How To Set-Up A Dynamic Phone System For Your Business

Nowadays, you can now set up your business phone system without the dread and hassle of waiting for phone service providers to do it for you. Thanks to the advances in technology, you can now have the option to set up a dynamic business phone system in no time at all. With so many types of business phone systems, you can choose which one best fits your business’s needs.

Phone System For Your Business

When running a business, a residential phone system or personal phone system just won’t cut it. That’s because residential phone systems offer less than business phones, unlike business phone systems with many more features.

With business phone systems, companies, no matter the size, are given a more systematic way of handling inbound and outbound calls. By having this system, you can pick up multiple calls at the same time and you can even transfer calls to various departments or locations.

Significance Of A Phone System In Your Business

Communication amongst individuals and businesses have largely shifted from how it was before. Now, more people are into mobile communication because of its ease of use and many useful features. What’s more, there are more mobile phones than the number of people in the world. There are also a range of specific products to consider such as Textplus for computers and others.

Smartphones have already taken over some businesses. More businesses nowadays prefer to use smartphones for communicating with their team, their customers, or any virtual personnel. That’s because it makes communicating more efficient. That’s why huge companies like the modern versions of business phone systems such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These tech giants have managed to combine the heritage of business phone systems with advances in tech development. Therefore, they can retain and secure their relevance even to this day.

A dynamic business phone system lets you enjoy the following benefits:

Communication Security And Enhancement

One of the best benefits your business can have from a dynamic business phone system is securing and enhancing communication. You may have heard stories of mobile tapping. This is when your activities and interactions are being recorded by a third party and sent elsewhere.

This risk is imminent when you choose to use ordinary mobile phone communication apps for your business communication. That’s why you shouldn’t trust mobile phones much for handling internal and even classified business communications. On the contrary, business phone systems allow you to monitor third-party intermediaries and remove them accordingly.

The thing about phone systems is that you can set a localised hub. This means that internal communications don’t need to pass through external servers. Add to that the extra VPN that most VoIP companies offer when you avail of their products. With such, it gives you end-to-end encryption in text or voice messages. Moreover, business phone system providers, like Call Cowboy, can make communication better as they have more advanced features so you can easily call your clients regardless of the device you use.

Immediate Communication

Aside from security, your business can also improve on the delivery and receiving of information. When it comes to other forms of communication, such as email and texting, waiting for a response can take a while. With email, there’s undoubtedly some waiting time before you receive the response you want, thus, making phone calls the best way to get an immediate response, especially for urgent matters. That way, you can handle the situation right away.

If, for instance, the person you’re calling isn’t available at the moment, you can leave a voice message. Also, you’re not restricted by word or character count with voice messages, unlike most mobile text messaging.

Setting Up Your Business Phone System

Decide Which Business Phone System Is Dynamic: Consider everything you want in a phone system and tally that with the existing service providers. When choosing, you can refer to these three major categories:

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP): This is one of the latest advances in phone systems and the most modern by far. This type of service allows people from different countries to communicate with ease. It uses a cloud storage, which is a specialty of companies like Cloud Based Call Center.

Also, the number of uses per employee determines how much the fee will be every month. Despite that, its function is extremely beneficial as you can access it through the computer or apps.

With VoIP, you don’t even have to be in the same office to use your company’s system. As long as you’re connected to the Wi-Fi, then you’ll be good to go.

VoIP can also be hosted much like private branch exchange (PBX). This means that your service provider will host your company’s phone system. Hosted ones have the same benefits as those of the primary system. However, what sets it apart is there’s not much need for maintenance while using it. Installation is also made easier with hosted VoIPs.

Private Branch Exchange (PBX): PBX is a more modern version of KSU because it has more features and allows more use cases. What sets it apart is it has programmable switching devices. Therefore, automated call routing is made easier.

PBX is excellent for bigger companies. This is because PBX offers automated systems. Another great thing about it is that it can let your phone system run even without electricity due to its uninterruptible capability. It also has a hosted version. Just like VoIP, there’s no need for maintenance while using a hosted PBX. However, its main difference from VoIP is that the latter uses a data network, while the PBX doesn’t and relies on telephone providers.

Key Systems Unit (KSU): KSU is probably the most basic out of the three. Thus, there are limited features incorporated in this system. This makes the KSU best suited for small businesses, and isn’t practical for medium to large businesses.

Since it’s a basic one, this makes it easy to use. It’s much like your regular residential telephone, but with a few added benefits. The only downside is that it’s not portable or flexible because it uses a manual way of determining phone line selection.

