By Ashley Verrill, CRM Analyst at Software Advice
A while ago, I experienced first hand just how critical a working phone system can be for small business. I needed a haircut and didn't know anyone, so I attempted to call a salon my friend recommended. It didn't go well.
The first time I tried to call the phone rang and rang – no one ever picked up. The second time, I was asked to hit “2” to leave a general message, or dial an extension if I needed a specific stylist (I did want someone specific, but I didn't know their extension). I left two messages that week with the “general” voicemail, but no one ever called me back. Needless to say, I did not end up going to that salon.
Even if I had received a call back, it wouldn't have changed my view of the salon as disorganized. While many factors play into whether a business succeeds, this example underlines the importance of making it as easy as possible for customers to do business with you. So ask yourself this: Is your telephone system making this impression?
In this article, I will describe how small businesses can leverage VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) to increase efficiency and avoid situations like my salon experience.
Keep Your Phone Lines Open 24/7
“For us, it’s not just about looking big—it’s also about looking professional,” said Stefan Horbonis, a VoIP user and owner of APA Financials.
When I first called the salon, it was probably 9 p.m. and two days before Christmas. So, I assumed they were closed and already swamped with stylists out for the holidays. That was the only reason I even tried to call back a second and third time. But why couldn't I even leave a message the first time?
Many VoIP systems allow users to leverage an auto attendant and intelligent call routing so even after hours potential customers are greeted with a recording and directed to the appropriate contact. For some small businesses, this can eliminate the need for a separate receptionist, which makes it both an efficient and cost effective.
Couple this with auto calling forwarding, and calls can be answered around the clock (without having to publicize your cell phone number). This just requires setting up auto-routing rules that send calls to a cell phone or another landline if the caller dials a certain extension. This can be particularly valuable for small companies where even a single missed call can result in lost revenue.
“If all our receptionists are busy, the auto attendant automatically routes calls to my cell phone so I can talk directly to patients if there’s a dental emergency,” said Dr. Marc Kay, D.D.S., who uses VoIP in his Phoenix-based dental practice.
Convert Voicemail to Email
Imagine in my salon example if the automated greeting told me to leave a message with my email address and the date and time I wanted my appointment. Then, that voicemail was automatically sent to someone's inbox. Say that someone was the receptionist, who then forwarded the message to my stylist. Because the message was in her email, she could have instantly added the appointment to her calendar and shared the invitation with me.
Customers don't want to have to call and email you over and over to get what they want. In most cases, they prefer the least amount of effort as possible. In my hypothetical scenario, all I would have had to do was leave that one voicemail, and the next communication was the invite for the appointment. I definitely would have been impressed. VoIP systems help you cut down your response time to customers, and keep messages from falling through the cracks.
“I don’t have time to be put on hold by the phone company or passed from one person or machine to the next. It has been a pleasure to have a phone system that is state-of-the-art and offers the same sophisticated features large corporations use,” said Jonathan Tratt, a VoIp user and owner of Phoenix-based Tratt Properties.
He said voicemail to email conversion is particularly helpful for companies with staff who take frequent business trips, particularly overseas. Given the inevitable lapses in communication that often accompany travel due to time zone differences and unreliable cell phone service, voicemail to email conversion helps ensure that important messages are promptly received and answered.
Instantly Customize Automated Options
There are likely several times during the year when your hours of operation change, or you might otherwise not be at your desk during operating hours. Many VoIP systems offer an online management platform that allows users to quickly change auto-routing and auto-response options.
This ability is also important for adding and removing lines in an instant if needed. Let's say you get a large deal and need to bring on some temporary contractors. VoIP lets you add and remove lines, or adjust call forwarding to accommodate for new cell phone numbers. Once their contact is over, the user simply goes back into the online dashboard and makes those updates.
In Summary...
