Written communication, such as email and social media, is common in businesses, but it can lead to misunderstandings due to the lack of nonverbal cues and tone of voice. To ensure effective communication with customers, businesses must offer other channels, such as robust business phone systems. With this in mind, finding the right business phone provider is therefore essential for any organisation.
A good business phone provider offers a professional system with benefits like high-quality calls, call routing, and call recording. These features are essential for businesses looking to maintain a high level of customer service and support. By having a reliable phone system, businesses can streamline their sales and customer support processes, reduce wait times, and ensure that every customer inquiry is handled promptly and professionally.
Choosing the right phone system is crucial to meet customer expectations and supporting internal communication, and it’s important to find a business phone provider that can help you meet those requirements. Let’s explore how to choose that provider so your business can communicate with your clients the way it should.
How to choose the best Business Phone provider for your company
Your business phone provider should be able to provide the following options:
Scalability and integration
As your business expands, it becomes essential to have a reliable and scalable phone system that can accommodate the increase in agents and calls. A good business phone provider should offer a flexible and scalable system that can be easily upgraded to meet the growing demands of your business. With a high-quality VoIP system, you can add more phones and features as needed, without the need for significant investments in infrastructure or hardware.
In addition to scalability, the best business phone provider should also offer seamless integration with your existing software systems. This means that your VoIP system should be able to integrate with the platforms you rely on the most, such as your CRM or sales pipeline software. This integration will help you manage your customer interactions more efficiently, providing a better customer experience and increasing your team’s productivity. Moreover, it enables you to keep track of all customer interactions in a central system, giving you a complete view of your customer’s journey with your business.
Extension support
Using extension numbers can simplify communication within a company and make it more efficient for customers to reach the right department or staff member. With extension numbers, customers no longer have to navigate a complicated phone directory to find the person they need. Instead, they can easily remember a short and simple number and connect with the right person with just a few keystrokes. This also helps reduce the time spent on hold and the frustration of being transferred to the wrong department.
Additionally, using extension numbers can improve communication and collaboration within a company by allowing employees to reach each other quickly and easily.
Call routing and menu systems
Inbound call routing is a crucial aspect of business phone systems, especially for companies that receive a high volume of calls. By creating a menu system and using Interactive Voice Response (IVR), customers can easily navigate to the correct department, pay their bills, or schedule callbacks without having to wait on hold or be transferred multiple times. A well-designed IVR system can provide a seamless and efficient experience for both customers and employees.
What’s more, business phone providers can offer various options for answering calls, including recorded messages or virtual assistants, to further enhance the customer experience and improve overall call-handling efficiency.
Phone number options
Business phone providers offer various types of virtual numbers which customers can use to contact your business. These virtual numbers include local, toll-free, vanity, and international numbers.
Local numbers have a specific geographical code (01-09), toll-free (1800) numbers are free for the caller, and vanity numbers feature patterns or repetition that’s easier for the customer to remember. An international number provides callers from around the world with a local alternative number to contact you on.
However, keep in mind that most providers charge a monthly fee and additional costs for extra numbers. It’s important to research different VoIP companies to ensure they offer the virtual numbers you need and compare pricing plans. Consider your business needs and target audience when choosing the type of virtual numbers that work best for your business.
Guaranteed uptime
When considering a VoIP service provider, it is important to pay attention to the level of uptime they guarantee. Uptime is the amount of time that the service is available and functioning properly. VoIP providers often guarantee a high percentage of uptime, with 99% or higher being the standard.
However, even a slight difference in uptime percentage can have a significant impact on the potential downtime that a business may experience over a year. For example, a 99% uptime guarantee may equate to approximately three days of downtime per year, while a 99.99% uptime guarantee could mean as little as five minutes of downtime in a year.
Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the level of uptime guarantee that a VoIP service provider offers when selecting a provider for your business.
Additional features when choosing a Business Phone provider
Every business has unique requirements when it comes to its communication needs. While some calling features may not be essential, others can make a significant difference in the way your business operates. For instance, call forwarding can be a critical feature for businesses with remote workers, while it may not be necessary for an office-based team.
On the other hand, analytics, call routing, or CRM integration can be invaluable for any business that wants to track and optimise its communication channels.
One Contact is the Business Phone provider you need
It is important to carefully evaluate the features offered by different business phone providers and select the ones that align with your business goals and needs. The right provider will have a suite of features that will enable you to improve your communication efficiency, reduce costs, and provide a better experience for your customers.
One Contact is the business phone provider you need. If you’re looking for a reliable and feature-rich business phone system, our advanced VoIP solution is just what you need. When combined with our strong, stable and secure Business Broadband, you can stay connected with your customers and colleagues wherever you are, ensuring that your business never misses an important call.
If you’re interested in growing your business and taking advantage of our advanced VoIP business phone system, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today, for more of the latest developments in the world of ICT, take a moment to browse our blog and resources.
