Is your phone system still helping your business?
Over the last 2 years, telephony has become a big part of what we do at T4B. This has primarily been driven by many of our smaller clients moving across to the NBN. As that happens, the inevitable question “What are you going to do about your phones?” arises.
With flexible working arrangements and working from home set to become the new normal, the traditional on premise phone system is very quickly becoming inferior technology.
What’s Changed?
Of the dozens of PBX solutions we have supplied, I’m happy to say we have been very successful in leveraging the existing technology to really improve the user and customer telephony experience while so many are working from home.
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- In some cases, staff have simply been able to unplug their phone from their office desk, and work as if they are in the office, transferring calls to other extensions no matter where they have ended up
- Some business have installed our smart phone app turning their mobiles in to a phone extension
- Others have opted for the free compatible desktop application.
Why is maintaining a fixed line presence important even though many of us are working from home?
Bricks and Mortar
It creates the perception that you’re a bricks and mortar business. It’s true it’s a somewhat outdated notion, but it is still the reality for many prospective clients. If you only had a mobile number on your website or google add, you are going to be seen as small fry. A one man band if you will. That phoxed phone number shows you have some breadth
Switching off
If your team are calling your clients from their own mobile numbers, your clients are saving their numbers, and then calling them directly back on them too. It’s hard for staff to switch off at the end of the day if the mobile is still ringing or getting text messages well after their work day is finished. This is of particular consideration for any part time staff you may have.
Continuity and process
Make it easy for your customers. If your receptionist is working from home from one location, and needs to to talk to a colleague, simply transfer the call.
Identity
If your clients have grown to learn your Office fixed line number, seeing that known caller ID can be the difference between them answering or not. That could be the difference in that next big opportunity!
The only thing that changes is the location.
Auto Attendant recordings, voicemail, presence indicators, call logs, call recording all continue to work no matter where your team is working from.
If your phone system is not working for you as your business involves in this new climate but you’d like to explore it, please give us a call. See if you can guess if the team member who answers is working from home or the office!