10 Reasons to Switch to VoIP
EVEN IF YOU LOVE YOUR LEGACY BUSINESS PHONE SYSTEM, HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING.
Your website, social media and e-commerce presence are important contact channels, but many customers are still more likely to call or text to get information or discuss issues over the phone rather than interact through an online channels. That means an efficient, reliable and flexible phone system is as important as ever ‐ and it’s why more businesses are turning to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).
If you have been on the fence about a new VoIP business communications system, here are 10 reasons to make the switch.
- Freedom from the traditional desk phone
Legacy phone systems use traditional desk phones, which are great if all your work takes place at a desk. But you don’t have to be anchored to your old desk phone. With VoIP and cloud phone systems, you can be several orders of magnitude more efficient by using web clients and softphones to make and receive calls, as well as use a free mobile app to make and receive business phone system calls on your smartphone.
- No worries about missing that important call or message
ACC Telecom’s CoreNexa cloud phone system mobile app is an extension of the business phone system so users can make and take calls, chat, check voicemail and more from their smartphone.
With Voice over IP phone system technology, you can direct incoming calls to ring at multiple locations ‐ mobile app, cell phone, home phone, vacation home phone, etc. Both calls and messages can be answered and replied to directly from your smartphone’s mobile app, which is just an extension off the business phone system.
- A direct connection for every user
VoIP and cloud PBX users with a direct inward dial (DID) phone number can have calls go directly to them without having to go through a receptionist or automated attendant. Your customers, vendors, suppliers and colleagues can connect quickly and directly with any employee who has a DID.
- Voicemail messages and faxes delivered to your email
On a VoIP or cloud phone system solution with unified messaging, voicemail messages are recorded as a .wav file and then emailed to you and/or delivered to your desk phone or smartphone. There’s no need to call into the office to see if you have voicemail messages. You can listen to your voicemail message from email within seconds of the message being left for you. Voicemail transcription is also available as a premium add-on feature.
Similarly, incoming faxes can be received as.pdf files and emailed to you or to a designated general email. You can get your faxes anywhere you can get your email. No longer risk important documents being seen or left on the fax machine for days, or worse, getting thrown out by mistake.
- Your PC as a power phone user’s productivity center
With unified communications, you can use your PC to click-to-dial, create on-screen buttons for other extensions, see the availability of colleagues and instant message (chat) with them, review call history, and add favorites buttons for shortcuts to files and applications. Save time, be more productive and make your life easier by using your PC as a hub for getting things done throughout the day.
- Using your smartphone as a business phone system extension
Have you ever needed to call a customer or vendor back from your cell phone and cringed at the idea that they will see your caller ID and capture your cell phone number? With VoIP and cloud PBX’s mobile app, you can call from your cell phone and project the office phone caller ID. They won’t even know you aren’t calling from your office. You can conference, transfer, screen calls and more, right from your smartphone.
- Any phone as an on-demand business extension
You can log into any phone on the VoIP system, and it becomes your phone with your office number, settings and preferences. Go to any other phone on the system and log in, and the system will log you out of the previous phone and put your extension on this new phone. This feature is called Hot Desking.
You don’t need a phone for every employee. You can use the hot desking feature to set up sales desks with phones that salespeople can share. They just log into the phone and it becomes their extension. Managers and mobile employees can have a phone at headquarters, one at home, one at a vacation home and one at a remote company office ‐ each treated as one extension they can log into at any time to make it their business line.
- Automatic screen pops from your CRM system
Inbound calls will open the contact in the customer relationship management (CRM) system based on caller ID. You know who is calling as you answer the phone, before the caller even speaks ‐ and you have their current account and contact information immediately on your screen. Save time, be more productive and provide exceptional customer service.
- A simpler business communications infrastructure
Most old phone systems use traditional T1 and PRI phone lines for voice, separate from your Internet connection. VoIP is delivered over the same broadband connection you use for Internet access. Do away with the hassle and expense of maintaining separate voice and data circuits. Consolidate your business communications and use the savings to get more internet bandwidth, if you choose!
- The ability to grow the phone system as you need it
The old phone system uses physical cards and modules to add phones, phone lines or voice mail ‐ often in blocks of 8 or 16 phones at a time. All too often, companies outgrow their old hardware or must buy additional outdated hardware in order to add phones or lines.
But not with VoIP. Being software-based, a full voice over IP business phones system doesn’t use hardware in this manner. Whenever you want to add more users or lines, just contact your VoIP provider to complete the change within minutes or hours, not weeks. There’s no need to buy more than you need today just so you can grow into it in the future.
ACC Telecom is a leading b2b telecommunications company, serving the community for over 40 years. They have been helping build the future of communications for business all across America with their cloud and VoIP communications and security solutions. Local, on-site installation and support is available throughout Maryland, Washington DC, and Northern VA. To see how VoIP has helped other companies meet their communications goals, contact ACC Telecom today!