If there is one thing that is crucial in business, it is communication. Not just with customers but with your own team members. Working together is vital for success and requires effective communication and, according to a recent survey, 84% of respondents said that they find instant messaging apps to be the most effective platform for communication.
At the end of the day, if you cannot or do not communicate with your coworkers, you don’t have any chance of being able to achieve team goals and resolve any problems that arise. We can solve that for you with five of the very best smart communication apps for business use.
Five Effective Business Communication Apps:
There are plenty of communication platforms to choose from, and we’ve done extensive research, narrowing it down to five. In no particular order, these are the communication apps we feel are the best:
HipChat:
An online tool for communication, HipChat allows for total collaboration between team members. Some of the features it includes are video chat, group chat, and screen sharing. Even better is the fact that it can be fully integrated with any other business tool you use, allowing you to share ideas, files, and work with your team, no matter where you are.
HipChat offers two plans to choose from:
- Basic – Free
- HipChat Plus – $2 per month per user
They also offer a free 30-day trial of all their features.
Office Chat:
Office Chat is one of the simplest applications with a high level of security. The app lets you share messages, documents, files, videos, and audio files with your team members in real-time. You can create groups for teams, projects, and topics, and all members of a given team can view the status of any task in real-time. And if your messages contain confidential or sensitive information, you can set them automatically destroy as soon as they have been read by all recipients.
There are two plans on offer:
- Business Plan – $2 per user per month
- Enterprise Plan – $3 per user per month
Both offer a 15-day free trial.
Skype:
Perhaps the most popular and well-known of all communication apps, Skype is a video-calling app that can be used for professional and personal requirements. You can connect to your team and your clients using video and audio-only calls, along with group-calls, no matter where you are. You can also share documents, files, images, and your screen with Skype contacts. Messages can be shared instantly and, if you need to speak to someone who isn’t online, you can call them on a landline or a mobile.
Skype is free to use for speaking to online contacts, or you can choose to add some credit or sign up to a subscription for calling landlines/mobiles. Subscriptions vary depending on where you are based and where you want to call.
How to Download:
Downloading Skype is simple; all you need is a third-party app installer called Panda Helper:
- Download Panda Helper onto your iPhone, iPad or desktop, using the guide at the link
- Once it has downloaded, simply tap the icon to open the installer
- Search for Skype
- Tap on the app name and then tap Install
- When it has finished, the Skype icon is on your home page.
RedBooth:
RedBooth is an app for the busy teams and is useful for helping you to manage both important projects and your team. Features include tracking the status of any project, adding notes to projects, prioritizing tasks, scheduling online meetings, sharing your screen, and more. You can track which team members are working on each project and assign projects to specific people, and you can also integrate RedBooth with other business tools and apps that you may be using.
Prices start from $9 per user per month, and there is a free 14 day trial on offer.
Basecamp:
Last but by no means least we have Basecamp. One of the top apps online, Basecamp, offers features that let you organize both your teams and your projects in one place. You can split projects down into smaller ones and assign to individual members, and you can choose from 6 fundamental tools:
- Campfire – quick chat with your team or individual member
- Message Board – for ideas, updates, and important announcements
- To-dos – for lists of tasks and the ability to track them
- Schedule – to post milestones and deadlines
- Automatic Check-Ins – get regular updates and insights from your team
- Docs & Files – where team members can have access to folders, files, and documents
If you are a verified teacher, you can have a Basecamp account for free. For businesses, the cost is $100 per month, and there is a 30-day free trial.
Five cool apps, five great ways to stay in communication with your team. Pick your app, download it, and maximize your work potential.
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