Like many technologies, VoIP promises a lot for businesses of all sizes. Unlike others, VoIP service providers generally deliver on those promises. It is especially true in the case of small businesses. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that small business enterprises were one of the earliest to embrace VoIP phone services wholeheartedly.
What can VoIP phone services do for your small business? First, consider the fact that small enterprises struggle to compete with their larger counterparts. They generally lack the resources of multinational corporations – whether it comes to finance or technology. But you still have to compete with them for customers.
It’s not a fair fight by any means but VoIP helps to level the playing field. A phone service like VoIPstudio offers many benefits that can transform a small business. It can:
- Improve connectivity
- Help save money
- Offer flexibility
- Enable a professional image
- Make it easy to comply with regulatory requirements
VoIPstudio Improves Connectivity
VoIP can improve connectivity for small businesses. Whether you use smartphones, computers, faxing, email or text messaging, VoIP connects them all together. You don’t have to worry about devices, location or software. In addition, it also enables video conferencing, group audio calls, virtual meetings, etc.
In many ways, VoIP does not change the traditional phone call. All the changes happen behind the scenes. As far as end-users are concerned, they still make and receive calls just the same as usual.
A VoIP phone service can save you money
By now it is common knowledge that VoIP phone service can save you money. What most people don’t realize is just how much a small business can save by switching to VoIP.
Low Setup Costs
Did you know you can start using enterprise-class VoIP for just £3.99 per month? There are no hidden costs or premium features. Every VoIPstudio client gets access to the same world-class service and the latest features. Like most other service providers, we offer a free trial so you can test all the features your business would need. Unlike others, you don’t need a credit card on file to do so!
Softphones
Most small businesses don’t need to buy a new desk phone for every employee in the office. Some users prefer to make calls from their computers or personal mobile phones through softphone apps. You can even make calls through a web browser. It means you don’t have to spend a lot of money on equipment and hardware. You can say goodbye to maintenance costs as well.
Pay for What You Use
You don’t have to commit to a minimum number of users or seats with VoIPstudio. Adding new employees? Assign them numbers within minutes. A user is leaving 1 team for another? They can take their number with them. Some employees leaving the company? Discard their numbers and stop paying for those resources. With per-second billing, you do not have to pay a penny more than what you use.
Free Calling
All calls made within the organization are free for your business. Suppose you have offices located across three states or even countries. Employees can call each other without watching the clock! No more filling out expense reports or worrying about crossing department budgets. Enable better communication and collaboration with free calling!
A VoIP phone service also get you low-cost international calls. Depending on your needs, you can make unlimited calls or pay-as-you-go. You can even switch between them anytime you want. In today’s globally connected world, even a small business might have suppliers or clients across the borders. Why should high call charges stop you from communicating effectively?
A VoIP phone service offers flexibility
No Contracts
At VoIPstudio, we don’t do contracts. Not everyone wants to commit to an annual contract. Pay as you go, so you are never trapped into a service. If your business needs or circumstances change, rest assured you can cancel services at any time.
This flexibility applies to everything from phone numbers, lines, or other resources. Add extra lines to handle unexpected demand. Remove additional capacity if you no longer need it. There are no penalties or fees.
Global and Mobile Workforce
You could also allow employees to work from anywhere with our flexible phone services. Recruit talent from across the world, why restrict your business to local expertise? Enable telecommuting and a mobile workforce with support for mobile devices. Don’t miss out on important calls, clients or contracts ever again!
Add Features When You Need Them
As your business grows, you can add the necessary features. You do not have to pay in advance for anything. Enable or disable features for specific individuals and groups within minutes. You decide what your users need.
VoIPstudio also takes care of security updates and feature upgrades. The next time you log in, you just might see something new. No more downtime while you wait for the vendor to manually install the latest version. Get the latest and greatest delivered without any stress or outages.
A VoIP service gives your small business a professional finish
Reception Console
Have you always wanted a professional front end for your phones like the ones large companies have? Well, you have that with VoIPstudio. Manage all your phones through an intuitive drag and drop interface. You can see the changes happen immediately.
Conference Calling
Create virtual meeting rooms for clients and project teams. Enable video chat while talking to the other person. Add or remove members to the group call as per your needs. There’s no need for extra equipment or unnecessary steps.
Hold Music
This might seem like an insignificant creature but it plays an important part in how clients perceive your business. You can create customized messages for callers. Change the messages according to the season, current sales or feature your latest product. Use professional audio clips for callers so they don’t hang up while waiting to be transferred.
IVR – Interactive voice response
Professionally manage all your inbound calls bu directing callers to the right person or department. Answer simple queries like account status or unpaid bills through the voice response feature. This way you can free up customer service agents to deal with more complex issues.
Visual Voicemail
Voicemail is one of those features that just walks and no one thinks about it. But VoIPstudio makes it better. A small business can create individual and group voicemail inboxes for teams. That way, the next available agent can contact the client without delay.
You can get voicemails delivered right to your inbox with the transcribed message in text format. No more calling some number and listening to commands for voicemails!
A VoIP phone system can help you comply with regulatory requirements
There is legislation in a growing number of countries governing the use of phone systems. Even if you don’t operate in an industry with regulatory oversight, circumstances can change in the future.
GDPR
Consider the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) directive in the EU. It doesn’t just affect organizations that operate within the geographical boundaries of the European Union. Any organization that collects data on a citizen of the EU has to comply with this legislation. While some businesses are exempt, most fall under the directive.
VoIPstudio can help you comply with such regulation. Whether it is storing and retrieving data or preparing for an emergency, VoIPstudio has your back. Perhaps the most important part of the GDPR relates to recording calls. If your business wants to record client calls, you will need to justify the reason with one of the following criteria:
- Clients have to give their consent (before, after or during the call)
- Show that recording is required to fulfill a contract or legal obligation
- You need to record the call to protect your or the participant’s interests
- Demonstrate that recording a call is in the public interest
With VoIPstudio, you can play an automatic message for callers to get consent. You can disable recording for certain calls from the administrative interface.
MiFID II
It’s a similar situation with Markets In Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID) regulations. Its umbrella covers every finance professional in the EU. That means brokers, bankers, and investors are all obligated to follow the requirements.
The MiFID requirements for recording calls are the following:
- Businesses should document all calls which may result in a financial transaction
- You should notify the client that the call is recorded
- Store all such recorded calls for a minimum of 5 years
- You should be able to retrieve all the calls related to a specific transaction when needed
VoIPstudio enables storage for all your recorded calls. You can retrieve them whenever you require them. Our service allows you to comply with requirements without setting up or maintaining the needed infrastructure yourself.
Still doubtful of VoIP? Sign up for a 30-day free trial today to see how it can transform your small business!
