Are you using the new way to manage customer calls? Voice Over Internet Protocol or VoIP is the go-to business phone system for small businesses who are looking for a phone service that is easy to set up, use, and maintain. It meets modern business needs in a way that traditional landlines just can’t, such as compatibility with mobile devices, workflow automation, and, with Podium Phones, you can route calls to an omnichannel inbox alongside texts and social media messages.
It’s the next generation of business communication. Here’s why.
Benefits of VoIP Systems for Small Businesses
Whether you’re looking to upgrade your current telephony solution or are looking to add phone calls to your business communication channels, a VoIP phone service could be exactly the solution you need.
1. Cost-Effectiveness
Compared to traditional phones, VoIP phones are pretty affordable to run. You can use hardware you already have like company computers and mobile phones. You don’t need to install a phone line or anything like that because it runs over the internet. All that’s left to do is sign up for a VoIP service plan at a price that works for your budget.
2. Scalability
As VoIP phone systems can be managed through the provider’s app, it’s pretty easy to add new users, delete old users, check call metrics, and complete other day-to-day management activities. Most providers have a suite of phone plans so you can easily upgrade as you grow.
3. Mobility and Flexibility
Desk phones have massively limited the usability of business phones previously. With VoIP softphones, team members can answer incoming calls to the company phone number without being at their desks. This gives you the flexibility to set up the company office however works best such as utilizing hot desking to support employee engagement.
4. Improved Productivity
VoIP solutions make answering and making phone calls, at a call center or as the customer support team of a small business, easier. Your team has the technology to support their processes and workflows. For example, Podium Phones is connected to a CRM system that handles all customer information an employee may need when liaising with a caller.
5. Geographic Flexibility
With the rise of long-distance remote teams and work-from-home days, today’s businesses require portability in their phone systems. VoIP phones provide that because they work on cell phones as long as the location has good internet connectivity. Your team can work out of the office without sacrificing their connection to the rest of the team and customers.
6. Transcriptions and Integrations
There are so many business VoIP features that elevate the call-handling processes available natively or through integrations. Depending on the VoIP provider, you can have the functionality to transcribe phone calls in real time for later reference. Or even add video conferencing to your VoIP phone service.
30 VoIP Features to Look for From Phone System Providers
You can find a VoIP service provider that meets your business needs by noting down the features available with VoIP phones and looking out for them when researching business phone plans.
1. Call Forwarding
You don’t want inbound calls to go unanswered or wait times to build up because there aren’t enough team members in the office. Call forwarding allows you to route calls to a device of someone available to take the call.
2. Auto-Attendant
To provide a high standard of customer service, you want to get callers to the right person as soon as possible. An auto-attendant is essentially a virtual receptionist who routes the caller to a suitable team member as quickly as possible.
3. Voicemail-to-Email Transcription
When callers do need to leave a voicemail, you don’t want to leave them waiting for too long. Answer voicemail messages quicker with voicemail-to-email transcription. You don’t have to go through and listen to everyone. You’ve got all the information you need in front of you.
4. Call Recording
The call recording feature of VoIP business phones is super useful for maintaining a high standard of customer service. The recordings can be used for monitoring, training, and recording key customer information.
5. Call Queuing
Has your small business or call center grown into an organization with different departments for different calls? Use call queueing to get customers the help they need. Call queues automate the routing of calls to the right teams so you can provide a solution quicker.
6. Call Transfer
A team member may realize that the customer would get better support from another person or department in the middle of a call. This can be handled seamlessly with the call transfer feature. The customer call will be transferred to another receiver without having to do a thing.
7. Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
Another way to sort calls to make sure customers get the help they need is to use an Interactive Voice Response. Customers respond to the real-time voice menu by pressing buttons on their phones or voicing their queries so they can be routed to the right department.
8. Virtual Extensions
Allow customers to get in contact with the department they want to speak to with virtual phone number extensions. It’s as easy as setting up each team with their phone number and sharing that with customers and other teams.
9. Conference Calling
Sometimes one-on-one conversations just don’t cut it. One team needs to liaise with another. Even better than three-way calling is conference calling. A whole group of people can discuss over the phone.
10. Call Monitoring
Whether you are managing a team of 3 call handlers or 300, you want responses to phone calls to be consistent across the board. With call monitoring, you can check for consistency and help team members to provide even better customer service.
11. Music on Hold
Make waiting for someone to answer the phone or get back to their phone call more palatable for customers by playing hold music. You can even use your custom music, elevating every moment of their interactions with you.
12. Caller ID
It’s useful to know who is calling you. It kicks the conversation off to a better start. With VoIP solutions, users can see caller IDs of incoming calls and use that information to take appropriate action.
