Advancements in the field of technology also mean that businesses have started to move towards modernisation.
This involves all aspects of business operations, including telecommunications.
VoIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. This refers to the modern technology that businesses now use in making calls and videos. Instead of calls going through traditional phone lines, the calls are being coursed through the Internet.
Generally, this stands to benefit businesses all the more because there’s no surcharge for calls made on the Internet. The bills of the company stay fixed. Features of business VoIP include conference calls, private branch call exchange, automated attendants, desk-to-desk calls, and even music while the call is on hold.
Since its inception, many businesses have already made the big switch to a VoIP system. If you’re one of those businesses that are still holding on to your traditional phone systems, here are good reasons to switch to a VoIP system, such as QuoteGrab. It saves you so much more money in the long run, plus these other benefits:
Not Only Limited To Voice Calls
In businesses, one of the most primitive ways that have remained is the voice system. Many are still choosing to stick with traditional telephones that only allow you to do two things: make and receive calls. For all the other types of calls, you need to install and maintain many other services. In the long run, this can be more expensive.
Switching to a VoIP system enables you to have all calls in one unified system. This means that you can make all forms of calls. Screen sharing, video calls, and video conferencing can all be done effortlessly.
From one VoIP system to another, it makes for a more seamless and a more extensive range of communication. The result? More efficient calls, with fewer communication lapses.
As to savings, this means that your business has much lesser utility bills to maintain.
Less Costly
Naturally, making that switch to VoIP can be costly from the beginning because you have to purchase the units, screens, software, and other essential tools and devices. But, after it’s all set up, it results in more efficient and cheaper business operations. With a VoIP system, you’re no longer confined within the traditional industry regulations of phone companies. This directly results in lesser maintenance and monthly fees.
Here are other reasons why maintaining a VoIP is less costly:
- It eliminates long-distance charges when making overseas calls because you’re using the Internet rather than coursing the call through a telecommunications company.
- It also eliminates the need to pay for added services, such as video calling, voice mail, and video conferencing.
- It reduces the need to add phone lines in every office or cubicle.
Offers So Much More Flexibility
The purpose of the latest technology and software when used by businesses is to offer more efficiency and productivity. When businesses achieve this, it also results in two cost-saving effects:
- First, mistakes that can be costly are more efficiently avoided. Glitches could still pop up even while using voice systems as a result of human error. Unfortunately, in some cases, these mistakes can be expensive. So, the lesser manual work your team has to do, the less chance there is of making mistakes.
- Second, you may need to maintain a fewer workforce. This is because one system coordinates all call networks. When schedules, announcements, or whatever voice data have to be made, this can be done by the system itself and not by people.
- Having a VoIP means that it’s easier to expand the information needed by the business. Whenever you need to add in information, doing this would be as easy as making a few clicks. If there’s also information that you need to remove, everything is just effortless. That being said, VoIP offers a higher level of flexibility compared to traditional phone systems.
Easier To Set Up
Even though they sound overly technical, VoIP systems are actually pretty easy to set up and maintain, which cuts down the need to employ a team of experts. Often, it may even be as easy as directly downloading a few apps into your business’ computer system.
Other systems can be installed through adaptors, which convert analog signals into digital signals, the mode of communication of the VoIP. These adaptors are small, and are the plug-and-play type. Because of this, there’s no need to invest more time and money into setting up and organizing a VoIP system.
Helps Avoid Loss of Clients
Yes, you may lose clients when their calls remain unattended. If you’re still using a traditional phone system, you’ll have to keep on updating your phone numbers each time that you add a line. When you manually update phone numbers, not all of your loyal clients may get the memo. Hence, they might end up calling an old or wrong number.
This mistake will make you lose clients. Remember that in business, one way to keep clients is to maintain close communication. With a VoIP system, whenever an update is made, all networks are notified. This means that even the clients are being notified of the changes; they’re still in the loop as to which numbers to ring.
In business, remember that every call must be answered. This can spell the difference between deals lost and transactions made. Clients also quickly get upset when their concerns aren’t addressed promptly. Whenever the phone rings, it has to be answered immediately.
A VoIP system saves you from that dreaded phenomenon of losing clients, something that would never happen if their calls and concerns are addressed as soon as possible. As a result, these people stay happy and continue being your loyal patrons.
No Need To Pay For Extra Features
If you have a traditional phone system at your office, naturally, you have to pay for the extra features whenever you add other types of calls. This includes all the expenses starting from the installation to the maintenance of these add-ons. When these add-on features are crucial for your business to operate effectively, it doesn’t make sense for you to have to pay so much extra costs by having them. Hence, a VoIP system is your solution.
