A small business rarely has the budget available to larger enterprises to spend on communication infrastructure and nor does it employ the staff to support it. This is largely why VoIP has proved so valuable to small businesses as it has both reduced communication costs and allowed them to compete for clients on a much more level playing field.
More For Less
Before companies moved over to VoIP they had to install and support two networks, one purely for telephone calls and one for the internet. Because VoIP now allows both voice and multimedia options to be transferred via the internet, the IT support staff can focus their efforts on a single network. Plus there is only the set-up cost necessary to install one network, not both.
VoIP also comes with a much more user friendly graphical interface which means the end user can update many of the options themselves including: call forwarding; voicemail messaging; whitelisting numbers; and speed dial amongst others. This means less reliance on technical staff to make changes.
In addition VoIP providers can offer calls, including long distance and international ones, at substantially lower rates. This has allowed even very small enterprises to carry out business around the world. It also means those working from home can access data quickly from clients; can communicate with them daily via calls; can get training via screen share; and can attend meetings through the use of VoIP conferencing technology.
Reliability on the Move
If you run a small business it is vital you remain accessible to clients even while you are travelling and VoIP gives you that option. Clients and colleagues can reach you on the same phone number wherever you are in the world and you can receive and make calls wherever you can access the internet, even making use of free Wi-Fi by just plugging your headset into your laptop.
The call quality with VoIP is just as good as on a traditional telephone line and your clients don’t even have to know you are out of the office, let alone on the other side of the world.
Client Access
VoIP also gives small businesses the capability to reach higher numbers of customers more easily. VoIP allows you to add click to call button to your website, on your online advertising and even embedded in your newsletters. This means that if a potential customer is interested in your products or services they can call you within seconds and find out more about what you offer. Even if you are travelling you can answer these calls or you can forward them to a voicemail so you can return the calls later.
Some VoIP services also provide an auto attendant. This allows a caller to choose an appropriate extension from a menu. This gives the impression that your company is much larger than it perhaps is and provides a professional first contact with your business for any caller. At heart it is a receptionist who doesn’t need to be paid.
VoIP also allows for lower cost solutions for your customer service issues. You can even outsource customer service to freelancers who can be accessed anywhere in the world without your client even being aware that their call is being forwarded. Also as VoIP is a trustworthy service, safe document storage is paramount and is protected through this process. Technology based companies can use solutions such as screen share to drastically reduce the time to find a resolution for customer support issues.
Take up of VoIP is accelerating and even the public is aware of its potential as a large percentage of people have now used Skype or similar technologies for keeping in touch with friends and family. Therefore, customers don’t find it out of the ordinary if you utilise the technology within your small business and with the industry set to reach a value of over $88billion by 2018 this is a technology which is definitely here to stay.
