Planning to expand your business and facilitate communication? The first thing you need to do is set up a business phone system. Whether you have just started your business or in the middle of extending its reach, your enterprise phone will help you communicate with customers worldwide. In this blog, you will know How to Set Up a Business Phone System in easy steps.
But what is a business phone system? A business phone system, in the best form, is a virtual phone system and is designed with the sole purpose of improving communication in and out of an organization. It is a method of advanced calling and comes with a bundle of features needed to align business offerings with customers’ need.
Where the legacy phones part of the infrastructure seems limited in its features, the next generation virtual phone systems are equipped with multiple facilities. Starting with an automated call answering IVR facility to call transferring and forwarding, conference calling and voicemail, the smarter business phones have all.
In case, you are not much confident about the setup and looking for ways to have one in your enterprise, this article might be of help.
How To Set up a Business Phone System
To efficiently set up a business phone system, you need to consider a range of factors. The most important ones include:
- Selecting The Type of Phones
Factually, there are multiple types of business phones and the one you need to embed within your organization would determine the further course of action. These systems differ in terms of features and are business-specific. Hence, to pick the right one you would need to assess all based on your organizational environment and then come up with the ideal choice. To help you, we have outlined the popular forms of business phones.
Multi-line Phone System
As the name suggests, this kind of phone system allows multiple calls to be answered at the same time. Put simply, a multiline phone system has all the calls routed to the main system which is then transferred to different agents, depending upon the requirement. The fact that it is pretty easy to set up and operates, multiline phone systems seem to work best fo small scale organizations.
PBX Phone System
Though most of the features map the multiline phone system, it is different in the sense that calls are routed to different lines. It used a cloud technology that allows the transfer of calls to separate devices rather than housing all in a single device. As so it appears, the overall features exceed the ones offered by the multiline phone system.
VoIP Phone System
Where the above two used traditional copper wiring technology to accept and route calls, VoIP is one such system that uses the technology of internet protocol to connect calls. Channelizing phone calls over the internet makes it better and further, improves the call quality. VoIP system has the ability to host multiple phone numbers for a single business without compromising on the quality and efficiency of the call. Also, a mobile voip phone system eliminates the need to have dedicated phone lines to connect calls. Any device can be used to place calls.
Hosted Cloud-Based Phone System
Lastly, we have the cloud-based phone systems. Though VoIP and PBX are cloud-based systems, they require hardware on the office premises. On the other hand, hosted phone systems are the ones that do not require any hardware and all of the maintenance and monitoring work is done by the service provider.
- Selecting the Service
Once you have already owned the phone system, you next need to pick the right plan for your organizational needs. Every system comes with several services and dedicated plans. Select one that maps all the necessities of the enterprise and at affordable rates.
- The Phone Numbers
Similar to a phone system, business phone numbers are also diverse. For telecom operators or the customer care centers, it is best advised to invest in toll-free numbers. Starting with 1800, these numbers do not charge the customer for making a call. Instead, it is the company that needs to pay for the same. While it might sound expensive, for businesses that need to win over customers’ trust and have many overseas interactions, offering a toll-free number seems best.
In case, you wish to pick a number that’s specific to your business and relatable, you should opt for vanity numbers. Service providers that offer these give the ease to select the digits as per one’s own needs (subject to availability). And if your business has a local reach and the targeted customers fall within a given region, opting for local phone numbers would serve the purpose right.
Based on the business and the targeted audience, select an ideal business phone number.
Final Word
So, we have all now. You have selected the right phone system, a service plan and also a number. What’s next?
Next is the list of features you wish to associate with your business phone. You are well versed in the everyday activities of your business and know all that’s important to facilitate uninterrupted communication. Contact a service provider, select the features and your job is done.
