VoIP phone service offers your business many features that can improve your communications experience. If your hosted VoIP phone service provider suggests that all you need to do is plug your phones in and you’re in business, you are missing out on the opportunity to customize the service to advance your communications with your customers and employees.
Certainly, one of the great benefits of voice over the internet comes from the fact that your phones will register and download their configuration wherever your employees office, whether it be at the home or within the four walls of the office. Many VoIP service providers offer the opportunity to save money on phone service and tout “plug and play” installation. However, digitizing your phone service platform also provides your business the chance to program the set up.
- Customized Call Flow – Incoming calls to your business can be directed to multiple people, a single receptionist, a sequential series of people, or a combination of the above. Automated attendants can be in place as a primary or backup service that can aid the incoming call efforts.
- Centralized Reception for all Branches – If your business operates at multiple locations, whether it be in the same town or across the country, you can centralize your reception efforts for incoming call activity and save resources. Time of day routing can be in place if your business covers multiple time zones. VoIP phones can have multiple main line appearances, so your reception function will know how to answer the call.
- Mobile or Virtual Employees – Your VoIP phone service can enable your remote or mobile employees to be more in touch with internal or external calls. Phones can be deployed at the home or office, and every employee can be on an extension dial pattern regardless of location. Employees can also have direct inward dial numbers (DIDs) and bypass the reception function as well. Finally, their office phone can be forwarded or programmed with simultaneous ring to their cell phone so they can always be reachable when they are called.
These are just a few of the ways a VoIP service can be custom configured to enhance your business communication or be molded to conform to how you do business. So, don’t settle for drop shippers wanting you to plug and play. Make sure your potential VoIP provider can customize your service to meet your needs!
About the author: Mark Greim is the Vice President of Sales and Marketing at sipVine, a provider of a variety of digital phone solutions and services. Mark has extensive experience working for start-up or entrepreneurial organizations and a passion for affordable, reliable, and purposeful technology solutions in those environments.
