Phone Systems and Business Continuity – Will Your Communications Survive?

January 28, 2021

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Up-to-date phone systems and business continuity go hand in hand. While phone systems may seem like a communication tool of the past, they’re still an essential part of business growth. With 65 percent of customers preferring to contact a business via a phone call, your business shouldn’t phase out this form of communication just yet.

However, as your business grows and technology advances, your phone systems become outdated. These systems need an update to a unified communications system that allows your employees to interact with clients through their preferred options — call, text, or video call.

If you don’t upgrade your business phone system, you’ll certainly fall behind your competitors. 

4 Signs Your Phone System is Outdated

If you’re having the following issues, you need a new phone system. 

1. Missed Calls

Is your business missing calls from clients?

Outdated phone systems may have a few lines serving all your business phones. When these lines get tied up, your customers may receive a busy signal, or their call can unknowingly be ignored. With 74 percent of consumers likely to seek out another business due to poor customer service, you need advanced phone features such as call reporting.

2. Limited Phone Lines

These can hinder call transfers between employees. It means your client has to call back on another line, wasting time and causing frustrations. Your business needs to update its phone system to allow tasks like call transfers, multi-way conferencing calling, and call forwarding for more efficiency.

3. Stagnant Business Growth

Is your business experiencing slow growth?

It could be a problem with your telecommunications. Outdated phone systems and business continuity are like oil and water — they don’t mix. You need to get a new phone system that accommodates your customers’ needs and enhances their experience.

4. Worried about Bad Weather

External factors such as storms can damage old phone lines and cut communication for your business. This is not to mention the additional costs of repairs. Your business needs a modern phone system that allows communication to take place even during the worst of storms.

How are Phone Systems Advancing?

Today, business phone systems aren’t just tools for making and receiving calls. You can upgrade your phone system to a unified communications system. It allows your employees to interact with customers in different ways like audio/video conferencing, instant messaging, faxing, and text messaging.

Additionally, these tools are available on one platform, making communication flexible and easy. You should also support your integrated phone solution with a cloud-based system or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that allows communications over the internet.

Your cloud-based phone system can be hosted in two or more off-site data centers. This is besides allowing a variety of devices — such as landlines, smartphones, and computers — to make calls.

Tips on How to Upgrade Your Phone System

When deciding to upgrade your phone system for business continuity, some things you need to consider include:

Scalability

With a modern phone system, your business grows. And as it grows, you may want to increase your workforce and communication resources. Hence, you need a communication system, such as a cloud-based phone system, that can easily expand to fit these additions.

Backup

Sometimes, your VoIP system can lose internet connection. This means your phones won’t work, so your phone system should have a backup to another phone system like landlines.

Call Volume

You should know the number of calls your business receives daily, so you can get a phone system that can accommodate all your call activities, without compromising on quality.

Who Answers the Phone

Since 68 percent of customers cited a pleasant representative as the key to their positive experiences, you need to train your call representatives on how to use the phone system effectively. Between a receptionist or IVR (Interactive Voice Response) routing, choose an option that’ll help improve your business’s reputation.

Number of Business Locations

If your business has several branches, you can set up a phone system that will connect all the departments regardless of location.

Emergency Management

Whether it’s bad weather or a fire, your business continuity depends on being able to keep communication open in times of a disaster. You need to choose a phone system that can be rerouted to another area or has a backup to keep your business going.

Upgrade Your Business Phone System with Intermedia Cloud Communications

A reliable phone system can not only boost sales growth but can also streamline processes for your business. This is because teams can collaborate promptly and customer issues can be resolved quickly.

Looking to upgrade your phone system? Talk to us to help you choose a modern phone system that’ll work best for your business. Our support is available 24/7.

Kirsten Barta

Kirsten Barta is Sr Marketing Communications Manager at Intermedia

January 28, 2021

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