22 Apr 2022 Does my small business need a phone system?
To some people, phone systems are a thing for big organisations only. They’re seen as a luxury, or something you only need if you receive thousands of calls every day. This opinion is out of date, and we’ve written this blog to prove it!
In fact, even the term “phone system” is a little outdated. Modern systems do so much more than just calls. In addition, you’re no longer tied to bulky, expensive hardware – you can have an entire phone system hosted online in the cloud.
But we’ll get to all that later. The point of this blog is to show some of the benefits (and dispel some of the doubts) of business phone systems for SMEs.
The right phone system can increase your productivity and give you a professional appearance to stand out from the competition. Now let’s look at how!
More ways to communicate
We mentioned before how there’s more to business phone systems than calls. We can sum up the reason in two words: unified communications (UC). UC is a simple idea that’s changing business communication. What it means is consolidating all channels of communication into a single platform. This means you can do voice and video calls, instant messaging and email from the same place.
What’s the benefit of putting all these communication channels in one place? For one thing, you save a lot of time flicking between different screens and apps. You’ll also make remote working and collaboration easier. It’s just a much more efficient way to stay connected. At One Connectivity, we offer cutting-edge UC platforms that are so much more than a phone system. Best of all, since they’re cloud-hosted, you can access them from anywhere on any device. This means remote workers can do everything the rest of the team can do!
Professional image
Appearance goes a long way in business. You’ve got to look and sound the part to convince customers to choose you over the competition. This means winning trust and showing that you’re professional and serious. But it isn’t always easy – especially if the competition has more resources.
A phone system can be a step in the right direction. It will allow you to queue calls and see exactly how many people are trying to get through. You can even add on-hold messaging to announce any promotions or important information. From the caller’s perspective, what this communicates is professionalism. It tells them you’re a serious business. This can help you stand out from the crowd!
Efficiency
Building efficient processes is one of the biggest challenges of running a small business. It’s quite common for everyday tasks to hit bottlenecks for one reason or another. Eliminating these can be the difference between success and failure, and once again technology can help.
We’ve already covered how UC makes communication more efficient. But there’s even more a phone system from One Connectivity can do. One great feature is that you can integrate with your CRM. This adds a whole range of functions. For one, when a customer calls you’ll be able to see who they are and any info you have on them before you answer. This allows you to handle calls much more efficiently. Ultimately, this means you’ll be more productive – and in business, that can only be a good thing!
Scalability
Every big business started small. And if you’ve got plans to expand, there’s a lot to consider. Tech is a big part of it. If you’re relying on hardware, expansion can get very expensive and complicated when you’re forced to upgrade. But with phone systems, there’s another way.
With a cloud phone system from One Connectivity, scaling up is incredibly easy. You can add new users at the click of a button. Your technology shouldn’t hold back your growth plans – it should support them. We can make sure it does!
Extra features
One of the great things about cloud phone systems is how they can be adapted. There are huge numbers of add-ons and features that help you get even more out of your system. One is call recording, which has benefits for everything from complaint resolution to staff training.
Another great add-on is call analytics. This offers you rich, digestible insights into customers’ call patterns. That way you can allocate resources to ensure you’re always there for your customers when you’re needed. We can advise on which add-ons you need, to help you maximise your potential.
How One Connectivity can help
We hope we’ve shown some of the things a modern phone system can do for a small business. It can help make you more efficient, and show your customers you mean business. It’ll be simple to scale up, and offer so many features beyond calls.
Still, there’s a lot of choice out there and it’s hard to be certain you’re getting the system you need. This is where we come in. At One Connectivity, business communication is our speciality. We know the industry inside out. We’ll look at your organisation, your budget and needs and find something that works for you.
We pride ourselves on our honesty and integrity. This means you get our expertise along with advice you can trust. If you want to connect better, get in touch on 0115 896 88 60.