With so much business communication today taking place via email, social media, texting and the like, it can be easy to neglect the business telephone. But you have to remember, a phone call is still often the first interaction people have with your company. It sets the standard for their experience and what they can expect going forward. Don't miss your chance to make a good first impression.
Don Sadler contributed to this report.
Cloud Based Services for telecommunications providers
The world of telecommunications is rapidly changing. Implementation of traditional phone systems and services is shrinking. So what does a telecommunications reseller or agent do to keep relevant and grow revenue? The answer is simple. Market and sell cloud based phone systems and services.
What are the advantages to a reseller of selling cloud based phone services? There are many advantages. The first thing is that the value to your potential customer is easy to explain. The customer can reduce costs and improve operational efficiency. Let me explain. A typical phone system can cost $10,000, $20,000, $30,000 or more depending on the size of your business. Many potential clients in todays business environment may need a new phone system but have a hard time spending that kind of money. A cloud based phone system can be purchased for maybe 20 to 30% of what the traditional phone system costs. That price would include world class phones such as Aastra, Polycom, Kirk, Cisco, etc. So for a 20 person office, you can get a cloud based phone system for about $3,000. You have a much easier time closing a sale on a phone system with cloud based services using SIP phones.
The ease of the quoting process when configuring and pricing for a customer quote is easier with cloud based phone systems. When doing a quote, you would ask some typical questions such as how many phones, fax machines, locations, special needs and features are needed. The great thing is that most of the features are handled in a carrier class hosted data center and not in a traditional phone system on the customers premises. The main thing is to get the phone models and available lines and buttons correct. Your cloud based phone systems provider should be able to configure everything else on the backend. Your customer doesn't need a footprint or confined area to house the system.
The service with cloud based phone systems is even easier for a telecommunications reseller or agent to sell. You simply price the system and number of lines by the number of devices support and receive your commission percentage of billing for those devices. For example, one phone line equates to one phone. If a customer has 20 phones, they would be charged monthly for 10 lines. In this example, let's say that the price of a line is $30 per month and the commision rate to the reseller/agent is 20%. The customer would be billed $600 per month and the commissions paid to the reseeler/agent would be $120 per month.
You may already understand how a reseller or agent can make a monthly commission selling cloud based phone services lines. What about revenue selling the actual phones and equipment? The answer should be yes. A good partner is a cloud based phone systems and services provider works closely with the agent and reseller on design, proposals, and margins so that everone makes a profit.
What should you look for in a reseller or agent program when considering selling cloud based phone systems and services? I would look for a few things. The first is how long has the company been in business. There are many people that try to open up a cloud based telephone company selling someone elses platform. That is probably not the most stable type of company to work with. ConnectMe me has 20 years of experience behind them and many marketing SIP Phones and VoIP phone systems. There is a learning curve and you need to be in business for a good period of time to understand how to provide world class service. That brings me to my next most important point which is service. How good is their support? Are they responsive? Do they know what they are doing when it comes to technical issues? Will they work with you to solve a customers business problems? A top notch cloud based phone system and service provider should be able to assist you in any phase of the process from pre-sales to post-sales. If they just send you a rate sheet and give you a fax number for the orders, you probably want to look for another partner.
In closing, these insights should help in making your cloud based phone system and service resller business prosper.
There are hundreds if not thousands of industries and types of businesses. Each business competes for his or her share of the pie in their particular industry. Every industry is different. Some are made up of large, mega companies. Others are made up of small companies and every size in between. Yet all companies have certain things in common. There are certain challenges that all businesses have. So the question is how can cloud based phone service help your business and stay ahead of the competition?
