A Publication of Flashissue
How to Save
Money with
Google Apps for
Work
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. How Google Drive Can Benefit Your
Business
3. How to Cut Administration Costs with
Google Docs Add-Ons
4. How Using Gmail for Business Can Benefit
Your Marketing Program
5. How to Cut Business Telephony Costs with
Google Voice
6. Conclusion
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When you ask people how Google has impacted their lives many will talk about
using it to find information on the internet but for some Google is much more
than just a search engine.
Google Apps for Work is a suite of cloud based computing productivity and
collaboration apps designed to provide business applications to businesses.
Within Google Apps for Work there is a variety of apps to address different needs
of businesses from document creation and storage to email and voice calls. With a
single subscription as low as $40 per a year, a user can have access to all of the
apps available from Google Apps for Work.
In addition to its low annual cost, one of the benefits of Google Apps for Work is
its ability to integrate with Google and third party add-ons to provide additional
features and functionality. These add-ons can be downloaded directly from
Google in their marketplace.
Taking a look at some of the most popular Google Apps for Work we hope to show
some of the benefits of using them and the cost savings.
Introduction
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2
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How Using Gmail
for Business Can
Benefit Your
Marketing
Program
CHAPTER ONE
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Google may one day rule the world, but if it does, the world may not be such a
bad place: think about it—all those free apps they offer that make our lives a bit
easier.
Take for instance, Gmail. What other email provider offers such a powerful email
service that, with a few enhancements, can give businesses the capabilities they
need to market their product or service to the masses, and all for free?
Today we’ve got just a little information on how awesome using Gmail for
business is and how a few extra add-ons can turn your business into an email
marketing machine.
Benefits
In the past, Gmail had its detractors, the people who said Gmail was better fit for
personal use, but we are here to prove them wrong. Here are just a few things we
love about Gmail:
Your Domain Name as Your Email Address
Gmail allows you to use your own domain name in your email address instead of
the generic Gmail address. For businesses looking to maintain professionalism,
the domain name at the end of the email address is key.
Search Capabilities
Google is, after all, first a search engine. While it has developed into so much
more, it brings its roots to Gmail. If you have ever struggled finding that one
important client email detailing instructions for an upcoming project and your
current email provider just can’t seem to drag it from the deep, dark depths of
your inbox, you know this is a big deal. Gmail quickly and easily pulls emails from
months and even years ago.
Integration with Google Apps
Like we said, Google has developed into so much more than a search engine. Have
you tried Google Keep, for instance, or Google Drive? If not, you need to. Your
email address gives you access to all the goodies Google has to offer.
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How Using Gmail for Business Can
Benefit Your Marketing Program
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Free Space
Google gives you 15 gigs of free space to use across Gmail, Google Drive, and
Google Photos. You’re probably going to have a pretty hard time filling that much
space unless you don’t clean your inbox out at least once a decade.
Integration with Email Platforms
Gmail easily integrates with Outlook or Apple Mail so you don’t always have to
access the webmail option to check your email, although you might want to when
you need that hard-to-find email right now.
Enhancements
With the help of a few enhancements, you turn Gmail into a powerful marketing
tool.
Flashissue—Free Chrome Extension
Flashissue allows you to create and organize targeted mailing lists, easily design
professional email newsletters, and track your results—all for free. Instead of
paying for an expensive email marketing platform, connecting Flashissue with
your Gmail account will offer many of the same capabilities.
Canned Response—Free Google Lab Feature
Canned Response can be found on Google Lab (see this tutorial on how to enable
it in your Gmail account) and allows you to create and save template emails to
avoid copying and pasting a canned response into a new email window every time
you need it. Think that sales email or a welcome email to new clients—Canned
Response makes those emails easy.
Streak—Free Chrome Extension
Streak is a free customer relationship management tool (CRM) that integrates
with Gmail to allow you to track sales, fundraising, and customer support issues.
You’ll probably want Streak, around the second time a customer calls in that her
complaint hasn’t been resolved quickly enough for her tastes.
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How Using Gmail for Business Can
Benefit Your Marketing Program
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5
How Google
Drive Can
Benefit Your
Business
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CHAPTER TWO
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Storing documents to allow for easy collaboration has always been a bit tricky for
teams working together on a project, but no longer with Google Drive, Google’s
cloud based office suite. Drive includes a word processor (Google Docs),
spreadsheets (Google Sheets), a presentation program (Google Slides), and a form
builder (Google Forms).
We’ve compiled a list of a few of the reasons we love Google Drive and some tools
that can make it even more powerful.
Free
It’s free. Enough said, right? What did you pay for the office suite you have to
purchase for every desktop in your office? Google Drive levels the playing field for
businesses large and small.
Familiar Interface
Not every thing about Google Drive is the same as office suites you’ve probably
worked on for years, but the interface is similar and easy to learn.
Storage Space
With 15 gigs of space to share with your Gmail account, Google Photos, and
Google Drive, we think you’ll be in good shape for a while. Just delete emails,
photos, and documents you no longer need or back them up on a different
storage system.
Collaboration Capabilities
The best thing about Google Drive is that it allows for easy collaboration among
team members. You no longer have to worry about saving the document and
closing before someone else in your office can work on it; Drive allows for your
whole team to work on the document at once.
Forms and Surveys
One of the coolest things about Google Drive is Google Forms. Forms allows you
to create questionnaires and surveys to send out to clients or employees. Need to
know how your customers feel about their experience with your company? Done.
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How Google Drive Can Benefit Your
Business
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7
Add-Ons
As great as Google Drive is, these add-ons among others make it just a little bit
better.
Workflows
Workflows offers an easy solution for projects that require approval before they’re
finalized. Users with editing access will be able to use this feature and approval
and feedback will show up in real time.
