A business telephone system is the lifeline of any business entity for its clients and customers. This can impact business growth and customer experience, which makes the right business phone system even more important.
Perhaps, you are still using the Public Switched Telephone Network, also known as landlines, but its limited functionality can no longer meet your needs. Other options you can consider are VoIP, Private Branch Exchange (PBX), On-Premise PBX, and Cloud-based PBX telephone systems.
So how do you know if you’re making the right choice for your business? Here are some tips.
- Identify your business resources
Forget what type of business you have. Take a look at your resources, instead. For example, if getting a high-speed internet connection is simply not possible in your area, it is better to stick to landlines, otherwise use a VoIP system or a hosted PBX.
The latter is highly recommended for small and medium businesses, especially those operating online. However large scale businesses usually use an onsite PBX because they can afford to build the infrastructure for it as well as deploy maintenance personnel to keep the line running 24/7.
- Phone system security and customer support
There is no guarantee that your digital or traditional phone line will not be tapped or hacked by some unscrupulous person. It all boils down to the customer support and security that your service provider can offer you.
Some providers like iiNet business phone offers the best solution, troubleshooting tips and account settings so you can easily configure everything from calling plans to voicemail encryption to firewalls. In addition, you should read the security policies created by the provider so that you can identify potential security threats.
- Contact the telephone system provider that is most suitable for your business
The best phone system provider should be accessible wherever you are, able to provide scalability as your business grows, reliable and flexible to meet your specific needs. This is especially true among small businesses with a large number of employees. For example, your online store business will likely need flexibility in your phone line. You may need to add a dedicated phone to customer support and sales and accounting departments.
- Explore the sound codec options from the service provider
Receiving/making quality calls is very important in giving your customers a good business experience with you. Phone systems that run on Internet Protocol Networks such as VoIP and those that are cloud-based use the exact amount of bandwidth needed to make/receive phone calls.
Voice codecs are then used to convert the signal from analog to digital, and the bandwidth these codecs use can vary depending on location. Voice codecs can be compressed if the caller is in a remote location; thus, sound quality suffers. Therefore, look for a provider that offers high internet bandwidth for their online based phone system.