Lets start with a little background regarding technology. Unlike businesses 100 years ago, technology today is playing a greater and greater role. Using the latest technolgy in your business can allow you to produce your product or deliver your service better, cheaper and faster. Not using the latest technology can help you lose market share and even put you out of business. So you ask what does this have to do with cloud based phone systems and service? Purchasing and running a system such as a traditional phone system has become so unnecessary it can become a liability. Let me explain. For most businesses, the expertise is around a particular industry. The talent a company has compliments that industry. Almost no company hires people to manage and run a phone system. If they require someone to do so, I limited time will be carved out for this function. When you make a decision to buy a traditional phone system, there is some daily work and management that could take your staff away from working on the core business. Companies that choose a cloud based phone system don't have those issues. The cloud based phone systems equipment is housed in a carrier grade data center. Any maintenance or repairs are handled by the carrier. When you have a traditional phone system, you own the problem. It is up to you to contact the appropriate interconnect company, report the problem accurately, and then pay a small fortune or maintenance contract for repairs. No so with a cloud based phone system. The carrier owns the equipment. If someone goes wrong, the carrier owns the problem up to and including the resolution. The reason why this can be a liability is that you are tieing up financial and human capital that could be used for your core business.
Lets talk about the initial cost. Maybe it has been sometime since you purchased a phone system. You might be hesistant to buy a new system due to the perceived cost. What you probably remember is that you bought a traditional phone system and the cost was $10,000, $20,000 or more. You fear that a new phone system may cost at least that or more. A cloud based phone system with the same features and functions of a traditional phone system may cost $3,000 or $4,000. A fraction of what you thought the cost would be. If your competition spends $20,000 and you spend $4,000, does this give you a financial advantage with an increase profit margin due to lower expenses and the ability to deliver products and services cheaper to the same client base? You bet.
The differences mentioned above regarding cloud based phone systems and services and traditional phone systems and services is obvious. Lets talk about quality. The leading phone manufacturers are focusing heavily on cloud based phone systems and phones. These phones are called SIP phones. What makes them great is that they can be programmed to do what your business need them to do. It is not like some traditional phone systems where you are buying a piece of hardware and just get the features based upon what the manufacturer sets.
In closing, I highly recommend that you do a fiscal and operational business anaylsis and see for yourself how cloud based phone systems can give you a competitive advantage.
We often hear about using your phone services provider to achieve mobility. The first and most important thing is to be able to provide a single phone number to your customer, and use a find-me follow-me feature to get your office calls out to your mobile phone. This is a feature provided by most quality cloud-based phone services providers. Follwome can be included with virtual PBX type service, and with hosted VoIP products. The virtual PBX basically just routes inbound calls to any telephone, the Hosted VoIP provides a true phone system using your broadband Internet, but can still get calls to your mobile phones.
This is all great, but does it really get the mobility you need? Not really. The reason is outbound calling, and delays. First, while you can route a call to your mobile phone, you want to also have a quick and convenient way to make a high-quality outbound call which shows your office number as the callerID. If you cannot do this, you end up providing your customers with your mobile number, therefore defeating the purpose of a follow-me system. The other issue is time. You want the call to route to your mobile device simultaneously with your desktop phone, so that your calls is answered quickly.
The answer to all of this is a mobile VoIP client. This can be setup to ring simulteneously with your desktop VoIP phone, therefore eliminating any delay. It can also be used to make outbound calls, which will show up with your office number, not your cell phone.
Here are some additional advantages:
- Make free calls when traveling internationally.
- Avoid high-priced international rates when calling from your cell phone.
- Use functions like call transfer and conference calls with a single button.
- Dial your office with a single button press using extension to extension dialing.
- Put callers on hold while playing your company music on hold information.
- Enjoy a much higher quality level when dialing from a WiFi or 4G/LTE area.
- Separate business and personal calls when using your own device.
- Save money on your monthly cell phone bills.
In order to enjoy this true mobility, you need to have a smart phone, preferably with 4G or LTE service. If you are dialing from 4G or WiFi the quality will often be far superior to a standard cell phone call, which is noisy and unreliable. You may use a 3G connection, but the call may not be quite the same quality level. This all works great on your Iphone, or Android device, and may also be available on other smart phones. in addition, you could use an Ipad, or other tablet computer as well.
