If you’re trying to restructure your small business, one thing you need to do is think about your phone structure. Many businesses work through either a mobile phone structure or a landline-based structure, but both of these structures have serious downfalls. In fact, a VoIP could be the right option for your small business for a number of reasons. Here are four great reasons to consider a VoIP option.
Cost
Cost is one of the biggest reasons for people to switch from one service to another. If you’re able to get the same service at a lower price, why wouldn’t you? That’s why a VoIP is so useful. Here are the average yearly phone service costs per user for the most commonly-used phone services:
• Landline With PBX: $800-$1,000
• Mobile Phone: $720-$960
• VoIP: $300-$480
Your cost may vary depending on your provider. For example, Ooma VoIP costs $19.95 per user every month, coming in at only $239 yearly per user.
Workplace Connectivity
VoIP is a great option for individuals, but it shines for small businesses. Workplace connectivity is significantly impacted by both landline and cell phone structures, and VoIP makes it easier to manage.
Employees can typically only access landlines when they’re sitting at their desk. That means employees can’t really access their phones the way they need to if they’re going to get in touch with customers on the go.
Whether you provide employees with a second cell phone or ask them to use their personal phone for work, you’re still going to have connectivity problems. Having two phones adds chaos to your communications structure, and using a personal phone inevitably requires that your employees give clients their personal phone number.
VoIP gives you options: you can connect landline phones to the VoIP process or utilize a smartphone app on your personal phone. This separates work and personal life while also giving your employees the ability to contact clients anywhere.
Ease of Use
As a business, you need a phone system that’s extremely easy to use. Landline phones, as their name would suggest, require a physical copper line, which can be extremely frustrating if you need to reconfigure your office or add a new employee. Mobile phone services can be easy to deploy, but typically inconvenience customers because of a lack of transferring options.
However, VoIP utilizes internet service, which nearly every business already has. Plug-and-play installation, like the installation options available through Ooma, make it even easier for you to move your business to a VoIP.
Additional Options
Another thing to think about are add-ons. Some of these add-ons may be free, while others might incur an additional fee. However, these additional options can definitely maximize the ways in which you’re able to utilize your phone service. Consider these options that Ooma brings to the table:
• Free toll-free number
• Virtual Receptionist for automatic call routing
• Conference bridge
• Call blocking
• Voicemail audio sent through email
• Main business number
• Unique number for each user
• Electronic fax
Your business may need all of these, none of these, or just a few you can pick and choose. The important thing is that you can customize it for your business’s needs.
How to Choose the Best VoIP
There are many things to consider when it comes to picking the best VoIP. Of course, you want to make sure your costs are low, but you shouldn’t sacrifice cost if you’re getting an incredibly low-quality product. Instead, you want to balance out quality, cost, and options.
This ability to manage all variables is one reason PC Magazine’s Business Choice Awards has named Ooma Office the #1 VoIP service for seven years running. Whether you’re looking through individual reviews or through awards from major tech sites, you can be sure you’re getting a great product.
voip conference -DepositPhotos
