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Deploying mobility options is a great way to fully utilize your Hosted VoIP phone system for your business and drive customer satisfaction and office efficiency.  Hosted VoIP services provides a new outlook for your phone system, as you no longer are confined to the walls of the office for your communication practices.  Such options include the utilization of soft phones for your cell phones, tablets, and laptops, engagement of cell phones in the call flow, and the establishment of remote office options for personnel.

Soft Phones – Working in conjunction with or independently from your VoIP desk phone, soft phones can provide several advantages.  They are set up as your extension in your business on your laptop, tablet, or smart cell phone.  When you turn on these phones, you can dial out and deliver the caller ID for your business instead of that of your cell phone.  You can basically take and make calls anywhere you have an internet connection.  This mobility option provides a measured improvement in customer contact and satisfaction for associates who are on the road or out of the office frequently.  When using these devices, it is recommended that you are on a WiFi network and not relying on 4G or 3G cell service. 

Engagement of Cell Phones in the Call Flow – Again, for employees who are highly mobile or out of the office, calls to their direct dial number or internal extension can be programmed to simultaneously ring or forward to their cell phones.  This increases the ability for key customer contact associates to receive that important phone call while they are away from the office.   If they are busy and do not answer their cell phone, the call is routed back to their office voicemail.  Of course, voicemails can be delivered to email so they can receive and listen to the voicemails and respond quickly.  One important note is that if the associate hits “ignore” on their cell phone, or if the phone is turned off or out of service area, the calls will be picked up by the cell phone voicemail.

Remote Personnel – Because the actual phone system is hosted by your VoIP provider, all of the desk phones are connected back to the host via the internet connection regardless of where they are located.  Therefore, companies are able to deploy a work from home option for their associates, or establish offices where a specific skill set of employees are better recruited and deployed.  Associates can have phones at the office and a duplicate phone at a home or vacation home and still take calls as if they were at the home office.  This opens up plenty of efficiencies and applications for businesses.

The key with all of these options is that they can be used to make the office more efficient, employees more engaged and available, and customers more satisfied.  We’d love to talk over your specific application and help provide a solution for you!

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 has a passion for affordable, reliable, and purposeful technology solutions in those environments.