KSU does come with another variation, and it’s called KSU-less. What sets this apart is it has no central switching unit. This means that KSU-less is wireless and is slightly more portable than the former. However, it’s still constrained. Both variations only allow a maximum of ten operators. Another downside is that you can’t purchase it commercially. What you have to do is ask your traditional phone system provider.

If you’re a small business owner with no plans of extending your workforce in the future, then this is for you. However, if growth is something you want, then you might want to steer away from such.

Choose The Best Service Provider

After deciding which category best suits your needs, choose the best service provider. You want to choose a provider that meets all your business needs and can keep up with the trends in telecommunication industry. On top of that, a business phone system provider should have the following features on their system:

Video Calls: Dynamic business phone providers have the option to enable video calls. This means that video calling is integrated into the system, thus, paving the way for direct interaction with the other person without seeing them in the flesh. If you want, you can even choose service providers that offer HD video resolution. That way, you can interact better.

Integrated Instant Messaging (IM&P): IM&P is an integrated communication feature that can be powerful when combined with your calendar. This allows your employees to see among each other who’s available at a particular time. It shows synchronous availability status so that you can reach out to your colleagues easier. Plus, this also shows if an employee or a colleague is in a meeting with a client or collaboration with a business partner. Thus, IM&P is a great tool to enhance connection within your team.

Mobility: The need for a mobile workforce is a growing trend, especially among the younger generations. The mobile workforce encompasses the commute to and from the office every day or having to go on frequent business trips. Getting a commute-friendly phone system is a must in this type of working environment. You’ll need to interchange your mobile device and your laptop smoothly. Your business phone system should also have the capability to transfer calls between the two seamlessly if you want your employees to be accessible wherever they are.

Most service providers offer this feature nowadays. You can now connect your business line or number to your employees’ mobile phones or home lines. They can transfer business calls to their desired device, and they can communicate with your clients wherever they are. Another great thing is that your employees’ phone numbers are kept private.

CRM Integration: You should also utilise each tool for a more efficient operation. This will allow you to remain competitive in the market. Thus, your business phone system should have an integrated CRM platform. Having this feature allows your employees to see the profile of the person they’re talking to in real-time. Apart from that, your business phone system should offer access to setting while on call and click-to-call features. All of these combined offers better efficiency in handling your business.

Get A Dedicated Business Number

Traditionally, you’ll need a new line if you want to get another number apart from your existing one. This means you have to talk to the service provider and have them visit your office to set up a new line. This also means that you have to pay an extra fee on top of your existing monthly bill. With such an option, your business number is restricted to your location and can’t be taken anywhere. Answering calls is also only limited when you’re in the office. Thus, the traditional option lacks the convenience that you need.

But, luckily, with a dedicated business number, you can connect your business phone system to the Internet so you can easily create your business identity. With this, you’re given the option to make a call online. This is a much cheaper version. Plus, it solves the problem of inconvenience that accompanies traditional business lines.

Prepare Your Phone And Hardware

Once you’ve picked a service provider and you have your business number all set, it’s time to place an order for your devices. The great thing about VoIP and other more advanced business phone providers is that you can acquire the service without a special phone or device.

More often, companies retain the use of their existing laptops and devices in plugging into the service. If you’re looking to maximise the feature, you’ll do well with getting a VoIP phone. Fortunately, these devices come at a low price, and there’s a vast array of VoIP phones available in the market.

Install The Designated Apps

Aside from the hardware, most VoIP providers come with an app. Although it’s unnecessary when making calls, the app makes talking on the phone so much more convenient. Apart from that, the app also makes instant messaging better. Other features like browsing through call history and looking at voice messages for another time are made possible when you install their apps.

Setting Up Extensions And Voicemail

Lastly, you can configure your extensions for whatever feature you desire. For instance, you can set the first digits depending on the location: 1000s for your main office, 2000s are for the plant, 3000s for the satellite office, and so on.

You might be thinking that this can get confusing, but when you have an organised hub for all your extensions, this is easy. You can set this up with your service provider as well. With such, you can ensure your offices and departments are organised.

If you’re looking to change and grow your business, you’ll need to scale up your business phone system. Doing so is a necessity if you want to remain competitive in the market. To do this, you’ll need a dynamic business phone system that can adapt to your growing needs. That isn’t easy if you’re still using a traditional on-the-site telephone system. Thus, working with a business phone provider that runs online is a necessity for a growing business.

Adopting a cloud-based phone system will pave the way for a more manageable communication process both internally and externally.