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Communication technology has come a long way. You can now check your email with just a few taps on the screen of your smartwatch. You can do the same on your phone, laptop, tablet, notepad, or smart TV. With these advances in technology, predictions that the fax would soon be dying out were wrong.
Alexander Bain invented the Facsimile machine in 1843 with the promise to deliver messages instantaneously. It gained increasing popularity in the workplace as it accelerated communication and information flow. However, when newer technologies such as the world wide web and cell phones came into the picture, the fax was cast aside by many.
By the year 2010, faxing was thought to be all but dead. Yet, even with these predictions, faxing remains popular, specifically with cloud faxing solutions that offer a better way to connect clients and facilitate communication.
Faxing in the Business World
Sending faxes has often been a long process. You have to physically feed documents into the machine, which could only process one page at a time. If you had many sheets, it was likely you’d be there for a significantly long time. Perhaps you’d be on the last page when the machine would suddenly jam, and the transmission would be automatically canceled.
When this happens, there’s no choice but to start the process all over again. This is the image you probably have of operating a traditional fax machine, but a lot has changed. With the rise of cloud computing, faxing has transitioned from the machine to the internet. Now, it’s possible to send a fax from Gmail, and there are mobile apps that make cloud faxing even more accessible.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that faxing is better suited to the workspace than computer messaging. Small businesses are increasingly relying on faxing as a way to communicate with existing, as well as prospective clients.
Better Client Communication Through Fax
In the last decade, marketers have worried that consumers were growing desensitized to ads. Common communication techniques had reached a saturation point where they no longer impacted consumer emotion or behaviors. That holds true for TV, radio, and website ads, as well as emails.
With emails, it goes one step further with technology quickly marking unsolicited ads as spam, or categorizing them separately as ‘promotions.’ Mainstream communication channels are increasingly failing, as they have too much competing content to be effective. It is possible to overlook an email or even to forget to respond.
However, with cloud faxing, businesses can set up dedicated faxing accounts. These offer messaging services as well as faxing apps. With a dedicated fax account for your business, it will be impossible to miss important messages from clients in the clutter of your inbox.
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Setting Up a Business Digital Faxing Account
Statistics have shown that there are still 43 million fax machines operating in the world. From these, more than 17 billion documents are generated annually. These numbers prove that faxing is still widely used across the globe by different business professionals. For businesses looking to shift their communication platform to faxing, there are a few simple steps to take:
- Put together a list of fax numbers from existing business contacts and public records
- Provide a free system through which customers can opt-out of product information
- Research and select a digital faxing company that serves your needs
- Set up a business account and membership level
- Ensure you are connected to all messaging platforms: online, as well as through apps
- Curate product messages and send directly from your digital faxing account
Embrace Cloud Faxing
The fax machine has been in existence for well over a century, yet can still serve us in this digital age. But for businesses looking to change how they interact with clients and facilitate better communication, the answer lies in embracing cloud faxing.
