7 Important Things to Look for When Choosing a VoIP Phone System
The use of VoIP over landline-based PBX phone systems had already been accelerating prior to this year, but the pandemic has made VoIP phones a “must have” cloud solution when it comes to business continuity.
Without VoIP, companies had to work around their communication systems during the COVID stay at home orders. Those companies that already used a cloud-based phone system found it much easier to switch to a remote workforce without having their main line of communications with customers interrupted.
90% of IT leaders are expected to stop purchasing on-premises communication tools by the end of 2021 and use cloud options only.
Some of the main benefits that business owners find when switching to a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solution include:
- Significant costs savings (lower hardware costs & monthly bills)
- Enterprise-class features
- Ability to answer company phone lines from a mobile phone or computer
- Up to 90% lower startup costs for small businesses that use VoIP over landlines
Just the technology cost savings alone is a significant reason to move to a cloud phone system. But the pandemic has also illustrated that it’s a necessity if you want your business to be prepared for anything that might cause you to have to work outside your office building.
But all VoIP services are not the same, so there are several things you’ll want to look for to ensure you’re choosing a phone system that gives you the best value.
Look for These Features in a New VoIP Phone System
Multiparty Calling
You want to have the ability to conference call with more than just two parties, so look for a multiparty calling feature that will allow you to bring several people in on a conference call.
Ring Groups
Ring groups are a helpful feature that rings all lines within a particular department at the same time. This is helpful both when you have everyone working in the office as well as when you have remote workers because it gets a customer to a live person faster.
The average customer will hang up after 11 minutes on hold.
If you have a person calling customer service and you transfer them to a single person, that person may be on another call. The caller then has to be re-routed, causing a frustrating experience.
With a ring group, everyone in the customer service department has their line ring simultaneously giving the customer a much better chance of reaching an available support person faster.
VoIP Enabled Desk Phones
Some VoIP services will work with desk phones, so if employees are used to making and receiving calls from a physical desk set that doesn’t have to change with VoIP. VoIP desk phones just give one more option for handling VoIP calls.
Automatic Voicemail Transcription & Voicemail to Email
If you’re in a meeting for several hours, you might come back to your desk with several voicemails to review. It’s going to take a while to listen to them all, and you might not know that the last one is actually the most urgent.
With automatic voicemail transcription, you can quickly read through voicemails, which takes less time than listening to them all and makes it easier to identify the most urgent call backs quickly.
You also want a voicemail to email feature, which can conveniently deliver those voicemails and transcriptions to your inbox.
Company Directory Feature
You can streamline your phone experience both for your employees and callers by ensuring your VoIP system has a company directory feature. This allows callers to dial the exact person they need rather than having to be routed through a receptionist.
Good Customer Service
It’s important to work with a VoIP provider that has good customer service both during the initial setup phase and afterwards. If you work with a company that’s based in another country, you could be left with inconvenient customer service hours or little help when you need it.
This is why it’s a good idea to use a trusted provider, like C Solutions, that you can depend on to be there for you and can even visit your Central Florida office if needed to help you get set up.
Has an Easy to Use Desktop & Mobile App
Some VoIP apps are more problematic than others. For example, some can mishandle bandwidth, slowing everything else on a computer down. Others can be complex for employees to use.
You want to test out the desktop and mobile app with a VoIP service before you commit to make sure that everyone feels comfortable with it and finds it easy to use.
Get an Affordable and Easy-to-Use VoIP Solution
C Solutions can help your business with an affordable VoIP solution that has all the enterprise-class features you need and is efficient and easy to use.
Schedule a free technology consultation today! Call 407-536-8381 or reach us online.