There are many different choices for the client, as an example you could chose Bria from the Apple app store. A good hosted VoIP service provider will be able to get this going for you at very little cost, and with no technical expertise.
ConnectMeVoice can provide these services to you based on our 20 years of experience servicing the communications needs of the small to medium size business community.
Please contact us for more information.
Why should you record or monitor your calls?
If you are running a business, and you have employees answering your phones, you should care about each and every interaction they have with your customers. Regardless of who answers the phones for your business, there should always be a clear and consise message delivered to them. Keep in mind most businesses have 3 doors to their company:
- Their physical front door (if you are not a virtual business)
- Your online presence
- Your telephone
The importance of answering calls in a consistant and exceptional manner can make the difference between keeping a client, obtaining a new client, or losing the business. The key benefit to call recording is the ability to review your calls, and assure that the message, service and attitude presented to your customers is consistent with your company's philosophy. And of course another consideration is promotions and upgrades. Are your customers reminded about promotions, new services, and other key benefits each time they call? The best way to know if to be able to hear calls for yourself. We work with customers that have seen direct results with retention and new client sales simply by reviewing and correcting phone interactions using call recording.
In addition to this major benefit, it may also be useful to play back a call to confirm what you have heard. This can be particularly important with businesses such as legal or medical practices.
Legal considerations with recording calls
While I do not propose to give legal advice, I have learned that in some states, you must assure that both parties are aware that a call recording is in progress; in other states, only one party needs to be aware of the recording. Therefore, the best strategy is to play it safe, and announce that the call may be recorded for quality or accuracy purposes. This actually presents an extremely professional and sophisticated image to the customer. The image of a company that truly cares about service to the customer! This is all very simple for incoming calls, as you can have a message played automatically. When recording an outbound call, you will have to decide upon a good strategy when calling a 2-pary state (that is a state that requires both parties to know about the recording).
- One party states- Only one party needs to be aware of the recording
- Two-party state - Both parties need to be aware of the recording
How about Monitoring calls?
In addition to recording your calls, it may also be useful to listen to them live, while they are in progress. This enables you to take immediate action to correct a problem with your calls, and to gain a fast picture of what is happening in your call center. In addition, many hosted service providers can allow you the option to join the call while it is in progress. This can help you to correct a problem right away, or assist a sales representative in making a new sale.
How can I do it, and what does it cost?
The costs of recording your calls have gone down dramatically of the course of years. There are various strategies, depending on the type of phone system and service you have chosen. Here are some of your options:
- A physical recording device -Useful for a single phone only
- A hosted phone service and pay only a small monthly fee
- Premise based phone systems with a built in or 3rd party call recording device.
If you have a call center, with more than one person answering phones, the hosted or premise based systems are your best options. With a hosted phone service (also known as cloud- based phone service), you will be able to have all calls recorded, even those that may be answered by a cell phone. This is done by routing all of your incoming calls through the cloud based phone systems provider, who will record these calls using their equipment located in the clouds. The cost of this type of service can be less than a few dollars per month depending on the provider. In addition, if you use a complete cloud-based phone replacement, you can actually save money on your phone bills and equipment while gaining a huge array of features, including the recording of inbound and even outbound calls!
Your options for hosted business telephone systems:
To learn more please feel free to provide comments, or click on the link below to get more information from ConnectMevoice, a leading cloud-based phone service provider.
To refresh your memory cloud based services are an internet based service that packages and delivers all the capabilities of software, email, word processing and telephone for easy access and use. A cloud based business phone service, otherwise known as Hosted PBX, provides the functionality found in traditional corporate phone systems without the need to purchase the actual phone system servers. So the only phone equipment a company would need to have is phones. Right now you may have a phone system server, which is a physical piece of equipment housed in your office somewhere or you are paying monthly to a data center. There is usually a setup time as someone needs to install and setup your server. When you own a server it is important to maintain it or pay someone to maintain it, monitor it, back it up, repair it and replace it every 3 to 5 years. These are all additional costs that were not anticipated in the original purchase of the server and can add up. Whereas, a cloud based phone service is a virtual server providing customization, load balancing and storage. You simply log into a web portal or call the service provider to make changes to your phone system. The service provider can answer the calls any way that a company would require, and can route calls anywhere in the world. Call recording, call monitoring, conference calling, and advanced routing are all available with the right service provider.
