In recent months you’ve likely moved a considerable amount of your daily operations from a physical location to Internet-based platforms. There may have been growing pains, but in the end, these shifts will help expedite your growth potential and prepare you for the future (and any potential quarantines that may come with the ever-changing world).
One service you may be considering is VoIP. Short for Voice over Internet Protocol, this is an Internet-based telephone service. It functions in many ways like your traditional landline. Only it works through the Internet connection and not a telephone connection. And yet, despite the similarities, VoIP offers a number of benefits for your small business you won’t receive if using a traditional landline. Here are several of the top benefits you can expect.
Top Benefits of VoIP for Your Small Business
VoIP is Less Expensive
Running a small business takes a considerable amount of money. Even if you’ve been up and running for several years, there are always costs that can sneak up on you. That’s why you need to find ways to trim away at the budget without causing damage to the function of the business or the services it provides. VoIP costs less than a traditional landline. You already pay for the Internet, so you might as well harness its potential.
With a landline, you’re paying for a secondary connection running into your property. Add in long-distance and even international calling, and you’re paying a pretty penny for your landline. With VoIP long distance is included, as is international calls to most countries.
Number Moves With You
A landline is locked into your building. If you move, you may need to change your phone number. Switching a number is far more costly than it needs to be. You’ll need to change all of your signage, business cards, website information, and anywhere else your old number might be. You also need to let your current customers know about the phone number change. With VoIP, the number moves with you. This isn’t a number that’s set to one particular computer or address. It’s your number. So whether you move to a different building on the other side of town or a different country, you can maintain the same number.
You Get to Select Your Number
Having a local phone number is helpful when you are located in a specific market. You don’t want a telephone number from California when you’re based out of North Carolina. It’s not an issue for some customers, but others who want to shop local might be turned off when calling an out of state telephone number. With VoIP, you have the ability to select your area code. This is helpful if you expand and open a branch in South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Wyoming, or anywhere else. All the numbers can be directed to your work station, and yet you’ll have a local phone number for all of your branches. That’s simply something a landline is not able to do.
Scale Up Or Down
You need tech that can scale up or down with your business. You shouldn’t be locked into a contract for the equipment you no longer need or is outdated. Most telephone companies are happy to help you out with equipment when you need to scale up, but if you need to downsize or remove some equipment, they might force you to pay for another year. Never lock yourself into a landline contract as this is far too expensive for what you need.
With VoIP, you can quickly and easily scale your tech up and down depending on your requirements. You’ll never be locked into any kind of extended contract, and VoIP equipment can easily be placed in someone’s home, a physical office, or you can even set it up if you rent out office space a few days a month. VoIP is there when you need it.
Call Features
You need your business telephone to do more than just receive calls. You need it to handle:
- Long-distance calls and often international calls
- Call hold
- Call forwarding
- Ability to transfer calls
- Allow an attendant to answer calls
- Join in on conference calls.
Have you priced all of these features for a traditional landline recently? If you want all the bells and whistles, you’ll easily spend hundreds of dollars (if not more) on your telephone services every month. This is money you could pump back into marketing or content creation. With VoIP, you have access to the same (if not more) features as a landline service for a fraction of the price.
Because you’re working off of an Internet connection, there are no massive landline connections that need to direct your call. Because of this, you can communicate with China, India, Singapore, Germany, Argentina, or anywhere else you might need over the Internet connection. In most instances, you can make and receive international calls just as you would someone calling you from across the street. As a business grows more and more global, you need the ability to handle calls from anywhere. VoIP is able to do exactly this.
Now Is The Time To Consider VoIP
There are a number of ways you can upgrade your small business. You need to consider not only what will help improve the overall functionality of your company but also what will future proof your business as well. VoIP is one such service you absolutely need to look further into. But if you’re on the fence about its benefits, are still confused as to why you should make the switch from landline to VoIP, or you have further questions about upgrading the network technology of your small business, our staff here at Charlotte IT Solutions can help.
No matter your industry, your size, or how long you’ve been in business, we want to work with you so your technology can handle all of your requirements. Give us a call or send us an email with your questions, comments, or concerns. We can’t wait to hear from you.