Communication is vital in any business venture. As a business owner, you will need to communicate with customers, clients, suppliers, or business partners. Well known phone lines such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) utilizes internet connection to transmit voice data effectively. The VoIP system is quickly replacing conventional phone systems for both small and large-sized businesses.
Currently, the installation of small business phone lines like VoIP accounts for almost eighty percent (80%) of new telephone systems for small business ventures. There are several advantages of using VoIP phone service to connect with clients/customers, employees, business partners and suppliers.
Here are just some of the advantages of using VoIP:
Huge Savings
Cost savings is one of the major reasons that many small businesses migrate to Voice over Internet Protocol service. VoIP service plans per month are considerably low. However, the cost of your monthly package will typically depend on the features you select and the number of extensions your business requires. If you have been utilizing a traditional analogue telephone system, migrating to VoIP can reduce your monthly phone expenses significantly, especially if your business places a considerable amount of long-distance phone calls. As calls are routed through your internet connection instead of through conventional phone lines, it will not cost you more to connect to an international call. Unlike conventional phone service, you will not be charged for calling an international line during “peak hours”.
Excellent Features
Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems also have all the features available in conventional phone systems such as:
- Call forwarding
- Call waiting
- Voice mail
- Caller ID
VoIP also offers additional features particularly useful for small businesses. Since this phone service is integrated with your business’ internet connection, your voice mail messages can be easily converted into electronic mail messages and then sent to your email account.
Many reputable VoIP providers provide business owners with the opportunity to integrate their voice traffic with their sales force apps and other client/customer relations management solutions, which makes it easier for your sales and customer service teams to get access to a customer’s data during customer service phone calls. The teams can also view information about every lead when making calls to drum up business. Other features offered by small business phone lines include call history, video conferencing and the opportunity to have calls routed to other phones. Many of the basic features will also be included with your phone service at no additional charges.
Flexibility
As a subscriber, you can decide to have Voice over Internet Protocol service hosted with a reputable VoIP vendor for a fee. The vendor will offer you troubleshooting, system maintenance and upgrades. As your small business begins to grow, you can decide to add more line extensions – this is certainly the very best choice for small business owners. You will also be able to choose which features you want to include in your package. Several providers will provide onsite training on how to use phone lines.
Large-sized business establishments may actually find it to be more economical to buy and install their own Voice over Internet Protocol equipment on the company’s premises. However, this will require a large initial investment. Companies who select on premise VoIP will be responsible for installation and maintenance of the equipment, the company will also need to buy and install any upgrades. Every available feature comes with premise-based VoIP, although your business may not require all of them.
Portability
The same way an individual must log into a computer network making use of login identification and password in order to access his or her workstation, users of VoIP technology must log into their phone in order to make and receive phone calls. The major benefit of this feature is that a member of your staff maintains a dedicated telephone line. Whether the member of staff is working in the office or from the comfort of his or her home, when he or she logs into any telephone within the VoIP system using their password and identification, they will be able to receive and make calls from their phone number. This is quite valuable to small business establishment that hire telecommuters.
When choosing a phone line for your small business, it is of the utmost importance that you choose to work with a provider that has a reputation for offering the best small business phone lines at affordable rates. The provider must have professionals in VoIP technology and be considered a recognized authority in cloud-based phone systems, providing top quality mission critical communication service for businesses. The VoIP provider must offer a platform designed to deliver a reliable communications experience across devices and locations, and allow small businesses to integrate with other cloud applications.