Don’t fall for one-size-fits-all when you choose a business phone provider

 

Although the telegraph was invented long before (in the 1830s and 40s) the telephone (in the 1870s), the telephone has far outlasted the telegraph. While Alexander Graham Bell might recognize the basic functions of a modern telephone, he would probably have a hard time imagining the diverse features and technology that make it possible for people to communicate by voice over long distances. That’s why it’s so important for business owners to re-examine this familiar technology and make informed decisions about upgrading to a modern telephone system.

Your first step should be to make a list of all the things your team currently does by phone and all the things you’d like to do over the phone. Due to healthy competition and powerful technology, you can choose from a smorgasbord of features from a variety of vendors, but if you aren’t clear on your needs, you’ll waste money on features that no one uses.

Here are a few questions to get your wheels turning.

• How much client communication happens over the phone?
• Do you want the system to integrate with your CRM?
• Do you want employees to be able to respond over SMS?
• Do you want call-logging and call-recording?
• Do you need a complex phone menu?
• Do you need a toll-free number?

• How much intra-office communication happens over the phone?
• How large is your organization?
• How quickly are you growing?
• Do different teams have different needs?
• Does your team use call-forwarding?
• Voicemail transcription?
• Conference calling?
• Call routing?
• Do you need new telephone hardware?

These high-level questions only scratch the surface of features and capabilities that you will consider when choosing a new telephone system. Telephone providers understand that not all businesses have the same needs, so with a little research, you can begin narrowing your options.

A helpful tip is to look for pain points in your organization around communication and connectivity. Find out what your employees like about the current system, or wish they could do on their desk phones. Survey your customers to learn how they experience the currents system. It’s possible that efficiency gains and operational boosts are hiding right under your nose.

Take stock of your current telephone network. Is it a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) system? Maybe you inherited a legacy system from the prior office tenant. Or maybe you’re starting from scratch and need something as soon as possible. Here’s a list of features that you’re likely to encounter as you evaluate telephone vendors.

While small businesses may be content to use the most basic features, including using a system that simply forwards to each employee’s smartphone, once your organization grows past a certain size and complexity, a dedicated desk phone system is likely to provide stability and consistency for everyone. And in an era of companies embracing remote work, you may need even more flexibility than you ever expected, such as dedicated conferencing set-ups.

• Call forwarding and call transferring
• Call recording and call reports
• Conference calling
• Directory assistance
• Extension dialing
• Missed call notifications
• Ring groups
• Voicemail
• Voicemail-to-text

• Automated attendant
• Customer relationship management
• Interactive voice response
• Internet faxing
• Interoffice instant messaging
• Online meetings
• Video conferencing

VoIP systems offer a robust feature set and eye-popping flexibility. However, they’re limited by the quality of your internet service provider because they share the same structured cabling as your data network. If your company works remotely, then your service quality is dependent on multiple internet service providers, not just one. In many cases, the benefits far outweigh the risks, but if you have reservations about your internet connectivity and uptime, then VoIP will suffer the same constraints, as will your employees and customers.

Although telephones aren’t exactly the newest shiniest technology, they can offer huge efficiency benefits and potential cost savings.

Once again you should consider your current system and how well it’s serving your needs. Are employees wasting time navigating outdated menus or fighting against glitch-prone systems and hardware? Do your customers get frustrated when they call and hang up without leaving a message? It’s entirely possible that a poor phone system has actually been driving customers away for longer than you realize. That translates into a poor reputation for your brand and lost sales. If your current system is in constant need of repair, you’re definitely losing money in ongoing maintenance expenses.

In a growing company, you need a phone system that scales well and makes onboarding new employees as simple as possible. It should also integrate well with the rest of your business technology, such as sending notifications to employee laptops, or even routing the call entirely to the laptop — another big benefit if your team is working remotely.

In short, a quality phone system for your office or business works seamlessly when you need it and stays all but invisible the rest of the time.

Business phone systems are usually priced monthly on a per-seat basis, ranging from $19 per-user per-month to $50 per-user per-month or more. That monthly doesn’t always include the hardware you need to get up and running. Hardware costs also vary by provider and your existing infrastructure (or lack of). In the case of larger organizations, you may be able to negotiate enterprise-level pricing — you’ll just have to ask for what you want.

i.e.Smart Systems is a Houston, TX based technology integration partner that specializes in design and installation of audio/visual technology and structured cabling. For more than three decades, our team of in-house experts has partnered with business owners, architectural firms, general contractors, construction managers, real estate developers, and designers in the Houston market, to deliver reliable, scalable solutions that align with their unique goals.