Scaling Your Phone Service as Your Business Grows
If you plan on seeing your business grow (and we know you do), you’re going to need your phone service to grow with you. After all, a bigger business often means more employees, and in some cases, more offices. Your employees might be working from remote locations all over the country. Even if you don’t anticipate getting that big, you still understand that your business won’t always just be you and your one phone line.
To continue meeting the needs of your business, your phone line needs to be a flexible and scalable form of communication. It’s why most businesses quickly learn they can’t rely on the traditional phone system, often referred to as the Plain Old Telephone Service or POTS for short. Much as people might like the simplicity of a traditional service, POTS simply can’t accommodate a business with multiple locations or remote employees.
On the other hand, there’s what’s known as VoIP, short for Voice Over Internet Protocol, a cloud-based service that can help you scale seamlessly and efficiently.
Why Hosted VoIP is Key to Scalability
You might be wondering how VoIP works. Unlike POTS, where sounds are transmitted via traditional landlines, VoIP converts a sound into a digital signal and transmits it over the internet. If you’ve ever made a phone call with WhatsApp or Google, you’ve used VoIP.
You can probably think of some obvious benefits behind VoIP based on this explanation alone: For example, you can easily place a phone call in a place where you have Wi-Fi, even if you don’t have great cell reception or a landline. Then there’s the fact that you don’t have to have different numbers for different locations—with VoIP, somebody could call a number, and it could be answered by one of several people working remotely at places all over the country. That makes it easier than ever for you to set up an employee based pretty much anywhere on a company line.
It’s worth noting that on-premise VoIP systems can do many of the same things as a hosted system, but they usually cost a lot more money if you need remote access or have more than one office. Unless your business has hundreds of phones in one place, an on-premise system can slow your growth. A hosted or cloud VoIP system is different because it’s easy for you to add new features and updates as they become available, with no extra cost required.
Features of Hosted or Cloud VoIP
So, what can you expect with VoIP? Here are a few of the features you’ll be able to use that will enhance and improve your productivity:
Auto Attendants & Call Queues
These features allow you to efficiently manage incoming calls, ensuring customers reach the right department or employee without confusion.
Text Messaging
Texting can be a powerful tool for customer service. One employee can manage multiple conversations simultaneously, providing a higher level of efficiency than with voice calls. Some VoIP systems also integrate chat requests from your website, consolidating all communication channels into one interface.
Call Extensions for Easy Navigation
Implementing a smart extension convention can make it easy to route calls within and between divisions. For example, you could use 4- or 5-digit extensions where the first digits represent the division, streamlining internal communication.
Paging & Intercom Systems
Your phone system can also function as a paging or intercom system, making communication within large spaces like warehouses or multi-level offices more efficient. Paging horns can even be added for loud environments such as repair shops.
Geographically Diverse Call Groups
With a cloud-based phone system, your team can work from various locations, and still be part of the same department. For instance, your accounting team could include members working in different states—or even countries—allowing for continued operation even during local disruptions like natural disasters.
Integrating VoIP With Your CRM
Now that you understand many of the key features you can use with VoIP, let’s take a look at a major one that will give you a huge advantage as a growing business. Your VoIP is able to integrate with your customer relationship management (CRM) software. This gives you numerous opportunities to communicate with your customers.
For starters, when a call comes in, your system can display relevant information that’s stored in your CRM, such as upcoming appointments, payment status, or even the caller’s birthday. This lets you have personal interactions with your customers and will boost that know-like-trust factor.
You also won’t need to dial numbers manually because they will already be stored in your system, so there’s less risk of errors and the process is sped up. You’ll be able to automatically save call logs or recordings of calls in your CRM, so your team members can access a complete history of customer interactions, even if they were not the ones handling past calls themselves. All of this goes a long way in improving service.
BONUS: There’s No Capital Investment
A hosted phone system sounds like the type of thing that would be expensive, but there’s no upfront capital investment when you need to take your service a step further. As your business grows, you simply expand your subscription—no new hardware or complicated installations are required. This goes for if you’re opening up a second office, bringing on additional remote workers, or including more features.
Want to set up a VoIP for your business and see how its flexibility (and scalability) benefits you? Contact Office Phones Plus at 410-834-4900 to get started.