The Ultimate Guide to VoIP Technology for the Busy Local Business 

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<h2 class="p1">Greater Context to Grow Revenue </h2>
<a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/report-reveals-92-of-customer-calls-are-opportunities-for-business-growth-301600101.html">92% of phone calls</a> are proven opportunities for business growth with specific opportunities to win business, lose business, improve brand perceptions, improve customer relationships, and more. 
When we let those conversations go to a voicemail, wait on hold, or route to a team member without a complete history of customer notes, your business will suffer.
Increasing your response time can help you close business, sell faster, and even offer upsell opportunities to customers. 
VoIP technology can also help your business resolve customer issues quickly. By increasing your opportunities to answer calls quickly and reduces the number of times customers wait on hold, you can retain more customers. 
When a business can resolve a customer issue on the first call, <a href="https://financesonline.com/call-center-statistics/">only 1% of customers</a> will visit a competitor vs. 15% when the issue isn’t resolved to the customer’s expectations.
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-24445" src="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3.png" alt="VoIP customer call" width="837" height="451" srcset="https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3.png 837w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-300x162.png 300w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-768x414.png 768w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-600x323.png 600w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-360x194.png 360w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-160x86.png 160w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-350x189.png 350w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-100x54.png 100w, https://cms.podium.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/3-637x343.png 637w" sizes="(max-width: 837px) 100vw, 837px" />
<h1 class="p1">How to Get Started with VoIP Technology</h1>
To get started with VoIP technology, it’s important that you check a few boxes first: 
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li2">Check your internet connection: Because VoIP technology relies on the internet, it’s important you have a good internet connection. If your business is located in an area where you don’t have a good connection, your VoIP system quality will suffer. </li>
<li class="li2">Research VoIP providers: When you move away from a traditional landline service, you’ll find that you have a long list of <a href="https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-business-voip-providers">options for VoIP providers</a>. Do your research and find the provider that will work best for your business. </li>
<li class="li2">Select the type of VoIP service you need: A variety of VoIP providers means there’s a number of VoIP services you can select. Decide what type of service works best for you by considering software-based VoIP services, device-based VoIP services, mobile VoIP services, and business VoIP services. </li>
<li class="li2">Research VoIP equipment: After you select a VoIP provider you need to make sure you have the <a href="https://www.intermedia.com/blog/what-equipment-is-needed-for-voip/">right equipment</a>. If your business is taking and making calls to customers, you’ll need more than a computer-to-computer connection. You’ll likely need VoIP-specific phones or an adapter for your current lineup of hard phones. </li>
</ol>
<h2 class="p1">What to Look for in a VoIP Service Provider </h2>
As you research VoIP service providers a checklist can be helpful. Follow this list to ensure you’re reviewing all of the important features and specifics for a VoIP service provider: 
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li2">Specific costs per user and any additional fees: VoIP providers often price their services on a per-user and per-month rate. Get clear on what features are included with the basic package and which features will require an additional fee. Oftentimes, additional features include toll-free minutes, video conferencing, and VoIP hardware.</li>
<li class="li2">Standard features to get started quickly: Your new VoIP provider should supply a fair amount of standard features so you can get started quickly. Standard features to look for include:
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li2"><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/call-forwarding-vs-routing/">Call forwarding</a> 
With call forwarding, you can ensure that customer calls are always answered. You can forward calls to another extension or a different phone number if your customer service representatives are all busy.</li>
<li class="li2">Call analytics 
Collecting metrics is a major benefit of switching from a traditional landline to a VoIP platform. Standard features should include a list of call analytics such as agent performance, call session metrics, behavioral trends, and more.</li>
<li class="li2">Voicemail transcripts 
With a voicemail-to-text feature your VoIP service can transcribe voicemails and send those to a phone or computer as an <a href="https://www.podium.com/guides/ultimate-guide-to-sms-marketing/">SMS text</a>.</li>
<li class="li2"><a href="https://www.podium.com/ebooks/business-texting-templates/">Business text messaging </a> 
Because VoIP systems are digital, a standard feature for VoIP providers is text messaging. Connecting your voice and text conversations can help customers connect to your business in the way that works best for them. Plus, it connects customer information from both channels in a single place so customer service representatives can get a clearer picture of customer history.</li>
<li class="li2"><a href="https://www.podium.com/article/what-is-a-softphone/">Hardware-optional phone calls</a> 
VoIP providers should offer a softphone application. This feature allows your team members to make a call or send a text message on any device that is connected to the internet. Instead of managing customer conversations from a single location (as you would do with a traditional landline), your customer service representatives can field customer conversations on the go.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="li2">Customer support and training: <a href="https://www.podium.com/article/friction-free-customer-experiences/">Customer support</a> for you and your business is critical for a seamless implementation process and adoption amongst your employees. Look for a VoIP provider that offers support 24/7 and clear customer communication in case of any downtime.As you compare providers, check out the resources available for training and onboarding. Providers that offer these resources are likely a better fit and will provide ongoing customer support.</li>
<li class="li2">Third-party integrations: Moving from a traditional landline to a digital voice solution already offers many benefits. But the ability to integrate other digital platforms with your VoIP solution can create even more efficiency and productivity for your team. Look for a VoIP provider that will integrate with your CRM, SMS, email, and cloud storage solutions. With a more connected tech stack, you can better serve customers.</li>
<li class="li4">Security: As with all digital solutions, your VoIP provider should offer a high level of security. The most effective way to make sure your calls are safe and less susceptible to interception or breach is to employ high-level encryption. This process involves converting data from calls into a highly encoded data set. This data can only be decoded with a description key, keeping cyber attackers at bay.Another security consideration is to review how many data centers your VoIP provider has and their locations around the U.S. or the globe. A redundancy of service is a good practice and VoIP providers with multiple servers within a data center understand how this can increase security.  </li>
</ul>
<h2 class="p1">Questions to Ask When Finding the Right VoIP Provider </h2>
Ready to start vetting your options for a VoIP provider? Here are the top 10 questions to ask when you’re ready to find the right VoIP provider: 
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li2">How much will it cost for each user per month (and will signing up require a contract)?</li>
<li class="li2">Will you have to use a specific phone for the VoIP service or can you modify your existing desk phones? </li>
<li class="li2">If you have to purchase new phones to work with your new VoIP provider, can you use these devices with another provider in the future? </li>
<li class="li2">Does your VoIP service include a mobile VoIP solution? </li>
<li class="li2">How many phones can a single user have with this provider? </li>
<li class="li2">What do typical network alerts look like? Can you review the history of the alerts? </li>
<li class="li2">Will you need dedicated bandwidth to use the VoIP system? </li>
<li class="li2">Will you need any other on-site devices for the VoIP system? (Is this an on-premise or hosted service?)</li>
<li class="li2">How does the VoIP provider notify customers of any service disruption and how often has that happened in the last year? </li>
<li class="li4">What features are available to add on and what training is available for those features? </li>
</ol>
<h2 class="p1">Final Thoughts </h2>
VoIP calls allow businesses of any size to offer a better customer experience. For your local business, a better call experience could mean the difference between a sale and a loss. Consider your options as you compare landline options to the modernized voice option of VoIP technology. 
And with the right provider, you can make the experience easier for your team and better for your customers.

The Ultimate Guide to VoIP Technology for the Busy Local Business

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