3 Tips to Reduce Mobile Costs

Today your smartphone is used for so much more than just making a call. It is essentially a portable computer, personal assistant, application platform, voice recorder, data and text communicator and more – all rolled into one. We’ve come to rely on this technology as it has changed the way we live. Mobility has affected the workforce and businesses are tied to mobile devices despite rising costs. It is crucial that businesses, especially small and mid-sized, learn how to reduce mobile costs without compromising the efficiency and quality of operations.

Here are the top three things you can do to reduce mobile costs and prevent your business’s telecom spend from spiraling out of control: audit your services regularly, review your bills for errors, and manage your assets.

Reduce Mobile Costs – #1 Audit Your Services Regularly

A service assessment or audit is a deep review to identify unapproved, unused, un-needed or sub optimized plans and features. It is a good idea to have a full assessment done periodically that reviews all charges, overages, roaming and other miscellaneous fees. This is a common sense practice that very often gets overlooked in busy environments of small and mid-sized firms. In addition, carriers often have deals and discounts available to attract and keep businesses – why not take advantage of them? Setup a plan to have an audit done of your mobile expenses at least once a quarter.

Reduce Mobile Costs – #2 Review Your Bills for Errors and Ask for Refunds or Discounts

No one’s perfect. We often think that if we get a bill from a large carrier, it must be right! Well think again – or in this case look again — you may have charges or billing errors that if not contested will drive up your mobile costs. Around 60% of all telecom bills have some kind of error on them, MONTHLY. When you find these types of errors you should know up front what the carrier’s policy is on resolutions. Some may give you a refund and/or discount on future charges.

Reduce Mobile Costs – #3 Manage your Assets

As a company’s workforce changes, oftentimes mobile assets get lost in the shuffle. It’s very important to know 1) where all your mobile assets are (phones, tablets, etc.) and 2) that they are indeed being used as you have allocated them. Just think of the wasted costs of a few active phones just sitting in a desk drawer for months. It is worth your time and attention to invest in asset management either within your company or working with an outside resource.
By following these tips, you’re sure to reduce mobile costs and put yourself and your company on the right path to ensuring a cost-effective mobile environment.

Reynaldo Lyles is a recognized expert in mobility thought leadership, new industry standards in mobile device management and compliance, and the Mobility Practice Leader for Renodis Telecom Management.