As a growing business, it can be daunting trying to decide what phone system is best for you. When engaging customers, nothing compares to the personal connection a phone call provides. But with so many options on the market, knowing what to look for is key. Let's outline the essential things you need to consider when choosing a new phone system.
Why a small business needs a phone system
Despite the prevalence of computers in the modern age, a phone system is just as important as ever, particularly for a small business looking to grow. Phone systems are integral to improving the customer experience.
A well-integrated business telephone system ensures your customers have a near-instant line of access to your business, increasing the speed at which their queries are dealt with. By ensuring important calls can be given the attention they deserve, customers can feel reassured they’re being seen to with some level of immediacy.
Going one step further, cloud telephony systems ensure you're reachable at any time and from any device, so you'll never miss a call. By unifying your communications alongside your phone system in this way, you can offer a consistent, unified customer journey across your entire business.
What to look for in a phone system
Understanding what your business needs from a phone system is key. Having a phone system might project a professional appearance, but it’s about more than that – it’s about having a feature rich solution that can truly benefit your business’ productivity. Choosing the right system requires careful thought, as it’s an investment that should serve you well into the future. There are several factors you need to consider.
Scalability
When you purchase your phone system, keep the future in mind. After all, you’re expecting growth and your staff will likely grow to accommodate. But hiring those staff means adding more phone lines.
The ability for your phone system to scale is therefore paramount. Traditional business phone solutions require an elaborate, time-consuming process to add new members of staff to the system. More modern systems make the process as easy as clicking a button. Save yourself from future hassle by choosing a new phone system that's easy to scale.
Consider your budget
Consult your budget and decide on how much you’re prepared to spend before settling on a phone system. Doing so ahead of time lets you narrow down your options, helping ensure the deal you get is going to be cost-effective for your business. Olive can help you ensure predictable monthly bills, with full transparency of your usage and invoicing with Olive Business Manager.
Take a look at your current bills and determine the following:
- Is your current system leased or purchased?
- How much do you pay for line rental?
- Do you have call charges?
- What does the system itself cost your business?
By gaining better visibility over your current telephony expenditure, you can choose a business phone system that's not only smarter, but more affordable.
How big is your call volume?
When using a traditional phone system, you need to consider how many people are using your phone system concurrently and stay on top of call charges and telephone lines. When choosing a new system, look at your current call volume.
If customers can’t reach you because of limitations within your system, then your current phone solution isn’t performing as it should, and other options should be explored.
Identify advanced phone features
When working with a consultant to decide on your future phone system, ensure they understand what advanced features you need so they can source you the best deals.
Does your small business need features like Outlook integration, call recording, reporting, routing, or queuing? These advanced features can enhance your customer journey and give prospective customers the best possible experience.
VoIP
By harnessing the power of the cloud, you can make and take calls from any device. Considered by many businesses to be the way forward, VoIP offers unprecedented call quality, network reliability, and opportunities to save money.
Integrating cloud telephony into your organisation means you’re able to always be on call to provide amazing customer service. Whether your small business is on the move, remote, or working from home, VoIP ensures that you never have to shut down.
VoIP itself can either be on-premise or utilised within the cloud. On-premise VoIP phone systems need to be purchased and maintained but offer the typical VoIP benefits. Cloud VoIP is different – all phone features and services are delivered through the cloud. There’s no hardware for you to purchase, and nothing to maintain – it’s perfect for small businesses.
How Olive can help
We stand ready to help your business transform into a mobility-first operation. By focusing on agility, we can help your small business get the phone system it needs and deserves. We’re uniquely positioned to help you find the best VoIP solution for your business.
We work with a variety of partners including Vodafone, Mitel, and Gamma, to give you the most comprehensive overview of possible cloud telephony avenues. Improve productivity, nail down the features your business truly needs, and become an agile workplace from any location with a new business phone system and our ongoing support.
Get in touch today to find out more about how we can help your business transition to a mobility-focused organisation with predictable monthly billing for full control and visibility of your expenditure.
TOPICS: Customer Service, Cloud Telephony, Unified Communications