Here are a few characteristics of cloud based services:
- They can be set up quickly, so they are of immediate value
- Saves you money with telephones that plug directly into the internet
- There is no equipment to purchase other than telephones
- Maintenance, moving and upgrades are all free
- Calls can be routed to a VoIP provider such as Skype
The cloud is a virtual server so it allows for an easier disaster recovery process; whereas a physical server can be destroyed in a natural disaster and all your information can be lost. One solution is to use the clouds for your telephone systems. Why? Because a cloud-based phone service provider should have enough redundancy built into their solution to protect you during an emergency. Here is how it works:
- Calls come into the service providers central call center
- Calls will then route to your office phones, but if they are unavailable, they will be automatically routed to a cell, home or alternative office phone
- Advanced call center features are available if required.
- If you are not available to take the call, the caller will get your voicemail services, which will be sent to you via text or email
- Your faxes will be stored online and sent to you via email
The real key here is that the cloud-based business phone service has already invested in the necessary equipment and facilities required to keep your service up and running, so you don’t have to. The idea of purchasing a backup server, or a backup data center just to assure your phones get answered is not really a cost-effective use of your budget. Therefore, why not let a cloud-based phone service provider find ways for you to save money while keeping your calls flowing to you during a disaster?
Mobile devices and tablets for business are on the rise. Mobile processing from the cloud allows business owners to conduct business out of the office at anytime anywhere. For example, if you are traveling to Europe, your phone can be with you without incurring additional costs as long as there is a broadband connection.
Cloud hosting removes the need to invest capital on IT infrastructure (a server) or IT staff, therefore cutting costs. So if you are looking to cut costs and improve efficiency, cloud phone services is the way to go.
Still unsure as to whether or not the Cloud is for you? Contact us for more information and we will get you on the right path.
The world of technology is rapidly changing and for the better. Businesses are realizing that "NEW" technology is allowing them to reduce costs and improve operational efficiency and the customer experience. So what do cloud based phone systems and service have to do with Medical Lab Companies? What characteristics and functionality makes this industry adapt well to cloud based phone systems?
If there ever was an industry that cloud based phone systems and services was made for, it is the mobile medical lab industry. Why you ask? Lets talk about improving operationally and staying in touch with the head dispatch office and your client. The life of the mobile medical lab companies is very unpredictable. They are often dispatched at off hours. This is not a nine to five business. How does this help? A all comes into a main number. The dispatcher calls the office of the local mobile medical lab company. It is 10 PM at night or 3 PM in the morning. What does the dispatcher do? Does that person look for a list of numbers and names to call. This takes time and may not always be up to date. This is not a problem with cloud based phone systems. The find me follow me feature handles the situation. You load the first number you want called which would be your office number during normal business hours. Then you can add a find me follow me number or numbers which in most cases is a cell phone number. The dispatcher sends the call to the main number. If no one answers, the system takes over and routes the call to the next number or numbers in the sequence. The dispatcher only needs to know one number and not a list of numbers. This makes for a smooth handoff when a mobile medical lab person is needed. What is the cost of a mobile medical lab company missing a call? The answer is in the hundreds of dollars.