HelloSign
HelloSign takes the hassle out of getting client or employee signatures, especially
if your clients or employees are located remotely. Signatures on HelloSign are
legally binding and are free up to three signatures.
Split Names
Have you ever had a spreadsheet with both first and last names in the same
column but needed them split into two? Split Names takes the work out of turning
that one column into two or more.
Mapping Sheets
Mapping Sheets, an add-on for Google Sheets, locates a list of addresses on a
single Google Map. This add-on is especially helpful for your sales team when they
travel to client locations or for political campaigns or non-profits trying to get the
word out about their organization.
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How Google Drive Can Benefit Your
Business
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8
How to Cut
Business
Telephony Costs
with Google
Voice
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CHAPTER THREE
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Google voice has long been a beloved, semi-secret among tech aficionados, but
it’s benefits for small and mid-sized organizations aren’t as well-known. Tech
writer Jeff Bertolucci wrote recently that the free Google service can be massively
beneficial to organizations, “particularly those with less than 25 employees.”
Telecommunications investments can be costly for organizations, especially if their
needs for voice calling are minimal or they’re in bootstrapped startup mode. For
organizations already using Google Apps for Business to support their email
needs, the addition of Google voice services can be intuitive and convenient.
Every Google account already comes with a free phone number and voice system.
This provision includes both Gmail users and individuals using Google apps for
business. However, there are a multitude of highly-convenient add-ons that can
be downloaded to enhance the benefit of Google Voice for your organization if
you choose to use your Google account number to receive incoming calls. Here
are a few to consider:
GV Phone Dialer
Out-of-the-box, Google Voice includes the ability to receive incoming calls dialed
to your dedicated number. Users are also provided with the ability to make free
voice or video calls to individuals already listed on their Google contacts list. The
ability to perform outbound calling requires a simple add-on, known as GV Phone
Dialer.
The workings of this add-on are slightly complex. The app intercepts outbound
calls, uses Google Voice to call back the users, and connects the originally-
intended outbound call. This provides users with the ability to both receive and
place calls from a centralized phone line, and eliminates the need for business
owners to purchase mobile, internet-based or traditional telephone systems for
outbound calling.
Uberconference
Google’s built-in functionality for video conferencing is one of the most beloved
benefits of this email provider. It’s simple to conference in existing Google
contacts, including calls with multiple people and screen-sharing sessions.
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How to Cut Business Telephony Costs
with Google Voice
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10
Uberconference upgrades Google hangout’s existing capabilities to those of more
traditional teleconferencing products. Users can assign a phone number to their
hangout sessions, and provide attendees with a link to participate in the call.
This extends the hangouts functionality to non-Google users. Additional features
include simple document sharing (including integration with Google docs), free
call recording, and the ability to participate in teleconferences from a mobile
device.
switch.co
If you want a fully-fledged, advanced phone system that integrates with
GoogleVoice, switch.co could be the right option. The system is optimized for
today’s highly-mobile, flexible workers. Call and text notifications are
simultaneously sent to all of a user’s devices, which can include a desktop
computer, laptop, mobile phone, and tablet. Conversations can “seamlessly” be
moved between devices as conference calls are taken from a workstation to a
user’s vehicle.
While this particular add-on isn’t free, it is relatively low-cost. Pricing is flat, and
based solely on the number of users who are relying on switch.co and Google
voice for business call management.
www.flashissue.com
How to Cut Business Telephony Costs
with Google Voice
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11
How to Cut
Administration
Costs with
Google Docs
Add-Ons
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CHAPTER FOUR
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The use of Google apps for small business can be a remarkable tool for driving
drastic cost savings throughout small and mid-sized organizations. According to
Forrester Research, 93% of organizations making the switch to Google apps see
impacts that drive ROI throughout the entire organization. Most significantly,
these gains are typically related to end-user productivity.
Effective and affordable document storage solutions and tools for collaboration
can both present significant challenges to companies of all sizes. Confusion
around document versioning, storage, and transmission of documents needed for
collaboration can lead to hours of lost work. In small or startup environments,
confusion that leads to duplicated efforts can be difficult to recover from.
Google Docs is a powerful tool for cost savings, particularly if your organization
invests in one of several available add-ons to streamline your experience and
enhance the capabilities of Google’s built-in, free cloud storage and collaboration
services for users:
Draw.io
Do individuals within your enterprise have a need to create process flow
overviews, organizational charts, or other visual representations? Draw.io is
among the simplest Google docs add-ons for visual communications. This free
add-on offers many of the same features as Microsoft Visio, though it’s simpler to
use and learn.
While this tool’s primary and most apparent functionality are process flows and
working processes, it’s simple graphic design capabilities can be used for other
projects, too. You can even mock up basic website wireframes in this tool.
HelloFax
Not every organization has a need for a fax machine, and trips to your local office
support center can be time-consuming and costly. Faxing documents to clients
and vendors who still rely on this methodology is simple as clicking “send” with
HelloFax. Pricing is free for the first five documents sent, and costs a simple flat
fee each month for organizations with a need for higher volume.
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How to Cut Administration Costs with
Google Docs Add-Ons
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HelloSign
The closely-related cousin of HelloFax, this document is a powerful tool for
companies with a need to perform (or collect) signatures on contracts and other
documents that could be considered legally-binding. While pricing is based on a
flat fee per month, the productivity gains associated with no longer having to
print and scan documents can certainly add up!
Consistency Checker
For organizations that focus on communications; style, tone, and voice are critical.
It can be challenging to maintain control over stylistic standards, especially if
you’re working with freelancers or a large volume of content contributors.
Consistency Checker is a tool for finding stylistic inconsistencies in complex
documents, including hyphenation and spelling preferences (such as “gray” or
“grey”).
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Google Docs Add-Ons
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