8 Benefits of VOIP for Small Businesses
One of the biggest misconceptions about Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is that many people believe that this phone system is only ideal for big businesses. VoIP has many features that small business owners can take advantage of.
VoIP allows users to make and receive calls using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular or analog phone line. This technology converts sound into digital packets and transfers it through the internet similar to other types of data like the email.
“VoIP isn’t just a new technology for making old-fashioned calls cheaper,” Kevin Werbach wrote in the article “Using VoIP to Compete” published in the Harvard Business Review. “What makes it so potent is that it turns speech into digital data packets that can be stored, searched, manipulated, copied, combined with other data, and distributed to virtually any device that connects to the Internet.”
Thinking about VoIP for your business? Call us now at 416 920 3000 to see how we can help your company
Here are the top 8 benefits of VOIP for small businesses:
1. Excellent Call Quality
VoIP technology has evolved in such a way that the person you’re calling or the person calling you can’t tell whether you’re using VoIP or traditional landline. Today’s VoIP phone service has even surpassed traditional landline in terms of call quality.
2. Multi-Functionality
There’s more to VoIP than making and receiving calls. Modern VoIP systems incorporate other communication services like instant messaging, presence information, teleconferencing, video conferencing, receiving voicemail and faxes via email.
VoIP’s multi-features like video conferencing allow you to keep in touch with employees to discuss important matters irrespective of where they are in the world. Through this modern communication system, your employees don’t necessarily have to be physically present in the office. They instead can work from home or work from abroad.
With VoIP, voicemail and faxes can be forwarded to your email. Through this system, you’ll receive your messages in one place – your email. This also allows you to archive or forward messages.
3. Secure
Compared to the traditional analog telephone connection, VoIP is much more secure. This modern phone system has standardized encryption protocols, making your calls and data secure – something that can’t be done on a regular telephone connection.
4. Portability
So long as you’ve internet access, you can use your VoIP system anywhere. VoIP allows you to make and receive calls from multiple devices, including your smartphone, ensuring that you can be contacted by customers or by colleagues wherever you are in the world.
It also allows you to transfer calls to your colleagues without requiring customers to call another number. This phone system also allows you to set your status to inform your colleagues whether or not you’re available to take calls.
5. Automated Assistance
With VoIP, answers to simple frequently asked questions can be programmed to serve customers call after office hours. Holiday opening hours, regular opening hours and other important announcements can be programmed, providing your customers optimal service at all hours of the day and night.
6. Call Recording Service
With VoIP, calls can be recorded, allowing you and your colleagues to play back important calls, ensuring that important messages aren’t missed. With this modern phone system, you can also review call logs to determine what time of the day customers are calling the most, how long each call lasts and much more relevant information.
7. Increased Productivity
VoIP increases productivity by eliminating “phone tag” – a phenomenon that occurs when two people are trying to call each other by telephone but neither is able to get hold of the other. Phone tag only leads to increased customer frustration, reduced sales and inhibits small businesses the capacity to grow.
With VoIP, phone numbers can be programmed to ring on multiple devices before proceeding to voicemail. This reduces the likelihood of employees and customers experiencing phone tag.
8. Cost-Effective
Operating costs for VoIP are significantly lower than the traditional phone companies. Here are specific instances where your organization can save money through VoIP:
- VoIP significantly cuts down domestic and international calls. A VoIP number, also known as a virtual number, isn’t connected to a physical landline telephone but appears to the person you’re calling or the person calling you to be so. For instance, customers and colleagues can call you at the local rate instead of the higher international rate as your virtual phone number appears to be within their local exchange even though it isn’t.
- Your organization no longer has to maintain separate networks for data and phones.
- As VoIP allows you to take your office extension phone anywhere you go using a smartphone, this slashes your company’s mobile phone costs.
- Teleconferencing and video conferencing eliminate the need for employees who are on fieldwork to travel back to the office in order to attend a meeting or to discuss important matters with colleagues. Teleconferencing and video conferencing, therefore, can mean significant cut in travel cost, whether via company car or via plane. For virtual employees, teleconferencing and video conferencing also mean less cost related to recruiting, retraining and even office space.
- VoIP handsets are less expensive than traditional telephones.
According to Technavio, the global VoIP market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 10% during the forecast period 2017-2021.
“During 2017-2021, with increased smartphone and LTE-enabled device adoption, the VoIP services market is likely to expand significantly,” Technavio said. “The development of various VoIP applications for smartphones in the form of messaging and voice and video calls at reduced prices helps more customers to adopt VoIP services.
“During 2018-2020, many developed and emerging nations would be completing the process of LTE network infrastructure deployment, thus enabling VoIP to gain a high subscriber base,” Technavio added. “The market will mostly be driven by developing regions with the increasing availability of high-speed broadband services ….”
At GenX we offer the following telephony services:
- Design of state-of-the-art telephony systems with features such as DID, wireless capability, and interactive voice response
- Fully custom telephony systems, designed specifically for your company’s needs and financial requirements
- Complete installation of all required hardware, and software setup, in a one-time deployment service
- Training sessions for employees to learn new systems
- Continued technical support through our many GenX Helpdesk services
Call us today at (416) 920-3000 to learn more about the benefits of VoIP for your business