Why Should VOIP Phone Services Matter to Small Business Owners

Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Work In My Pajamas

VoIP services are ready and waiting to transform the way you run your business. Find increases across the board in relation to productivity and find decreases in resource requirements and costs.

VOIP, or voice over internet protocol, is growing in popularity and slowly taking over the more traditional methods of communication such as the land-line. VOIP is becoming more widely used for a number of things, personal calls and all, and is certainly a must have for small businesses.

VOIP gives you an edge with communication and is affordable as well with great offers from Comcast, Verizon, and more. There are even free options out there which can be used by anyone so having some form of video communication over the internet is an option for everyone.

To say VOIP is cost effective is any understatement. If you are looking for a service that provides you with instant messaging, voice calls, video calls and the option to call phone numbers; then Skype is a ‘free for all’ service owned by Microsoft that would be a fantastic solution for you. A lot of users are using this service at home to speak to family and friends, or just catch up on DIRECTV. Businesses can make use of this as well.

If you are looking for a bit more like call forwarding, voice mail, caller ID and conferencing facilities then you might be better off paying for a service instead. It is cost effective to do so and the aforementioned features are included in the packages offered most of the time. You can pay a flat monthly rate so you know straight off what you are going to pay, regardless of the number of minutes you rack up (some may be limited).

Smaller businesses may be under the impression that VOIP is more of an effort than it is worth when going for a full package. That perception is wrong as there is the option to go with a cloud-based service now so you don’t have to install the system that you want and create hassle. This is the option where the monthly flat rates usually come in, which is a great advantage for smallbusinesses. You can even expand the amount service you get; add and remove users as you need to. You’re not obligated to the service so can switch and change as you please.

Your VOIP service will run through your own broadband which means that you have the option to integrate other information systems such as email forwards when you have voice mail. If your business uses a CRM system, or Customer Relationship Management system, then you could potentially integrate this with VOIP and use it to identify the caller based on your client information databases. This can bring the callers information up on your screen; if the number is on your system to identify that is.

Using VOIP and integrating with your current systems of communication can make the day to day running of your business a lot easier. Your customers will be happy too; if you use the system and integrate with the CRM, then a customer may leave a voice mail. What if the person they have left a message for is not in the office? That’s where email forwarding comes in handy; the employee will be notified and can forward as required so the customer is not left waiting.

If you choose this option and choose the VOIP in the cloud service, then you won’t have to do much as all can be set up virtually. You can manage your system through a simple portal online which tends to be really easy to navigate. You can even let your VOIP service provider manage the system for you.

VoIPis something that has been available for a while, but is more affordable these days so can appeal to businesses of all sizes. The benefits speak for themselves and using a VoIP service to integrate with a CRM system can do magical things to cost, productivity and management reporting. Consider looking into the costs; you will be pleasantly surprised by how affordable all options are to you.