Whitepaper. How VoIP Solutions Contribute to Business Growth

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1 Whitepaper How VoIP Solutions Contribute to Business Growth

2 Firms who make the move to hi-tech VoIP phone systems are much better placed to make the transition from the small and static to a growing business concern. How VoIP Solutions Contribute to Business Growth Although today s business climate is not as conducive for growth as in previous periods, many businesses are still expanding. Even if a business is not growing at the moment, managers or owners must be optimistic that expansion is just around the corner. Well before the time arrives when a business can take advantage of growth opportunities the people in charge need to be well-prepared. Quite often extra staff needs to be found and hired, business premises might need to be expanded and additional office and communications equipment bought. Every firm wants to be in a position where it has such issues to deal with, even though growth certainly brings its challenges. Small firms face particular difficulties when it comes to increasing their activities. This paper focuses on one of the most common and serious of the issues they need to confront expanding their communications systems. The biggest obstacles stand in the way of businesses that continue to depend on POTS (Plain Old Telephone Systems). Firms who make the move to hi-tech VoIP phone systems are much better placed to make the transition from the small and static to a growing business concern. A brief look at several key issues facing growing firms clearly brings out the advantages of such VoIP solutions.

3 Establishing a Business Image You do not need to be an advertising executive to appreciate the importance of business image. Perhaps a neighborhood store gains by projecting a small, local business image but a firm keen on growing needs to convey the impression to customers that it is larger than it really is. The fact is that people are more confident dealing with a business that seems to be well-established and large enough to cater for their requirements. VoIP enables a small but growing business to present itself to callers as an efficient, well-organized operation. This is achieved through support for features such as automatic answering and call routing systems, and display of a single phone number on calls from the firm s phones and mobile devices. Not so long ago only the largest businesses could present themselves in this highly professional manner but VoIP makes this possible for small companies. Providing a Flexibility Conducive to Business Growth VoIP phones allow employees to make a call from any location as easily and cheaply as they can call from the main office. As the business grows additional offices need to be opened. With a VoIP solution there is no need to invest in additional PBX equipment. It offers a unified communications system for calls, Internet fax, data transfer and video conferencing between all the firm s branches. These systems also deliver significant cost savings, for example, in terms of more competitive call rates for international calls. VoIP enables a small but growing business to present itself to callers as an efficient, well-organized operation. Even though a small business is starting to grow it cannot afford to take a more relaxed approach to telecom costs. These represent a major business expense that can easily eat into the profits from increased trading. The business benefits from the enhanced flexibility VoIP delivers cannot be overlooked. Enabling employees to work at remote sites with access to all the data they require contributes to increased productivity. The customer can easily contact the relevant sales or technical support person when they require assistance. At the same time extreme weather conditions, or other factors preventing a worker

4 The flexibility of these hi-tech systems lets the company maintain full communications during their move. VoIP s builtin scalability dramatically reduces the hassle as well as the costs of this business relocation. coming to the main office, need no longer interfere with the firm s smooth functioning. Furthermore, employees today are often attracted by the possibility of working through telecommuting while firms gain from reducing their office space requirements. Coping with Increased Call Traffic One of the welcome signs of a growing business is an increasing number of customer calls, but this is another area where traditional phone solutions let business down. VoIP provides a superior alternative to renting additional lines, buying more handsets and hiring more staff to handle calls. Hosted VoIP s auto-attendant routing options ensure that the caller quickly finds a staff member free to deal with their query. The caller receives a pleasant, professional sounding greeting before being offered a few simple choices of departments or personnel they want to contact. Some VoIP service packages even allow firms to conduct their own dedicated customer service or technical support call centers. Major Reductions in Growth-Related Telecom Costs Even though a small business is starting to grow it cannot afford to take a more relaxed approach to telecom costs. These represent a major business expense that can easily eat into the profits from increased trading. Companies that work with POTS solutions cannot avoid heavy expenses when they need to expand their telecom systems. This is not the case with a VoIP telecom plan. Since VoIP systems can be instantly expanded with a few clicks of the computer mouse adding (or for that matter removing) lines the procedure is simple and inexpensive. The time savings plus cost savings to the customers are certainly one of VoIP key business attractions.

5 Keeping Working While Moving Premises At last the time has come where a business has grown to the point where existing premises are too small. New office space is bought or rented but what can be done about the disruption to business activity during the move? Once again users of traditional phone systems must deal with inevitable interruptions in communications with customers and suppliers. They also face heavy costs setting up a PBX and its associated equipment at the new location. Business VoIP users are spared the headache and heavy financial costs of office moves. The flexibility of these hi-tech systems lets the company maintain full communications during their move. VoIP s built-in scalability dramatically reduces the hassle as well as the costs of this business relocation. So far, only some of the principal advantages of VoIP for small but growing companies have been covered. There is much more that is well worthwhile learning about its productivity enhancing and cost reducing features. For further information, please contact WorldNet Solutions at