Whether you have a small business or an international enterprise, you need to make sure the communication between you, your clients, and your partners is flawless. You can’t allow for poor communication or privacy vulnerabilities to ruin your chances of being successful and trustworthy.

That’s why many businesses are striving to do everything they can to create the perfect communication flow.

Choosing the right business messaging apps (or instant messengers) doesn’t necessarily mean opting for a 3rd party service anymore, but rather going forward with more private solutions, platforms of services that are exclusive to the business/community.

Zangi, for example, provides businesses with team apps, that are set up on your company servers. So you don’t have to trust anyone else with your data and chats. 

Zangi for Teams- Self-hosted team chat app

In the article we’ve put together a list of 8 must-have features to look for in your business messaging apps. Let’s break it down together.

1.     Branding

The business messaging apps you’ll be using for your business is going to be a reflection of who you are. This is why you should choose an app that is in agreement with your brand and send the right image message to everyone involved. That’s why you need to look for a messaging app that offers:

• adding your business logo
• customizing the features
• choosing your colors
• adding your company name

If the messenger looks like it was built by you, you’ll seem more professional and engaged in what you do. People will appreciate it and be more open to do business with you.

2.     Group Chat

As a business, you’ll need an instant messenger that allows you to bring more people together and have them communicate at the same time. Whether it’s your team talking about a project in progress or a meeting of the executives, you don’t have to use conference calls. Instead, you can use an instant messenger that provides:

• group chat options
• unlimited spots
• security and confidentiality

You need to be able to carry out private group conversations easily and quickly. Choose an app that offers exactly this and allows you to improve the communication within your business.

3.     Security

Data protection needs to be among your top priorities as well. You have to guarantee security to those using your instant messenger and ensure everything they share stays protected. To do this, you need to look for an instant messenger that offers:

• end-to-end encryption
• protection of personal information
• no collection of user data
• different levels of encryption

You need business messaging apps that guarantees nothing bad can happen to your business and those involved in it. Pay attention to who you’re trusting your information.

4.     File Transfer

Think about the number of files you send out every day using email, collaboration tools, or any other tools available. Wouldn’t it be better to have it all in one place and simply send those files using an instant messenger? This is why, when choosing an instant messenger, you need to pick the one that gives you:

• ability to transfer files
• unlimited size file transfer
• quick and easy file transfer

If you can send and receive files quickly and keep them all in one place, you’ll have a far better organization, information flow, and even productivity. Use this writing service to proofread or edit your written files prior to sending them to the whole group of people.

5.     Capacity

You never know how crowded your server might be and how much activity there can be in a single day. If you don’t choose your business messaging apps wisely, you might end up with:

• slow connections
• interruptions
• disconnections

You don’t want this to happen to you ever since it will only take 1 mistake for you to lose trust or have a project fall apart. Therefore, look for business messaging apps that can give you the capacity you need and ensure things will run smoothly no matter what. Make sure the messenger consumes a small amount of data and is therefore, able to work with crowded connections as well.

6.     Video Chat

Video chat is becoming a more and more prominent means of communication, both for personal and professional matters. It’s simple, convenient, and very useful in numerous situations. Look for business messaging apps that can give you the ability to:

• use video chat freely
• enjoy HD quality calls
• have clean video calls

You’ll need this feature to bring communication to a higher level and ensure maximum convenience.

7.     Simple Design

When it comes to user experience, design plays a very important part. The design of your instant messenger is what influences and shapes:

• first impressions
• ease of communication
• user satisfaction

If you use a design that is complex, confusing, or too hard to handle, people won’t be able to enjoy your instant messenger as much. Also, they’ll find it hard to learn how to use it which will lead to you losing a steady communication flow. Instead of choosing an instant messenger that has a complex design, go for something that is:

• simple
• minimalistic
• intuitive

Good UX design will allow people to use the app for what it’s designed and that is to carry out steady, flawless communication. However, you can spice things up within the messenger using stickers and emoji. If the messenger offers their original stickers, the users will have much more fun using it and saying what they want with a bit of fun.

8.     No Ads & Banners

Finally, there’s one last thing that you need to make sure those using your instant messenger are completely satisfied with the services it gives. There are some instant messengers that are not self-funded which means they have to use ads, pop-ups, and banners to get the necessary funds. For those using the messengers, this is creating clutter and inconvenience. Look for a messenger that is:

• ads-free
• self-funded

This will ensure maximum convenience for everyone and no unnecessary cluttering with the messenger.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are some features of business messaging apps you need to check out before you choose to use them. Use the list above to focus on the right things.Choose the instant messenger that is the best for your business and will help you reach your goals faster.