How do cloud based phone systems help a mobile medical lab company financially? As mentioned previously, a missed call to a mobile medical lab can cost the business hundreds of dollars. Once you miss that call, you can't make it up. That revenue opportunity is lost forever. The second would be the cost of the system. A small mobile medical lab office can be set up with a few phones. They don't have to be at the same location. You can have a receptionist at one location fielding calls and send them too you at another location. For a few hundred dollars, you can set up a couple of SIP Phone. Using business class internet, you have all of the features and bells and whistles for a fraction of the cost. Another critical component is notifying the person doing the medical lab work immediately. This is not always so simple. What happens if the medical lab technician is working on a case and another call comes in. How do they get notified immediately? Cloud based phone systems have the ability that when a call comes in to route the call immediately to a cell phone. This can be a voice call. If the person leaves a message, that voice mail message can be transcribed and sent immediately to email or as an SMS message to a cell phone.
Does a cloud based phone system help the head dispatch company handle calls more efficiently? The answer is yes. You can get all of the inbound call center features customized to your business. Call monioring and recording are available as well. I recommend that you do an operational plan and wish list. Then contact a cloud based phone company to discuss how this technology can help.
Cloud based phone systems are quickly transforming the way small, medium and even large enterprises handle their telecommunicaltion and information movement and management. Businesses are moving away from traditional phone service. But how about faxing? How about my fax machine? Can I fax using a cloud based or VoIP phone system? We have noticed, with the emergence of VoIP, new challenges faced by VoIP telecom providers with the simple issue of connecting a fax machine.
When you discuss this with many cloud based phone system providers, they admit that their choices for reliable fax have not been ideal: leave a POTS line installed, send the customer one
of the current T.38 ATA’s and hope there aren’t too many problems, or try to convince the customer to convert to a virtual system which uses a fax to e-mail and e-mail to fax requiring users to scan all hard copies.
Each option suggested by these cloud based phone system providers has significant drawbacks.
Leaving the POTS line eliminates the opportunity to capitalize on a full telephony revenue stream, and using the latter two options ultimately risks losing business due to poor customer satisfaction.
The fax problem for cloud based phone system providers is a common, everyday occurrence in the VoIP industry that no one tends to talk about. The crux of the whole unreliability issue surrounding VoIP fax lies with T.38 protocol for real- time fax communications over IP networks. The need for this protocol evolved because VoIP networks are optimized for the sound of the human voice. In essence, the fax tones do not fit into the protocols designed for voice over IP, so T.38 defines how these should be packetized and transmitted. T.38 is very reliable when transmitted over a QOS network like an MPLS circuit or WAN. Unfortunately, T.38 is not designed for transmission on a medium like the Internet where packet loss is very common.
Think of it this way, packet loss of just 1 percent will result in unreliable fax transmission. The failure rate increases exponentially the more pages that are transmitted. So, where one or two pages may be OK most of the time, a 10-page document will fail nearly all of the time. This is not acceptable in any business model where fax is a crucial part of business communications. This especially needs to be addressed with the cloud based or VoIP phone systems provider.
So, what’s the solution from a cloud based phone system provider? We believe that the solution is in HTTPS, by use of an ATA HTTPS device, which allows a fax machine to transmit over the open Internet reliably and securely. By using TCP rather than UDP, all packets are sent, and this solution will work over nearly all data connections. Over the past several years, companies like FaxSIPit, along with our partners Faxback and AudioCodes, has developed such hardware, and firmware technology, along with an extremely reliable delivery network that eliminates all the issues surrounding the “dirty little VoIP fax secret.” Cloud based phone system providers like ConnectMe use this type of faxing extensively.
This exciting new marriage of HTTPS and fax technology will now allow cloud based phone system or VoIP telecom providers, or anyone for that fact, to utilize VoIP fax with the utmost of confidence knowing that the faxes are going to be delivered reliably and securely.
There are a few options when using this technology for cloud based phone systems. One is putting a special ATA on your fax machine. You will need power and an ethernet connection to plug into the ATA. Then you can use the fax for inbound and outbound faxing. But what happens to your existing fax number? Simple. Your cloud based phone service provider can port over your number just like the do with the voice lines. It is the same process. They send you the forms. You fill them out with a copy of your bill and fax them back to your cloud based phone service provider. They will handle the rest. There are backup options that your cloud based phone service provider can discuss.
