A cloud phone system is the positive operational shift your business needs. Why is it so crucial to your operations? You can reduce your in-house IT requirements when you partner with a managed service provider like LightSpar. Then, you can broaden your business reach both with customers and employees. Finally, you can streamline your network infrastructure to be as lean and high-functioning as possible.
If you’ve been thinking about how a cloud phone system and business phone service can improve your business, keep reading.
Understanding Business Phone Systems
What is a Business Phone System?
A business phone system enables organizations to maintain lines of communication with both internal and external contacts, but more than that, it’s a business lifeline. According to a study from Invoca, consumers prefer to communicate with businesses through phone calls 68 percent of the time. It goes beyond a phone call, and most companies will benefit from unified communications, but more about that later. A business communication platform handles company communications through the internet using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). VoIP converts voice calls into digital signals that can be sent through the internet.
A business phone system can include features such as call forwarding, call recording, chat and team messaging, video conferencing, and mobile applications. These expanded components are meant to meet your customers’ expectations when they contact you. The customer experience has broadened since the pandemic and continues to change. A recent Salesforce report found that 73 percent of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.
Benefits of Cloud-Based Phone Systems
Advantages of a VoIP Phone System
VoIP phone systems are less expensive and more versatile than traditional PBX phone systems. According to G2, moving from analog lines to VoIP can save you as much as 50 percent in ongoing costs and up to 90 percent in installation costs. The wherewithal for a small business to leave an on-premise phone system and move to a cloud phone system is a powerful move. You get to offload maintenance and support to an industry professional who can ensure you’re in an excellent place to conduct your business as smoothly as possible.
Cloud phone systems provide a more remote-friendly, innovative, and cost-efficient way of handling phone calls. The ability to scale your business as needed and be flexible enough to allow for remote or hybrid work will build loyalty with your employees. For example, chances are you have working parents and kids get sick. If your business communications platform has remote functionality, those employees can be with their sick kids at home but still work, so productivity isn’t lost, and your customers get the support they need. It’s a win/win scenario made possible by a cloud-based VoIP phone system.
Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)
What is UCaaS?
UCaaS integrates VoIP with other systems used within a business for maximum productivity and efficiency. It offers options for video conferencing, shared meeting and online collaboration tools, integrated faxing, and mobile VoIP integration. The better connected you can be, the more productive you’ll be. A joint Qatalog and Cornell University study found that 59 minutes daily are spent looking for information trapped within tools and applications. A centralized environment is beneficial for everyone who interacts with your business; customers get faster resolution to questions and inquiries and agents can access a complete customer profile without searching for anything related to them.
When considering UCaaS, it’s crucial to evaluate VoIP providers to ensure compatibility with your existing systems and to assess the level of customer support offered, especially as your company scales and faces new communication challenges.
All this praise makes it seem like a perfect solution, and generally, it’s great. But you need to fully understand what you’re trying to achieve before jumping into a UCaaS solution to set yourself and your business up for success. Let’s take a look at some of the issues to consider:
Choosing the Right Phone System
Evaluating Business Phone Systems
Deciding now is the time to consider upgrading your communications platform is a big step in the right direction. Next, you need to have some internal discussions about what you need and why you need it. You can think of this as a project needs analysis that will help identify the gaps in your current system and the goals you want to achieve. Having this completed before working with a service provider will put you in a much better position when looking to start a project like this.
In practice, what does this look like?
- Consider how your company plans to use its phones, including features and integrations.
- Think about the features you’ll need and those you won’t.
- You’ll want to involve stakeholders, including IT staff, data security personnel, department heads, and system users.
After you’ve done a deep internal evaluation, you will be equipped with what your business needs while you research different cloud phone systems. When you partner with an industry leader like LightSpar, we walk you through all the options and features to customize a solution that matches your immediate needs and goals. We’re the experts, so you don’t have to be.
Features and Functionality
Advanced Features for Your Small Business
Addressing the needs of your customers is obviously important, but for small businesses, it’s critical in building lasting relationships. A SEMrush study found that word-of-mouth recommendations are even more effective than paid ads, resulting in five times more sales. Connecting your CRM and cloud phone system brings in a layer of familiarity that connects your customers to your business. The feeling a customer gets from being addressed by name or bringing up the resolution from a past interaction invites them to trust you, and that trust builds advocates and a more invested client base.
Cloud Calling
Cloud calling can be used through a desktop phone, softphone application, or mobile apps. Softphones are apps that replicate the features of traditional desktop business phones but are used through your computer or mobile device. Regardless of the device, you’ll be greeted with crystal-clear HD audio for the best experience. Additionally, softphones allow your team to place phone calls within minutes of activation in the system without additional hardware.
Beyond the phones, you get a library of advanced features, including automatic call recording for quality control and training purposes, call queue management, IVR capabilities, and more.
Video Meetings
Video capabilities are nonnegotiable in business. Does that mean every interaction needs video? No, it doesn’t. However, certain situations call for a more personalized approach, and that’s where video meetings become essential. For internal collaboration on projects or external sales meetings with potential clients, video adds comfort and approachability that can be lost through a phone call alone.
Chat and Messaging
Instant communication opportunities bring a range of benefits to your business, from internal inquiries to using SMS messages to work with clients and vendors. Their seamless integration into your workflow will increase the work’s efficiency, especially when multiple team members are involved.
We’ve all been there when a project is being held up by a specific person, and walking by their desk isn’t an option. So, the project team has a chat and requests updates on deliverables. This prompts that person to ask for help since an unforeseen outside issue was holding them up. Progress is made by keeping everyone on the same page and leaving no one behind.
Mobile Offering
As mentioned, mobile with a UCaaS system must be on par with the web experience. With LightSpar, our mobile app allows for voice and video calls, all varieties of chat and messaging, and even the ability to share and access files. You could be on a business trip to meet a customer, but that doesn’t mean you should be out of pocket for the entirety of the trip. Whether with a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, you get control over how you work and from where.
A Cloud Phone System Worthy of Your Business from LightSpar
The benefits your business will see when you embrace a cloud phone system will make up for the system’s costs. Expanding your business’s communication possibilities inadvertently welcomes more customers because you’re catering to their needs. Supplying a quality product or service is only half the battle; your level of communication needs to match it.
LightSpar has been supplying businesses with innovative business solutions for 25 years. We believe in creating a partnership that goes well beyond signing on the dotted line. We aim to be a trusted partner for all your IT needs. Contact us today so we can discuss the best solution for your business.
