Selecting the most appropriate office phone system is quite a critical factor that the entrepreneurs or small businesses ought not to overlook. Selecting the right phone system means the difference between efficiency and customer satisfaction in any business.
A challenge is that there are a variety of different phone systems in the market; it extends from basic line phones to VoIP Phones. The article below provides you with information and guidelines that will assist you to arrive at the right conclusion for your small business.
1. Determine Your Business Needs
To better understand the various office phone systems, it is wise to first assess your business needs. Ask yourself questions like:
a. How many of your employees require access to the phone system?
b. Are your employees going to be working online or coming to the office?
c. Would you like to have options such as call transferring, video and/or voice calls, or messages delivered to your email?
Comparing the current situation and likely future requirements of your business will help to narrow down the phone systems that your business requires.
2. Know the Types of Office Phone Systems
There are two main types of phone systems for small businesses, both with their own communication pros and cons.
a. Landline Systems
These are connected physically using wires. However, these systems are generally complex, requiring more maintenance and can be expensive when you decide to upgrade.
b. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Systems
VoIP is a system that makes use of the internet for communication. They are especially popular in small businesses due to their affordability, adaptability, and some of the favorable characteristics such as video-conferencing, voicemail converted to e-mail, among others. Compared to other telephone systems, VoIP systems physically have no limits, as the service can be delivered through the internet, which is more portable, making it easy for employees to work from other locations.
3. Consider Features and Scalability
In an office, there are some phone features that you may need to consider when selecting an office phone system. These include call forwarding, auto-attendant, video conferencing, voicemail-to-email, and call analytics. Secondly, consider the aspect of expansibility of the system in future. With your organization developing progressively, you will need a phone system that can be expanded easily to incorporate more users but is not very costly.
4. Budget Considerations
Cost is always an important consideration that cannot be overlooked when selecting a phone system. Be sure to calculate the short-term and longer-term expenditures, including any future maintenance costs, potential hardware enhancements, and the like.
5. Customer Support and Reliability
Lastly, understand that office phone systems are of uttermost importance in any business organization, and an effective and reliable phone system should be available at all times. Check for service providers with dependable customer service that’s happy to help in the event of any problems. When choosing between a traditional landline connection and VoIP service, stability and reliability of the connection are critical for business continuity, and customer support can help further assure you of the system’s performance.
