When running a business, having excellent communication is crucial to its success. To manage your company operations effectively, you need to communicate with your employees, suppliers, partners, and more importantly, your customers over the phone. With the right tools, you can achieve this milestone by avoiding mistakes or delays in the entire communication process.
Fortunately, there’s a wide range of business phone systems in the market that you can choose from. Whether you have a small or large enterprise, you have to select the best phone system that works best for you.
So, if you’re looking to set up a business phone system that suits your needs, here’s what you need to know about it and the best tips for setting up this system.
Business Phone System: What Is It?
With the advent of modern innovations today, business communications have become stronger than ever, thanks to a great business phone system that is intended to manage any business needs, such as customer service calls, call routing, and many more.
Primarily, a business phone system refers to a system that consists of several interconnected telephones armed with professional capabilities and features. These might include the following:
- Automated Features – These are designed to answer the phone call for you and transfer callers to the proper extension.
- Multiple Lines – These are used to allow your company to talk to various customers at once.
- Conference Calling – This is beneficial for meetings because it enables two or more people to be on the same call. This is a common feature for companies employing remote workers.
- Voicemail – This is designed for storing messages and making the retrieval of data much more comfortable and faster wherever you go.
- On-Hold Message Or Music – This is to inform callers that even if no person is talking to them, they’re still on the line.
Now that you’re aware of what a business phone system is, it’s time to get to know its advantages to your business operations. With this kind of communication system, you can have as many interconnected phones set up across different offices in your building, which is beneficial to your company. The advantages of having a business phone system include:
- Making internal and external business communications more efficient due to the system’s professional and sophisticated call routing features.
- Helping keep your information private. Since most business phone systems are cloud-based, you can ensure the privacy of your company information, thereby improving your business’ ability to connect with your customers wherever you are.
- Using a great business phone system can streamline your business communications. Whether you need collaboration tools or call management features, you can take advantage of these things in a single device.
- Saving money and time. Unlike old-school phone systems, a business phone system isn’t expensive and bulky. Instead, it’s easy to set up and more flexible than the traditional ones.
- Staying connected anytime and anywhere. Upgrading to a business phone system can keep your employees connected to your clients regardless of time and location. The system’s collaboration tools ensure that your employees are on the same page when communicating with your clients.
Business Phone System: How Can You Set Up One For Your Business?
With a variety of business phone systems available in the market nowadays, choosing the best one can be a bit challenging and complicated. In fact, there are many factors to keep in mind when you want to set up a great phone system for your company.
And to help you with the process, below are the tips to consider when setting up an excellent business phone system:
Know Your Business Objectives
Before anything else, it’s essential to determine your business objectives. Considering the different business phone systems in the market, you won’t be able to decide which one to use if you don’t know your business objectives. For example, you might want to simplify your internal communications among your employees or your contact with outsiders. Whatever your aim is, be sure to keep it in mind when setting up a great business phone system.
Get To Know Your Options For A Business Phone System
Given the several options for a business phone system, it’s sometimes hard to pick the appropriate one for your needs, especially when you need to take the size of your company into consideration. Thus, you should become familiar with these technological innovations before making a choice.
Here are a few popular business phone systems you can choose from:
- PBX Systems – When you’re operating a large business, private branch exchanges (PBX) can be a good option. They can accommodate more than 75 employees with their flexibility and advanced communication features.
- VoIP Systems – If you’re a tech-savvy company, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems can be an ideal communications solution. This phone technology is much more convenient because it uses the Internet to make international and local calls.
- Cloud Phone Systems – Generally, a cloud phone or virtual phone system can be a VoIP or a hosted PBX system. Unlike other phone systems, it doesn’t need to be set up in your premises because a third-party server entirely hosts it. As such, you no longer need to worry about the system’s maintenance and other related costs. And due to its accessibility, your business can grow virtually and physically.
- KSU – Compared to a traditional phone system, a key system unit (KSU) refers to a multi-line phone that can be used for routing calls on a phone system. It also comes with innovative features, but it’s more ideal for those running small businesses due to the limited number of lines integrated.
Choose The Right Phone System For Your Company
By now, you already have an idea about the typical business phone systems for your business. And to know which one will work best for you, consider the features of the system as well as your company’s communications requirements. That way, it’ll be easier to select a more reliable and affordable phone system provider like Call Cowboy that can provide the best business communication services.
