5 NON-EMERGENCY WAYS TO USE YOUR EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
Thinking Outside the Box
One of the best ways to achieve ROI is to find ways to extend the use of an investment. You may have purchased software to do one thing and then found it could be optimized somewhere else. While this scenario may not happen frequently, it’s considered a victory when it does.
Emergency notification systems can easily fall into this category. We find most of our clients purchase our software in order to quickly and easily connect with employees when a critical event occurs. They want to eliminate all of the disparate communication systems in lieu of a single, integrated system that enables them to leverage one or several communication channels at the same time. They want to be able to segment their audience, pre-build their messages using templates, and in a click or two, know their message has not only been delivered, but received loud and clear. They want to be able to measure message open rates and constantly improve their emergency plans.
Well done, companies. You are prepared. But did you know you can use your emergency notification system for a whole lot more than emergencies? You can quickly increase ROI by maximizing your use of the software for any desired communication with a specific audience, internally or externally.
5 Ways to Maximize Your Emergency Notification System
Sometimes, the best ideas are the unconventional ones. While we designed our software primarily to solve the most common challenges with emergency communications, we quickly learned that our platform is ideal for any secure mass communication need. The system is flexible, scalable, and begs for creative uses.
1. Operational and Logistical Communications
If your company has anything to do with logistics or scheduling shifts, mass communication software might become your new best friend. Most of the time, coordinating deliveries between drivers and customers, or scheduling day-to-day shifts requires manual intervention. Dispatchers and schedulers must cross-check various sources and phone or radio employees with updates. This takes time and effort, which eventually impacts revenue.
A mass communication system automates the entire operational process while drastically decreasing response times, so companies can do more faster with fewer resources. Instead of expecting employees to take the time to answer a phone call or talk to a dispatcher, employees can quickly respond to notifications and instructions with a tap of a finger. Workers can, therefore, serve clients more effectively with fewer and shorter interruptions.
2. Internal General Communications
There are several reasons why companies would want to use a mass communication system to connect with their employees. Emails have been proven to be ineffective, given that many are ignored, some fail to be delivered, and few are read in their entirety. What else can a company do to ensure their internal communications are read?
If a company wants to reach every employee, despite their location or device of choice, they must utilize every channel their employees prefer. That means email, of course, but also phone, SMS text, push notifications, intranet site, and custom channels. Don’t try to use separate systems for each channel. Instead, leverage the benefits of a mass communication solution to give you flexibility to choose which channel to use all while fostering responsiveness and engagement.
Any internal communication, such as payroll and benefits notifications, event invitations and updates, office closures and modified hours of operation, and more can effectively be delivered in less time and effort using a mass communication system.
3. External Communications
Your customers, partners, suppliers, guests, and members give you their contact information in various forms. Why not leverage those channels to deliver timely, relevant messaging to reach them on their preferred devices?
Send delivery status alerts, share important news, promote products or specials, provide parking information or driving route tips, and welcome your guests when they arrive at your event or location – all with a mass notification tool. Studies show up to 84 percent of people act on push notifications, well above email response rates. Reach your audience more effectively and watch your engagement and satisfaction rates improve.
4. Event Planning
Anyone who has ever been in charge of planning an event knows how many moving parts there can be. From the venue to the food and entertainment, every detail must be micromanaged. There are dozens of people to coordinate, particularly the organizers and the attendees. Even with the best planning, if you don’t have solid communications between all of the people, your event could be a disaster.
Get everyone involved with your event on the same page using your mass communication system for efficient collaboration and execution. The software makes it easy to create groups and event pages, choose communication channels, and engage in instant, two-way communication with everyone on your team. Use text, push notifications and/or custom channels to check in, send and receive instructions and updates, and more with a single system that anyone can access and utilize.
5. Surveying for Audience Feedback
Your audience can provide valuable feedback about your service, your products, and your events, so you can make informed decisions based on actual responses from the people who directly impact your business. This crowd-sourced advice can be used to inspire ideas, drive product innovation, and justify service enhancements. Surveying is a dynamic way to not only engage large audiences, but also provide your organization with valuable feedback in hopes to achieve a broader goal.
If you’re only using your mass notification system to communicate during emergencies, you’re limiting yourself and your organization. A technology of this caliber can provide you with endless opportunities when it comes to engaging, collaborating and bringing people together in and out of the workplace and is the ideal platform to reach these people on the channels they use the most.
When it comes to emergency communication systems, think bigger than emergencies. Anytime you need to connect with a group of people, give your system a shot. It can streamline any mass communication and ensure your audience gets the message when they need it the most.
