VoIP Is the Way to Go for Businesses
VoIP, or voice over Internet Protocol, is officially the newest trend in business telephony. Not only are businesses ditching traditional telephone service providers, they are finding the VoIP is effective in supporting small and large business telephony needs. VoIP is:
- Cheaper
- More flexible
- More scalable
- Full featured
Furthermore, VoIP allows business to use the toll free forwarding feature to expand its reach internationally. Toll free forwarding, specifically, enables businesses to connect with their customers anywhere in the world, conveniently and affordably. How does it work? A business purchases a toll free number, points that number to ring directly to its agents, and connects with customers around the globe. Toll free numbers can land on your landline, mobile, SIP or PBX system. The cheapest rates are provided when sending via VoIP (SIP phone or PBX system).
How Does VoIP Work?
VoIP is a pretty simple to implement and use solution. Because this cloud-base, or hosted, solution enables calls to be transferred via Internet, there is no need for bulky hardware. In fact, all you or your agents require to receive calls is a laptop or PC, an Internet connection, and head set. Do keep in mind, however, that certain Internet requirements must be met to produce satisfactory call quality. Those include:
- RAM
- Bandwidth
- Sound Adaptor
- Processor Device
- Operating System
Steps to implementing VoIP for your business:
- Find a VoIP service provider
- Purchase toll free number(s)
- Configure softphone or PBX
- Start making calls via VoIP!
Ditch Traditional. Go with VoIP.
If the above information isn’t enough to persuade you to ditch your traditional telephone service provider and go with VoIP, we’ve got more. VoIP supports an array of features that can improve efficiency and productivity for your business. These features also help systematize your organization, providing a standardized path for callers.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is a feature that allows callers to select a destination/department from a pre-recorded menu. This could include Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Customer Support, and so forth. Having this feature greet callers can increase response or resolution time, as well as better organize your internal team of representatives.
Time-of-Day Routing is a feature that makes forwarding calls at different times of the day possible. If your business requires calls to be sent to different locations or different employees throughout the day, this feature is for you. By simply setting up these criteria, the system will automatically and seamlessly conduct the necessary transition for you. This feature makes 24×7 service possible, not to mention, easier.
Call recording gives your business the ability to record and review calls. This can be hugely beneficial if a situation calls for management review, whether it is for quality assurance purposes or a customer complaint. Having records of calls is never a bad idea. It can be a great help when training new representatives, as well.