of old contracts to negotiate your way out of or adjust to meet your current needs. All of this makes the process of choosing a business mobile contract a pretty stressful one. However, it’s a job that needs to be done, and it needs to be done well to keep your business communicating effectively.
At Agile Comms, we understand that sorting your business mobile needs can be frustrating and have designed our business mobile services with this in mind. Our business mobile contracts are as flexible and user-friendly as phone usage should be, and our expert team are always on hand to help you find a solution that genuinely suits your organisation’s communication needs. With this in mind, we’ve put together some key dos and don’ts for choosing a business mobile contract. Whether you choose us or not, these tips will help you ensure you genuinely get the best deal and not just the one that your existing provider tells you to have.
Do… Give Thought To Your Usage
It’s easy to simply accept a plan with maximum data, minutes, and texts because it’s what you think you might need, and particularly if this is what your provider has always recommended to you. However, this approach can be unnecessarily costly in the long run and leave you tied into hefty mobile contracts that don’t actually match the size or scale of your organisation.
The first thing you should do when choosing a business mobile contract is therefore to conduct a thorough review of phone usage across the organisation. Is it higher or lower than you thought it might be, and why? Can you foresee communication needs changing in the future, for example, if you have big plans to grow? By pinpointing a level of phone usage that is actually realistic, you can immediately rule out plans with caps you might go over, while also avoiding any contracts that will have you overpaying for services you don’t need.
Don’t… Get Pressured Into A Long Contract
While it can be reassuring to have price stability and a long-term relationship with a network or provider you trust, long-term contracts typically offer very little flexibility and the possibility of tricky exit terms or cancellation fees. Remember those changing communications needs you might have in the future? You might struggle to adapt to them if you’re locked into a long-term business mobile contract.
Fortunately, there are suitable short-term contracts out there if you shop around. For example, all of our business mobile packages include 30-day terms as standard, giving you the freedom and flexibility to pick a deal that suits your needs right now but alter it as soon as those needs change.
Do… Consider Caps & Easy Management
If you’re organising and managing business mobile contracts for a number of employees, usage caps are something you need to pay close attention to. Just signing up, sitting back, and waiting for the bill to come in at the end of the month could leave you with some nasty surprises and possible overspend. However, there are plenty of contracts out there that give you the flexibility to add caps to your plans and easily monitor employee usage.
At Agile Comms, we can also set up tailored alerts that give you complete clarity over employee phone usage. If you’re close to hitting caps or incurring extra spend, we’ll let you know first. You can then dive into why that might be with your employees, or opt for a different level of usage in future months.
Don’t… Immediately Pick The Network You’ve Always Gone With
The big networks are big for a reason, but this doesn’t mean you should immediately sign up with them without doing some research first. Coverage can vary greatly, and big promises won’t necessarily equate to seamless connectivity in your area. You should also factor in where your staff are based and where they work from. It might be that different networks are suitable for different individuals, and it is possible to mix and match or choose a short-term contract that allows you to change the network on an individual user whenever you need to.
Similarly, if a renewal deal lands on your desk, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right fit for you moving forward (even if it does feel convenient to just let things roll over). Renewal deals are rarely as exclusive or cost-effective as they may seem, and might no longer match your organisation in its current state. After making these considerations, it might be that you end up opting for the network you’ve always gone with. That’s fine, but at least you checked and gave yourself the time to consider what your business needs and how it operates first.
Do… Choose The Right Handsets
While your business mobile contract will give you the minutes and data you need to stay connected, the right handset also plays an important role in improving your business communications. There are lots of different handsets available that are suitable for business use, and prices and features vary pretty significantly.
Take the time to find business mobile phones that suit your needs, whether that’s with top-spec cameras and hardware, or by offering budget-friendly but high-security functionality. If you need some recommendations, check out our guide to the current best mobile phones for business use.
If you do require any further assistance in choosing the right business mobile contract, we can certainly help. Simply contact the Agile team today and we can scope the right solution for your business needs, with flexibility and usability at the very core.
