Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service is a popular choice for small businesses because it offers a range of benefits that can help improve communication and increase productivity.

In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the key advantages of using VoIP phone service for small businesses.

One of the biggest benefits of VoIP phone service is cost savings. Traditional phone systems often require expensive hardware and installation fees, as well as monthly charges for long distance calls.

VoIP phone service, on the other hand, uses the internet to make and receive calls, which means there are no additional charges for long distance calls. This can be a major cost saver for small businesses with employees or clients in different locations.

In addition to cost savings, VoIP phone service also offers flexibility and convenience. With VoIP, you can make and receive calls from any location with an internet connection, which means you can stay connected even when you’re on the go.

This can be especially useful for small businesses with remote workers or those that need to stay connected while traveling.

VoIP phone service also offers a range of advanced features that can help improve communication and increase productivity. For example, many VoIP providers offer call forwarding, which allows you to automatically redirect incoming calls to another phone or voicemail. This can be particularly useful for small businesses that may not have dedicated receptionists or that need to manage calls outside of normal business hours.

Another useful feature of VoIP phone service is the ability to use virtual numbers. This allows small businesses to have a local presence in different areas, even if they don’t have a physical location there. This can be particularly useful for businesses that want to target customers in different regions or that want to make it easier for customers to reach them.

VoIP phone service also offers the ability to integrate with other business tools and applications. For example, many VoIP providers offer integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which can help small businesses keep track of customer interactions and improve their overall customer experience. Other integrations, such as the ability to send text messages or make conference calls, can also help small businesses stay connected and collaborate more effectively.

Finally, VoIP phone service is generally easy to set up and use. Most providers offer simple plug-and-play devices that can be easily connected to an internet router, and many offer online portals that allow users to easily manage their accounts and make changes to their settings. This can be particularly useful for small businesses that may not have IT staff or that want to minimize the time and effort required to manage their phone systems.

In conclusion, VoIP phone service offers a range of benefits for small businesses, including cost savings, flexibility, advanced features, and ease of use. By switching to VoIP, small businesses can improve their communication and increase productivity, while also enjoying the convenience and cost savings that come with using internet-based technology.

The 3cx Phone System, the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone system that Tech Experts sells and services, has a call recording feature that’s quite popular. The service has been available for quite a while now.

However, many small- and medium-sized businesses don’t take advantage of the technology that lets them prioritize customer interaction. When used properly, call recording can strengthen your company’s reputation and boost customer satisfaction.

Here are a few reasons to consider a 3cx Phone System with call recording:

Improve customer service
One of the most important reasons why businesses should always record their calls, no matter its significance, is to ensure high-quality customer service. By reviewing calls, managers can understand how their agents have been dealing with customers, find out whether or not they’ve followed company protocol, and pinpoint any aspects that can be improved on.

Without call recording, managers would have to listen to each call in real time, which is a time-consuming process. By recording each call, not only will your managers save time, but your employees will also be motivated to perform at their best every time they’re on the phone because they know their calls can always be reviewed.

Upgrade employee performance
According to Edgar Dale’s Cone of Learning, people only remember 10% of what they’ve read, 50% of what they’ve seen and heard, and 90% of what they’ve done. By providing your agents with actual recordings of good and bad calling examples during training sessions, and have them simulate calls afterwards, they’ll be able to learn better and provide high-quality customer service faster.

Retrieve missed details and prevent litigation
With hundreds of phone calls daily, it’s understandable if your employees don’t catch every single detail. And for companies that require their agents to manually input information during calls, there’s always a possibility that they’ll forget or miss certain information. Needless to say, this could lead to disgruntled customers. If not properly handled, this can harm your reputation, reduce work opportunities, and if things escalate, proceed to litigation.

VoIP’s call recording feature lets you replay saved audio files to make sure you haven’t missed any details, ensuring that all customer demands are met. And if you ever get into a dispute with your clients regarding who said what, you can always retrieve the exact audio file and have both sides listen to it, saving you thousands of dollars in legal fees.

Understand customer preferences
Have you ever received an inquiry about a product or service that’s not included in your offerings? While your agents usually jot these requests down and pass them on to the relevant personnel, they may end up forgetting some if numerous calls are being made that day. Tiny issues like this can lead to potentially huge losses. With call recording, you can review all your calls at the end of the day. You’ll have a better picture of what certain customers are looking for so you can address them better.

VoIP allows businesses to make on-demand calls affordably, and its call recording feature helps companies improve their customer service and prevent litigation. If you think business VoIP is right for you, or if you have any questions, give us a call at (734) 457-5000.

Communication is key in business, and with the rise of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), communication has improved drastically. When phone calls can be made over the Internet, doors open for businesses.

First, VoIP offers businesses a consistent and full-time presence. Whether an employee is at their desk or out of the office, VoIP allows for incoming and outgoing calls to multiple devices using the same phone number.

For example, your employee may start their day in the office answering calls with their desk phone. After lunch, when they are scheduled for field work, they can take those same calls using VoIP software from their MSP. This makes for easy accessibility to clients, and it allows for your employees to be easily contacted by clients.

