One of the biggest advantages of an all-in-one small business VoIP phone system vs. a landline phone system is features, features, and yet more features. You know the saying “it’s like being a kid in a candy store?” Well, employees who use a small business VoIP phone system for the very first time have the same experience. Within minutes, they go from “what does this feature do?” to “how on earth did we ever survive without this feature?”
Here are five small business VoIP phone features that create plenty of enthusiasm and excitement — in other words: THEY ROCK!
1. Small Business VoIP Phone System Feature: Auto Attendant
Auto Attendant is an automated, customizable, and extremely easy-to-use virtual receptionist. This feature ensures that all calls are professionally answered — even during busy times or after business hours — and that callers are directed to the right individual, team, or department. It is also easy to create rules to route calls based on details like caller ID, date or time, as well as block SPAM calls so that employees stay focused and avoid interruptions. Considering that the median salary for a receptionist is $37,716 per year, this feature alone can pay for the ENTIRE small business VoIP phone system — and then some!
2. Small Business VoIP Phone System Feature: Voicemail-to-Email with Text
For many employees, calling into their voicemail box to pick up messages is tedious and inconvenient. And in some scenarios, it’s not possible, such as when they’re attending a presentation. Yet, going hours without checking voicemails isn’t a good idea — especially for sales and technical reps who may find that by the time they pick up a message the customer who left it is irate, or worse, has left for a competitor. Fortunately, that is where voicemail-to-email with text enters the picture and changes the game!
This feature automatically converts voicemails into audio recordings (.wav files), and then forwards them to the employee’s email inbox. As a result, they can listen to messages from any device (smartphone, desktop, laptop or tablet).
And what about scenarios where the recipient cannot conveniently listen to an audio recording? There is where the other aspect of this feature comes to the rescue: voicemails can be automatically transcribed as text messages, which appear in the body of an email. At-a-glance, employees can quickly determine if they need to call a time-out and make an urgent phone call, or if they can deal with something later when it’s more convenient and practical.
3. Small Business VoIP Phone System Feature: Seamless Mobile App Integration
The pandemic greatly accelerated the remote worker trend, and now it is here to stay. What’s more, many employees who work in a corporate office are not always at their desks. Instead, they are in meetings with customers and suppliers, chatting in the halls with colleagues, taking a brief walk outside (which wellness experts say can be very beneficial!), and so on.
A small business VoIP phone system features seamless mobile app integration, so that all employees — regardless if they are 100% remote, hybrid, or 100% in-office — can make and receive calls, regardless of where they are. What’s more, employees can access other system features such as SMS/MMS chat, presence, call directory, call history and one-tap dialing.
And what happens when employees make business calls from their personally-owned smartphones? The business’s Caller ID information will appear to the recipient — not their personal information. This presents a more professional and polished image, and it is also important for security, privacy, and compliance.
4. Small Business VoIP Phone System Feature: Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery
In a perfect world power outages would not happen, and businesses would never have to worry about “going off the grid.” Unfortunately, power outages are on the rise in the U.S. And not just those caused by severe weather or human-made emergency (e.g. construction workers accidentally cutting a cable, a vehicle colliding with a utility pole, etc.). Brownouts are also becoming more frequent, including those that are generated by power companies to prevent rolling blackouts. Brownouts dial back the power the machines and devices optimally require, which can cause them to malfunction.
A small business VoIP phone system uses a geographically dispersed cloud-based infrastructure, along with backup power supplies, to establish business continuity and disaster recovery. As a result, when the power goes down for a matter of minutes, hours, or days, small businesses do not have to worry about plunging productivity, irate customers, or damage to their reputation. Instead, they keep on operating without interruption.
5. Small Business VoIP Phone System Feature: Video Conferencing
A small business VoIP phone system features video conferencing, which is now considered essential rather than preferable — and not just because it enables physical distancing. Video conferencing can also significantly reduce and in some cases eliminate the need for employees to travel. Indeed, the average cost of a business trip is around $1,300. This is money that business owners and CEOs can put back into their operations, so they can remain competitive and grow.
At Carolina Digital Phone, our all-in-one small business VoIP phone system includes ALL 5 OF THESE ROCKIN’ FEATURES! Plus, everything is backed by the industry’s BEST LOCAL SERVICE. Ready to take your small business to the next level? Call us today (336) 544-4000, or click the chat icon at the bottom of your screen.
