As a budding business owner, you must upgrade your phone system. Otherwise, you risk exposing your venture to issues like poor call quality, which can lead to customer dissatisfaction and revenue loss. This guide will teach you how to effectively conduct a phone system upgrade and take your business to a new level.
Key takeaways:
- An unfitting business phone system causes poor communication, dissatisfied customers, and immense losses.
- As a growing business owner, you should explore a phone system upgrade today.
- To find the best phone system upgrade, you must understand your business. communication needs and choose the best solution based on supported features and functionalities.
- After upgrading your business phone system, invest in employee education and training.
A growing business needs an effective phone system to maintain credibility and profitability.
According to statistics, 62% of consumers prefer communicating with businesses via a phone call with a human being. If calls go unanswered, 85% of your customers will stop calling and switch to your competitors.
![62% of consumers prefer communicating with businesses via a human on the phone
85% of customers will switch to a competitor if their calls go unanswered](https://www.unisolinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Unisol-57.1.3-CO1.png)
This is especially crucial if your business is expanding. As you know, with growth comes the need for enhanced communication capabilities, scalability, and cost-efficiency—and a phone system upgrade can help you achieve these and more.
Investing in a phone system upgrade is the only way to avoid multiple issues that might lead to poor communication and reduced customer satisfaction, including dropped calls and limited integration. However, as a business owner, you must make the right choices when upgrading your phone system.
Continue reading to learn how your businesses can navigate the process of selecting the ideal phone system upgrade to support your growth trajectory effectively.
Understanding your business communication needs
The first step to upgrading your phone system is to assess your current infrastructure. Begin by determining if your existing phone systems, software solutions, and hardware can facilitate unparalleled call quality. If you notice issues like poor call clarity and too many dropped calls, a phone system upgrade is long overdue.
Additionally, check if the current phone system is scalable along with your business. Your phone system should effortlessly accommodate growing communication demands without limiting operations.
You should also look for signs indicating you need an upgraded phone system immediately. They include sky-high employee cellphone costs, frequent communication outages, and perceptible security vulnerabilities.
Exploring phone system upgrade options
Your business can upgrade to any of the following popular business phone systems:
![Three phone system upgrade options:
- Private branch exchange (PBX)
- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
- Cloud-based](https://www.unisolinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Unisol-57.1.3-CO2.png)
- Traditional PBX systems: A private branch exchange (PBX) is a phone system that allows your employees to communicate using an internal network and also receive/ make external calls. It's highly secure and reliable but often comes with high maintenance costs.
- VOIP systems: Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems allow your business to make calls without a conventional phone line. All the system needs is a good broadband connection. You can make calls from your smartphone, PC, or tablet with VOIP. This is the best upgrade option for any business that wants to enjoy unparalleled convenience without incurring high upfront costs.
- Cloud-based systems: These are fundamentally VoIP systems that rely on cloud infrastructure. If your business already leverages cloud computing, advancing to a cloud-based phone system should be splendid.
Selecting the right features and functionality
A phone system must have some of the following features and functionalities to meet your business needs and expectations.
![Your phone system needs:
1) Call management features
2) Collaboration tools
3) Analytics and reporting capabilities](https://www.unisolinternational.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Unisol-57.1.3-CO3.png)
1. Call management features
A budding business should have a phone system that efficiently routes calls based on preset stipulations like caller ID and the time of day. Effective routing ensures every customer request or complaint is directed to the most fitting and capable employee.
Moreover, an ideal phone system should have voicemail, allowing customers and other entities to communicate with the right people even when tied up or absent from their desks. It should also support customized voicemail greetings for enhanced caller experiences.
2. Collaboration tools
The best phone systems should support conference calls. This will empower teams to discuss urgent matters with stakeholders, even those working from home or faraway branches. You won't have to be in the same room with whoever you communicate with.
Other collaboration tools worth noting include video conferencing and screen sharing. Video conferences are often more engaging and productive than audio conferences, so your business should have a phone system supporting video conferencing. Furthermore, screen sharing enhances real-time collaboration during video conferences, so it’s a must-have feature.
3. Analytics and reporting capabilities
A phone system with analytics and reporting features gives insights into crucial metrics, from call volume and duration to issue resolution times. With the right insights, you can quickly identify areas for improvement and optimize resource allocation.
Analytics and reporting also enhance customer experiences. By using these tools to track metrics and monitor customer interactions, you will better understand and address customer needs, pain points, and preferences.
Implementing and optimizing your new phone system
Implementing a telecommunications system upgrade isn't as easy as it sounds, especially because you likely have one in place already. But it’s doable. Be sure to alert your employees and other stakeholders before upgrading. Listen to their thoughts and opinions, then show them why shifting to a better system is in their best interest.
Most importantly, invest in professional training. Hire a skilled team to familiarize your employees with the new phone system's features and functionalities. Also, address any challenges or concerns your team might face while transitioning to the upgraded system.
Upgrade your phone system with expert assistance today.
A phone system upgrade is vital to a growing business. It's the key to enhancing communication, increasing customer satisfaction, and boosting profitability. But the upgrade process isn't as straightforward as it sounds. While transitioning to a better phone system, numerous challenges, including technical complexities, unexpected downtime, and prolonged interruptions may impede your success.
That’s where the expertise of a company like Unisol International comes into play. We have trained and experienced telecommunications experts available to help you pick and deploy the best phone system for your business. With our assistance, your company will transition to better technologies and avoid challenges that might undermine operations, including extended downtime. Call us today!