Small businesses are rapidly switching from land-based telephone systems to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems because they offer an economical, robust, flexible way to meet myriad needs. If your company hasn’t made the change yet, here are four reasons why you should consider VoIP.
1. VoIP Is Affordable
When your business has multiple landlines, they can require an on-site private branch exchange (PBX), which can have hardware costs (averaging $1,000 and up), fees for the initial setup, and monthly recurring fees.
In contrast, VoIP systems use a hosted or cloud-based PBX with no start-up, hardware, or maintenance costs. Providers charge a monthly subscription fee based on the number of users, as compared to the per-minute fee structure traditional phone systems use. And with VoIP, there are often no long-term contracts.
To ensure high-quality communications through a VoIP service, you must equip your business with a fast, reliable internet connection and the right amount of bandwidth for all your needs.
2. VoIP Is Scalable
Businesses of any size need communications systems that can grow with them, and VoIP’s flexibility makes it an ideal scalable choice.
Need to add new phone lines for more employees or new locations? The virtual aspect of VoIP accommodates these needs easily. And, since features like voicemail are managed online, businesses can readily add or remove them as needed.
3. VoIP Keeps Businesses Connected
Employees frequently do their work on the road; VoIP lets them go anywhere and stay reachable at their business number.
“VoIP systems allow for business as usual, no matter where your employees may be physically sitting. By having a VoIP system, it’s easier to give a little flexibility to employees while still staying connected,” says Elizabeth Becker, a tech recruiter with Protech.
Building strong internal and external communications, improving customer service, and increasing productivity are the cornerstones of success. VoIP offers a variety of features to achieve these ends.
For example, conference calls are a business necessity, and VoIP makes it possible to easily run virtual meetings, webinars, or classes for multiple users.
Chat and text messaging are also standard VoIP offerings and are great tools for enhanced customer service if you choose to implement them.
4. VoIP Excels at Usability
Easy setup and minimal maintenance are two of VoIP’s more appealing aspects. Lisa Chu, owner of a children’s formal clothing company, likes that her VoIP system eliminated complicated tech support.
“When the landline goes down, diagnosing and fixing the issues are never easy or quick, leaving me and my employees extremely frustrated. VoIP is very user-friendly, and . . . we have yet to encounter any significant issues that hinder our ability to communicate with our customers,” she says.
Call report logs let businesses track how many calls come in, how long they last, and how many calls are missed. Such metrics help map strategies for improving customer service or identifying areas that work well.
Most VoIP vendors also offer some form of call recording without requiring special equipment or software. Providers offer control over who can record calls, with settings that may be changed on an individual or per-call basis.
Messages can also be translated into written texts, which mitigates miscommunication among employees.
For businesses lacking in adequate customer service or support staff, VoIP-based interactive voice response systems use online customer information to route callers to the appropriate phone extension or to service reps via an online chat window so fewer calls are missed.
Whether your company needs a dozen or hundreds of phone lines, Frontier AnyWare is a VoIP solution that can meet virtually all your needs. If your small business only wants to pay for the features you need as you need them, leaving traditional phone systems behind for new technology can be a smart move.
It is important to note that there is one advantage to having a traditional phone and that is, how easily emergency responders can source a call. With VoIP, employees can make calls from anywhere, so the phone number isn’t linked to one specific location, so tracking someone in an emergency can be difficult.
However, the FCC offers tips on VoIP and 911 Service so you can still benefit from a VoIP system while maintaining safety in your building.