When it comes to business phones, first impressions are lasting impressions — whether you are taking orders, consulting with clients, or communicating internally, a successful business requires a successful phone system. It allows you to provide personal and direct customer service, and is often the first impression a new customer has of you and your company.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
You want to reinforce that a new customer has made the right decision by reaching out to you. Conversely, you don’t want to frustrate clients or lose business because of a bad connection.
Learn how to unlock the power of your business phones and update your system to keep up with the modern workplace.
Take Your BUSINESS Phone System to the Next Level
When planning your company’s business phone system, there are a lot of options from setup to hardware. These decisions are guided by how your space is set up, conversation privacy needs, and even office security needs.
- Determine the right type of service
If you have a large physical office space, you may want a traditional hard wired phone system. On the other hand if your staff is remote or hybrid, or you have multiple locations, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is probably the best option for your staff.
As we’ve discussed, remote work is increasing, with 16% of offices being fully remote in 2023. Your office may be fully remote, in person, or even largely in office but with a lot of business travel. You need to keep your employees connected to each other and to your clients. So even if your staff is in a physical location, VoIP and soft phones give you the greatest flexibility, and allow your staff to be accessible no matter where they are.
- Identify the hardware you need
Not all phones are created the same. Yes, you want to make sure that they can all call, transfer, and access voicemails. But there are a number of other decisions you need to make based on your industry, staff size, and location.
Most companies will need a mix of telephone desk sets for the office and softphone apps, so that staff is available through the same phone number via a cell phone or desktop app. You also need to consider the spaces in your office beyond the desks. You probably need a speakerphone for each conference room, and to connect to your office door call boxes, intercoms, and video doorbells.
- Get the right number
Based on your business, your branding goals may determine what you need from your main phone number. Do you want to have a local phone number to reinforce that you are a member of your local community? Do you want an 800 number to reinforce that you are a large and reliable entity?
- Set up an effective call flow
Many bad stand up comedy routines highlight the frustration of calling customer service and becoming lost in a maze of automatic prompts, menus and submenus, hold music, and the sinking feeling that no actual human will ever answer your call.
But it doesn’t have to be painful. A well designed call flow can be your best line of defense against frustrating phone calls. By reviewing your organization, the types of calls you typically receive, and the length and complexity of your customer calls, we can design a call flow that increases both staff efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Are you ready to discuss your business phone needs? Let FSA Consulting build a system that addresses the current changes in your modern workplace. We’ll handle the technology so you can get back to focusing on your clients. Contact us today, and we will create the customized connection you need.