VoIP software is also very user friendly. It allows for easy call transferring and parking through the use of your desktop, and it provides seamless navigation of call queues and phone availability.

VoIP services also typically allow for users to easily see which of their coworkers are available, away, or busy at the moment.

This makes for efficient communication within a business.

Another integral part of business communications is the security behind the phone calls you are making. Home phones are different as it doesn’t matter too much if you and your uncle’s conversation is leaked, but in the business world, phone calls house sensitive information and a breach in phone system security could be detrimental to any business.

Although VoIP breaches can be accomplished, they are much harder to achieve than tapping a traditional phone system, leaving your business safer and far more secure.

When it comes to running a business, one of the main focuses must be reliability. Luckily enough, on top of all the other benefits of using a VoIP system, the reliability of the system is just the same as that of a traditional phone system. It could eventually become a more reliable system for making calls though.

Due to advancements in the field, more emphasis is put on Internet connectivity in businesses, so better software and systems will be put in place to upgrade your VoIP experience. In addition, many businesses have backup Internet connections, making a VoIP system far more reliable than a phone system in this instance.

One of the great parts about VoIP is the quality of your calls. Rather than hearing static, spotty audio, or having calls drop, VoIP call quality is fantastic. Calls are clear, understandable, and only have about a 20 millisecond delay for audio.

If your bandwidth can already handle all that your business needs on a day-to-day basis, there will be no problem with the quality of your VoIP calls.

VoIP is the future of business communications. With all of VoIP’s features, reliability, quality, and easy accessibility in mind, it’s no wonder that businesses across the globe are dialing into VoIP systems. Even as VoIP systems dominate, they continue to grow every day with new features to propel the ease of accessibility of the product.

Is VoIP right for your business? Call us today at (734) 457-5000 and we can give you direction on upgrading your phone system.

It’s 2017 and, in case you didn’t know, VoIP phone systems just keep getting better. Yes, the landline is losing ground to yet another competitor: VoIP. Cell phones have made home phones much less prominent, but for businesses, there is and likely always will be a need for dedicated multi-line phone systems.

What is VOIP?

For those less tech savvy folks out there, you may not have heard of a VoIP phone before. Even if you have, you may not know what it means. VoIP stands for “Voice over Internet Protocol.” Very simply put: by using software or sometimes a physical converter, phone calls are made over the Internet.

Cell phones may be the reigning champion, but the need for dedicated phone systems will never go away. Many home users that do have home phones have VoIP and may not even know it.

If you are bundling phone service with your Internet and even cable television, then you most likely are using a VoIP system. In most home applications, it is common for your modem to have phone ports which can tie your existing phone jacks into the modem, allowing calls to be made.

For businesses, a VoIP system can be configured like you are used to. User extensions, call holds or parking, and line transfers – they’re all there, including other features your business may find useful.

Hold music, call directory, and even call recording are all easily put in place, too. There are many different solutions for businesses of different sizes, but the use of desktop multi-line phones works better for just about everyone.

Using a phone that connects directly to an Ethernet line provides great reliability. Most of these phones come with a second port allowing you to use your existing wired connection for your computer to connect the phone, which then sends the connection through to the computer.

This also allows for options of integration with your computer, such as software that can display incoming calls and outgoing calls, service queues, and the ability to call extensions or transfer calls with the click of your mouse.

So what’s better about it?

There are a number of advantages to using a VoIP system. The call clarity is better. The quality is better. Conference calls are easier and more reliable.

The many features provided by using an Internet-based product are surely more than you’d think. There are so many things that make a VoIP system attractive, but none of those will speak to you like the sound of cutting your phone bill down by up to 40-50% a month.

The number of simultaneous phone calls available to your business can be one of the biggest contributors to high costs. Long-distance on landlines can also add up whereas VoIP calling is cheaper per call than landlines, whether it’s local or long-distance calling.

Many businesses can see phone bills over $2,000 a month with a traditional landline system. Imagine cutting that in half. That is $12,000 a year in savings versus landlines. Maybe you’re a smaller business and have 10 employees. Your landline with multiple lines ringing in can cost you as much as $400 a month. Why not save yourself $2,400 a year?

Don’t let the initial cost of potentially buying new phones scare you away. When you are saving 40% a month, you will recoup the initial investment faster than you think. After that, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy better quality, better clarity, and all that extra money in your pockets.

Thomas Fox is president of Tech Experts, southeast Michigan’s leading small business computer support company.

One major technology pain point small businesses have revolves around communications. If your clients and prospects can’t effectively reach your staff, customer support and productivity is weakened. Increasingly, small businesses need more out of their phone system, and VoIP solutions offer more features with less expenses.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is, essentially, phone calls in the cloud. Voice signals are converted to packets that are sent across the Internet and reassembled in the correct order when they reach their destination. VoIP services can be deployed over the Internet or private IP networks (LAN/WLAN).

Why should your business invest in a powerful VoIP solution? There are several reasons, but the most important one is that it’s a huge opportunity to save on your business’s operating expenses. VoIP services can save a small business hundreds of dollars per month on their phone service costs. [Read more…]