When considering a cloud based phone system, make sure that you discuss and understand the options with your provider.
You have probably heard the term cloud based phone systems or VoIP services. Also, there is a lot of noise and talk about putting things in the cloud. You hear about why you should put things in the cloud. There are many benefits with putting things in the cloud. You can save money by putting applications in the cloud. The talk and articles go on and on. But what does it all mean? The answer is simple. Let me use this example. You can buy a railroad which is expensive to buy and maintain and manage? That railroad will get you pretty much anywhwere you want to go. Or, you can buy a ticket on the railroad for a fraction of the cost and get to the same places. This is an analogy. In regards to phone systems, why buy an expensive pbx that you need to house and maintain when you can buy a cloud based phone system for a fraction of the cost. No maintenance. No need to upgrade. All of the latest features at your fingertips.
So what does cloud based phone systems have to do with funeral homes? The answer is simple. All businesses have some of the same needs such as reliability, ease of use, excellent customer service, etc. Other businesses have specific needs such as funeral homes. Lets look at some of the commonalities of the funeral home business and what is important. Is it important to be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? You bet. When families need help and guidance, they need help and guidance now. Most of the time this can't be scheduled. They need you when they need you. Cloud based phone systems provide just that. There is a feature called find me follow me. How does it work? Simple. The funeral number has a main phone number published. Obviously, the people running the funeral home that are responsible for receiving a call if there is a death don't live or sleep in the funeral home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For illustration purposes, lets say there hours are from 9 AM to 7 PM. Then they go home or wherever but still need to get the important customer calls. They can be set up as an extension on the phone system. There phone will ring in the office from 9 AM to 7 PM. After hours, the customers can dial that number and the call will automatically route to a cell phone, home phone or other pre-determined number. This is all transparent to the customer. They will not know your home or cell number and will only know the office number that was called.
Another commonality for funeral homes is that many owners have more than one funeral home and they are at different addresses. How can cloud based phone systems help in this environment? Number one is the cost. You don't need to buy and maintain multiple phone systems. You only need SIP or VoIP phones and internet access at each location. Should you have a problem or an outage of sorts at one home, the calls can be automatically routed to another facility so you never miss a customers call. You can also balance your staff. Should you be short staffed or should the receptionist be out at a specific location, those calls can be immediately re-routed to another location. This can be made easy to identify. The party calling can have the number displayed of the particular home that they are calling so the calls can be answered like you are at the intended location.
I highly recommend that you investigate how cloud based phone systems can help your funeral home business financially and improve the customer experience.
Choosing a business telephone system plays an important role in whether or not your business will be successful. A reliable, effective phone system is a crucial business investment. Having an ineffective business telephone will cause you to lose the chance of taking a call from potential customers, resulting in a loss of revenue. You also want to provide superior customer service to your existing clients. A dysfunctional phone system can cost you more than you would think; therefore hiring a professional company to help you with your communication systems is key.
Connect Me Voice offers a virtual phone service where no hardware is required and you can use your existing phone line. The service runs from our facility (hosted PBX), rather than your office which saves your business money on equipment and monthly maintenance costs. Connect Anywhere phone system offers an array of features. Here’s a list of those features:
- Toll-free local number
- Dedicated fax number
- Dial by name directory
- Play voicemails via email
- Voicemail messages translated to text
- View faxes online or through email
- View and print call reports
- Caller ID
- Auto-attendant with 25 extensions
- Optional inbound call center
No matter the size of your business you will receive a reliable and flexible phone system. When a client calls, they can be greeted by an auto-attendant, saving your company money on a receptionist. You never have to miss out on potential revenue due to the call recording feature. Every call is automatically recorded and you can listen online or have the calls forwarded to your email.
Saving money for your business is as simple as changing your phone services. So click here to start saving and to find out more information regarding Connect Me Voice’s custom telephone systems.