Most VoIP provides all the modern features that businesses badly need. This includes:
- Fax messaging
- Call displays
- Video calls
- Call holding
With all these features ready as a whole package, you’ll no longer have to worry about needing to pay for extras.
Offers Mobility
Mobility refers to the ability of the person on the other line to answer the phone call without necessarily having to be right beside the desk. This comes in handy for businesses with members of the team that are always on-the-go. They don’t have to limit themselves only to their respective desks. For as long as there’s a broadband connection, calls can be answered. They can answer calls and receive voicemail or emails through any mobile devices, such as their cell phones, tablets, or laptops.
With mobility, it’s easier to make calls even to overseas numbers. It also cuts down the need to have a designated area code. Even when members of the team are traveling overseas, requests can still be made in a manner that’s more accessible, faster, and, of course, cheaper.
Cost-Effective Hardware And Software
A new connectivity system calls for the installation of its applicable hardware and software. For other systems, however, setting them up can be expensive
With VoIP phone systems, the installation cost is significantly cheaper. The hardware needed for a VoIP system to operate might be something that you already have, for instance, computers and gadgets. You don’t even have to start from scratch. The VoIP can start running even with the existing equipment and devices that you already have.
Offers Converged Data Network
Through the VoIP network, you don’t need to have dedicated phone lines for each type of call. Conferencing is more simplified. Each time a phone conference call needs to be done, you don’t have to pay for every additional caller. The cost of all these converged calls are already merged at the lowest price possible when you subscribe to the VoIP software.
VoIP is an essential advantage for any business, which goes beyond just the cost factor. It makes it easier for members of the team to communicate their needs with each other, pick up calls, and even send out files. VoIP systems also enable you to send various media formats, such as photos and videos. That way, you can solve issues almost instantly.
With this advantage, you’re also improving your overall customer service. Your customers no longer have to go to your physical store to show what happened as they could just send photos of the damages. On your part as a business owner, you can instantly give instructions as to what steps could be taken to solve their problems. Customer satisfaction is, indeed, heightened. This strengthens your business relationship with both your existing and future clients.
Employees Can Work From Home
Another one of the cost-saving measures that companies should look into is having more employees work from home. When this is offered to various members of the team, they become happier. Some prefer or need to work remotely in the confines of their homes or wherever that feels most convenient to them. This may also give you a chance to expand your business team overseas.
With a VoIP system, you can have more employees working from home offices. This results in overall cost savings as you no longer have to provide and maintain a physical office for your remote workers. This results in substantial savings for your company in the long term.
Employees can utilize video conferencing and audio calls wherever they are on this face of the planet. As files are shared effortlessly, productivity is still preserved despite the distance.
The Disadvantages
As you’re now aware of the benefits of having a VoIP system, it’s also important to point out its possible disadvantages. Doing this gives you awareness of the downsides that you have to expect about the VoIP software. This isn’t to discourage you as the advantages heavily outweigh the disadvantages, anyway. It’s more about helping you to put in the right measures in your company to combat these imperfections.
Here are some of these:
Heavily Reliant On An Internet Connection
VoIP systems are also heavily reliant on stable Internet connections. This means that if, for any reason, the Internet connection in your area suffers, you don’t have a back-up. This is very common, for instance, during power outages, storms, or maintenance of telecommunications and Internet providers. For all the systems to run efficiently, your Internet connection must stay stable.
One way for you to combat such an issue is to post an advance message of warning to your clients and the entire team should there be an announced power outage in your area. The same also applies during the maintenance period. This keeps your clients aware that during specific hours and days, calls may not be as smooth. Hence, they don’t end up disappointed.
Latency
The quality of the calls is highly dependent on the quality of the available Internet connection. In the same manner as you would experience while surfing the net, lags are more common and highly expected. This means that for calls to stay smooth, a higher bandwidth of Internet connection is needed. But, this disadvantage is slowly getting resolved now with a more sophisticated Internet data algorithm in place.
Conclusion
VoIP systems promise so much more benefits than potential drawbacks. Additionally, the cost of installing this system will always prove to be worth the expense as it simplifies the entire communication process in your business. Also, the maintenance costs of VoIP systems are cheaper as they cut down the need for employing a technical team on a full-time basis. In order to optimize quality communication lines in your business, a VoIP system is highly recommended.