Here’s how you can make the selection process faster and smoother:
- Factor In Your Business Growth – As a business owner, it’s essential to make sure that the phone technology you want to use can help your business grow in the future. In other words, pick a phone system with the ability to support your needs today and in the coming years.
- Determine The Essential Features Needed – Of course, each company has different communication requirements. Therefore, it’s crucial to determine the features you want your business phone system to have to ensure you can compare providers better. By doing this, you can get the most out of your choices and, as a result, prevent you from paying for features your company doesn’t need.
Whether you need a conference call feature or voice mail system, the decision is up to you. Just make sure that before you choose a phone system, you’re already aware of the features it can offer your business.
- Stick With Your Budget – Just like other aspects of your business, setting up a business phone system is a significant investment. Hence, you need to shell out some money in order to get this done correctly. However, not all phone systems are created equal. Some are expensive, while others aren’t. Given these circumstances, you also have to consider your budget when selecting a communication solution. Make an effort to stick with your budget without compromising the communication process. Be sure the phone technology you choose isn’t only affordable but also matches your needs.
- Check Your Offices’ Current Setup – While most business phone systems are easy to set up, it’s still best to review your offices’ current infrastructure before installing one for your company. By doing so, you’ll know whether the business communications solutions you select can integrate all innovative calling features in a single platform or space. Remember, knowing how your current office setup works can help you install the right business phone system that suits your needs.
- Test Your Options – It’s a great idea to test your options before choosing a phone system. Doing so can help you determine how complicated or straightforward the technology is. For example, test a particular system to know whether it’s easy to add new features, new lines, and many more. Remember, trying your prospective phone systems can help you make the right choice.
Identify The Number Of Users And Extensions You Require
Before you can set up a great business phone system, you need to identify how many users and extensions you require. Doing so can help you simplify the communication processes within your organization. Besides, not all of your employees are tasked to handle many calls.
In such a case, it’s best to identify the number of users who are responsible for making and receiving phone calls using their desk phone, smartphone apps, and for accessing voicemails from the web. For those who don’t need to make calls, you can provide them with extensions whereby they can forward the request coming from the main company line to the employee concerned, or reach the specific person directly.
By knowing these things, you’ll learn the best way of setting up the right business phone system for your company. Remember, the more you know regarding the number of your users and the extensions needed, the more you can benefit from your communication solutions based on the available features required.
Prepare For The Installation/Setup Process
Setting up a business phone system isn’t easy. With plenty of wires, big phones, and other paraphernalia, the process can cause a lot of stress and headaches. In such a case, you need to plan the setup correctly to ensure everything is in order.
To guarantee a smooth setup of the best business phone system, here are a few steps to follow from the get-go:
- Select Your Business Number – In most cases, installing a business phone system with several users and extensions can be very complicated. Luckily, there are advanced phone systems out there that you can use to get rid of wirings and other stuff.
For instance, if you hire a virtual phone service provider, the setup process doesn’t have to be difficult. Just sign up and assign a virtual phone number. From there, you can use this number for your business communications by linking it to your existing phones.
- Set Up Custom Greetings – Once you’ve picked your phone number, the next step is to record your main message. This custom greeting will serve as the message your clients will hear when they call your company. Because of this, be sure the greetings are clear and professional. To do this, create a dedicated team composed of friendly and polite members who can deliver the phone greetings or answer the phone politely.
- Add Extensions – Again, adding extensions can make a huge difference in your entire business communications process. This feature can be beneficial for companies with several departments and offices. With extensions in place, it’s easy for your clients to dial a specific extension to call a particular person. In short, you don’t need to call the main company number and ask someone on the line to transfer you to the person concerned.
- Get Ready To Receive Calls – Once everything is set, you can now start receiving calls and other communication services. Depending on the business phone system you choose, you can make or take calls, faxes, voicemails, and many more. Also, if you opt for a virtual phone system, you can install the system directly from your phone.
Final Thoughts
Ideally, a high-quality business phone system can go a long way in making your company’s internal and external communications more efficient and reliable. Thus, with proper planning and research, you can definitely find the perfect system for your business.
And once you’ve chosen the right one, follow the tips mentioned above to ensure the successful setup of your phone system. Also, don’t hesitate to seek professional help from your business communications provider to assist you with the installation process.
