Get your business off to a flying start – what can a new phone system do for your business?

A free article on Communications

By: Keith McGregor

Most businesses have an office telephone system. We take them for granted, they are used simply to transfer the odd call or put someone on hold while we fetch a file. Most of us have taken a call from a eager salesman who would like to tells about how this new phone system he is selling is going to revolutionise our lives, even make us tea or coffee when we need it. We tell the sales guy that we don’t have time to talk about our telephone system as the thing is still working so why would we change it? Good question. You might ask yourself the same question about your PC’s or your car but you have probably changed these before they were broken. Office PC’s for example are now a lot faster and capable than they were only 5 years ago. Telephone systems have also come a long way and are now more closely linked to the office PC network. Here are some ways that a new phone system can give your business an edge over your competitors:

Increase Productivity

Computer telephony integration (CTI) is the term we use for linking our office pc network with the telephone system. This can help by enabling users to click on telephone numbers in programs like Outlook, Maximizer, Sage Line 50, Goldmine and may others, including in-house systems, and the phone will automatically dial the number. The same system will ‘pop’ incoming callers records from a database onto the screen of the person that answers the call. These systems may sound like a gimmick but when you add up the time that can be saved across even a small business it doesn’t take long to see a return on investment.

Save money

There are many jobs done everyday by well paid staff that could be done by a phone system. Using an IVR system customers are able to access your database to automatically order goods. The phone system will speak to the database and then listen and interpret what the database is telling it back. You may have used one of these systems when you last called your internet banking. The time that can be save by using IVR allows the person that used to take those calls to use their skills dealing customers that need help, reducing complaints and lost calls.

Look professional

Not only do new phone look great on the desk but by using features such as marketing on hold you can offer your customers music while they wait on hold with personalised and targeted marketing messages to help you promote your business, like new products or advise customers of new opening hours.

Always available

Some new phone systems have a ‘Unified Communications’ theme which means that they offer cross media communication. For instance, you are sent an important email which is time critical but you are driving to another meeting which is equally as important. Wouldn’t it be great if you used your handsfree in the car to pick up your voicemails and then have your voicemail check your emails and read any new email to you while you are still driving? No problem using Avaya’s Voicemail Pro. You are on an important call at your desk but you need to leave to catch a plane. Rather than offering to call the person back or have then call you back wouldn’t it be great if you could transfer that call you your mobile seamlessly at the touch of a button and retain office phone features such as transfer, hold and conference on your mobile? By using Avaya’s Mobility feature all this is possible and a lot more beside.

What can a new phone system do for your business? A lot more that it could 5 years ago.

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