13. Call Blocking
Spam calls waste everyone’s time. In your business, every minute wasted on spam calls is a minute that could have been spent helping a customer. VoIP phone systems allow you to block phone numbers so they can’t get through in the first place.
14. Call Screening
Whether you want to help your team avoid spam calls or prioritize the most valuable inbound calls, call screening allows you to see who is calling and rank their priority.
15. Do Not Disturb (DND)
It’s not realistic for small businesses to be available to take phone calls 24/7. During out-of-office periods, put your phone number on ‘do not disturb’ and immediately re-route them to your voicemail to leave a message.
16. Call Analytics and Reporting
Phone calls hold a lot of useful information that can be used to make data-driven decisions. You can use a VoIP phone system to collect analytics, from wait time to customer behavior insights, for real-time performance tracking and agile problem-solving.
17. Call Whispering
Make training and improving performance even easier with call whispering. This enables managers and colleagues to give a customer service rep verbal advice during a call without the caller being able to hear it.
18. Call Barging
This is a feature that allows other people to join a call in progress, turning it into a three-way call, to help bring the conversation to a successful resolution. It’s useful for managers monitoring calls and performance.
19. Call Routing
If you have a large volume of calls, use call routing to distribute calls depending on specific factors such as their query or customer status. It can prevent the need for call forwarding in the middle of conversations.
20. Call Park/Pickup
The call park feature is perfect for multifaceted teams on the go. Team members can park the call and then pick it up from another device configured with the business phone system.
21. Call Waiting
Sometimes coming to a resolution means switching between phone calls. That can be done seamlessly with the call-waiting function. You can pick up an incoming call while already on a call, essentially putting the other call on hold, while you deal with the incoming one.
22. Call Prioritization
When working through a high volume of inbound calls, it can be helpful to rank them based on their priority so the team can get to the most pressing calls first. The ranking could be based on their likelihood to convert, the urgency of the query, or another factor.
23. Click-to-Call
Connect your VoIP phone system with your website and customer contact CRM with a click-to-call button that immediately connects a call to your company phone system.
24. Voicemail Greetings Customization
A phone call going to voicemail can be a bit frustrating because it’s not the real-time response the caller was hoping for. Use a custom voicemail greeting to warm up this touchpoint and keep customers onboard.
25. Call Bridging (Multi-Branch Connectivity)
Call bridging is perfect for remote or hybrid teams because it allows multiple participants to join a single call and be part of a group discussion, wherever they are in the world.
26. Call Quality Monitoring
Part of providing good customer service is maintaining a high quality of calls. Everyone on the call needs to be able to hear each other for it to be possible to resolve. Monitor the quality of calls to prevent disruption with a VoIP phone.
27. CRM Integration
To keep track of all the calls your business is receiving, for monitoring, follow-up, and improved customer care, add a CRM integration to your VoIP phone system.
28. VoIP Faxing
Sometimes businesses still need to fax materials, like important documents and forms, and this is possible over VoIP through a fax machine or over email.
29. SMS and Text Messaging
Text messaging is a super convenient way to communicate. Some VoIP service providers (us included!) offer SMS capabilities alongside voice calls so you can communicate with customers on their preferred communication channels.
30. Call Flip (Transfer Calls Between Devices)
As VoIP works with so many devices – desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, and mobile phones – you can have various devices connected to the phone system and switch between them when on voice calls.
The Best VoIP System for Small Businesses
If you are looking for a VoIP phone system with all the features and functionality you need to improve customer communications, attract new leads, and drive growth, we have the answer. Podium Phone is a VoIP phone system that is perfect for small businesses.
Alongside the customer contact CRM and the omnichannel inbox that are part of the Podium platform, with Podium Phone you can easily follow up with and get back to callers on their preferred communication channel—phone, text, social media messaging, etc. Consolidating all conversations and communications in a single platform streamlines your business processes for better results like a 33% increase in sales close rate. With Podium, you can turn calls into revenue.
FAQs
Q: What are the most important features of VoIP systems?
A: The most important VoIP features depend on what you want to use the phone system for. For example, if you are using it as a customer support line, call queuing capabilities would be important. However, if you are using the phone system for internal communications, conference calling would be a priority for maintaining cross-department collaboration.
Q: Which advanced features are available in VoIP networks?
A: There are various advanced features that you can utilize as a VoIP phone user, especially as a lot of service providers offer integrations with other digital tools. Popular advanced features include text messaging, video calling, and call analytics.
Q: What are the advantages of VoIP over other communication systems?
A: VoIP phones are the next generation of business communication systems because they use internet connectivity instead of phone lines and the clunky hardware that comes with it. This means that the business phone system is compatible with mobile devices and therefore portable and manageable in the office, at home, or anywhere with a good internet connection. It’s a customizable and cost-effective phone solution for small businesses.
