How to Choose a Small Business Phone System

Having a way for your customers to speak to someone over the phone directly has become even more than relevant lately with all this push to digital and online. If you run a small business, you need to be able to offer all communication channels because every time a customer calls, there is another possibility of a sale.

Yet how do we know what type of phone system to have? Do we need the latest state-of-the-art digital VoIP (voice over IP) phone system? Or will landlines still suffice? Knowing exactly what direction to head in will help keep your small business open for communications and help maintain those operational costs simultaneously.

Remember that you’ll need to go digital eventually

Regardless, by 2025, you’ll only be able to have VoIP, and the ISDN/PSTN networks will be gone entirely and no longer available. At the very least, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll be able to switch over to the more prominent feature-rich VoIP phone systems that keep your business mobile and working properly.

VoIP is also a much cheaper option as you can run it over your current internet cabling and even Wi-Fi networks, not needing to get any type of analogue cabling system set up.

If you already have a VoIP system, then there’s nothing you’ll have to do in a few years. You may only want to consider expanding your digital footprint and the functionality available with VoIP systems.

Be prepared to move to the cloud

Just like you did with your filing system and operational business software such as an ERP, you will be moving your small business phone setup completely onto the cloud. And why not? You’ll be able to operate and manage the entire phone system online from anywhere and help to promote the work remotely and work from home, offering even more. Moving to the cloud will reduce risk and help keep your business protected.

Just because you’re going entirely on the cloud doesn’t mean you’ll be missing out on having real phone numbers for the business, and features such as call forwarding, call queuing and voicemail to emails, just to provide a small sample. Being cloud-based means helping to have a system in place to scale up or down easily in line with your business needs.

If you’re used to using those phone headsets and handsets, that is still possible, and your laptop or computer will simply be acting as the softphone and making those call connections.

You’ll be able to double your hardware

Everyone who’s carrying a smartphone will be able to add applications that will allow them to use their smartphone with business phone numbers and still keep it separate from their private information.

Those business phone numbers also can stay with the company, meaning if people leave those numbers that the clients and customers were using, let’s say, with the sales team, it will not need to be changed.

You can also turn off or set timers and schedules with these softphone apps, so you’re not fielding calls 24/7 if you choose not to.

Data becomes your friend

One of the best benefits of moving to a hosted mobile phone system for your business is the copious amounts of valuable data you’ll be able to track and collect. You’ll be able to track where the calls are coming from, how long the calls are, and which calls lead to sales that can end up tied to your CRM system.

You’ll also have the ability to track how many calls need to go to voicemail and when, so you know when your busy times are, and you need extra support on the phones. Even if your employees are using their mobiles to field calls or handle sales, it can be tracked as long as they’re doing it through the phone system application.

All of this reporting will actually help you, as a small business owner, help to make informed decisions. You can report on what the topic of the call was, whether it was to enquire about a product that sold out too fast or to complain about the functionality of another product. Every call adds another actionable data point.

You can save a lot of money

When you have a hosted phone system instead of a physical one, it tends to be more of an operational cost with a monthly cost and a truly minimal to no setup cost.

You’re basically paying a subscription fee to have your contact system be built online. In addition to the break on your small business budget, you’re also able to have a much more remote workforce, meaning you’ll not have to invest in such a large office but still be able to run your operations smoothly.

For example, you can have your entire customer support department be anywhere globally, and your sales teams can choose to work remotely from home. It’ll still appear as if they’re fielding the calls from an office, with the complete professional setup offered by a hosted phone system for your small business.

You may want to consider reaching out to us at Concise if you haven’t checked in a while about your phone system or if you’re going to need to make the switch to VoIP powered phone systems.

We’ll work with you and run a quick audit on your existing phone setup to see where you’re at and what recommendations would end up looking like. We can work with any sized small business from one to many employees and will help to provide you with the best possible scalable hosted phone system that you can rely on and easily connect via an internet connection.

Synergy-UK are here to deal with and answer any questions you may have, from do you need to switch over to how you can handle calls remotely. Whatever your small business phone needs may be, we’re sure at Concise that we have the necessary experience and expertise to build out a suitable phone system model for you every time.