The Right Phone System for Your Business: How To Choose?

• Post by: RoRotel
• September 29, 2021

Before thinking about which phone system is the best fit for the business, enterprises often question themselves whether they really need a phone system, specifically the small businesses and tech-oriented companies.

Living and working in an era where automated emails, web applications for collaboration, and advanced online communication channels rule the everyday work life can make one question the necessity of a phone system.

But the truth is that in the real world every business and organisation needs a phone system to be in touch with clients, customers (both external & internal), partners, suppliers, vendors; those who matter for your business.

There are many means of communication in the present world of technology, but nothing can replace the real value and trust of “always-on” &  “always-connected” phone systems. It is an undeniable fact that the presence of phone numbers on the website/ social media pages is acknowledged as an indication of a legitimate business.

Here are a few facts and statistics which will prove how important a phone system is for a better customer experience. “A Google study found that 61% of customers prefer phone conversation over email or chat. More than 50% of consumers made a purchase decision over the phone. 67% of customers hung up the calls out of frustration of not being able to talk or reach the right person.

Around 70% of customers said they are willing to spend more money with a company that provides excellent customer service (American Express)”. Thus, a reliable and secured business phone system is a must that ensures credibility, accessibility and maintains the system security for your business and your company. Today’s business phone system comes with different packages with the right blend of features and applications which can fit different business sizes and requirements.

The business phones system has been divided into two major categories:

1. In-house phone system: also known as on-premise / on-site system that involves expensive investment on hardware, set-up, and maintenance cost which comes with geographical and expansion barriers.

2. An off-premise phone system: also known as hosted VoIP / hosted PBX is a cloud-based system with minimum or no hardware requirement. This system is completely online-based and spent as per the usage, with no geographical or expansion constraints.

With the pandemic around, the complete global business ecosystem has been changing and moving towards a hybrid work culture. Now it is more important than ever to choose a phone system which is future-ready. There are many options to choose from, here’s what to consider and how to select the right fit for your business.

First one needs to ask a few questions which will help uncover the real business needs and lead you to recognize the right phone system. Even if you are planning it for the first time or an upgrade or replacement; yet you need to ask or consider the following points:

• Is your business highly dependent on voice calls, or is it only important for internal collaboration with basic requirements of voice connectivity?

• Understand the practical need for voice/phone calls with different stakeholders for engagement. For e.g. you have a hyperactive sales team and you see immense growth in the team for the near future. And one of the important tools for your sales team is direct voice calls to the prospect.

• Make a list of pros and cons that will come with the integration of this new phone system into your business. And weigh it properly for the right decision-making. Identifying the ought-to-have features as per the business size and communication need is the most important step.

• Always try to select a system that is scalable and reliable for your future business plan. The bigger picture always works while selecting a system that is going to be an integral part of your business infrastructure and way of communication to the world.

• While answering all the questions and analysing all of the above points, keep the allocated budget in mind. Cost scrutinization along with the right mindset of capability advancement always acts as a healthy balanced diet for your business.

• If you already have a business phone system then will it be able to provide secure and seamless connectivity with the world moving towards remote working? Will it fit perfectly into your future plans or does it need an upgrade or a replacement?

• If you already have an on-premise PBX system and are planning to upgrade, you have two options; either you can choose SIP trunk, which will allow you to reuse your existing set-up, or the infrastructure of an on-premise phone system handled by your own IT team. Or you can choose Hosted PBX where all upgrades and maintenance are managed by an external service provider without any burden of heavy cost or issues of IT maintenance.

A VoIP system is a way towards a modern world business phone system. Whether it’s a small start-up, a growing tech company or an established enterprise; VoIP has different solution packages for every kind of business in the world market.

The Final & Most Important Step for a Business Phone System

For the right VoIP phone system, you need to find a perfect solution partner or service provider who can understand all your requirements correctly and focus on certain aspects i.e. cost, mobility, reliability, security, collaboration, scalability, customizations for a tailor-made solution.

The ideal phone service provider always has a risk assessment, fail-safe policy and guides your business as a consultant at every step of implementation. Selecting the right phone system is not just a means of better communication but it helps to increase productivity and enhance the brand value.

• Tags :
• business communication
• how-to
• VoIP Phone system