VoIP Features to Support Your Business

Though usage of VoIP has increased in recent days, the technology of Voice Over Internet Protocol has been around since the dawn of the internet. This popularity hasn’t been limited to big corporations, as small businesses have begun to see the benefits of the technology for their operations. With a variety of incredibly valuable features, there is almost no good reason not to make the switch.

Best/Most Useful Features for Businesses

Depending on the VoIP system provider that you work with, they may offer different services. Some common services may provide are as follows,

“Follow me” Call Rerouting

If your business has remote-working employees, this feature could become an excellent benefit for the ability to contact them. It works because if an individual calls a colleague’s cellphone but doesn’t answer after a couple of rings, the call will be rerouted to their home phone. From there, it’ll follow this line of ringing through all attached devices such as their home office phone or their computer if it has a call function.

It is only after this list of potential phones is exhausted that the message is sent to voicemail. This feature can help increase the chances that you can get in touch with a colleague even when they’ve stepped away from their cellphone.

Call Recording

Whether it be for quality control or to remember an important conversation, many VoIP’s offer instant access to audio files of your phone calls, these audio recordings can be sent to your email and are on-demand to access whenever you need it. This feature can be used to keep a history of communication with a customer. Additionally, it can be used for future training purposes, and even to be referenced to if there was important information discussed on the call.

Voicemail Transcription

Services that offer this feature have an email written transcription of a voicemail sent to your email once it has been transcribed. This feature allows you to organize and delete your voicemails, filter easily and search through your voicemails, and be able to read through them at ease without a rush.

This feature allows agents to have easy access to customer phone numbers without having to scribble it out, as well as customer names and important messages.

Ring Groups

When there are multiple customer service or phone agents available at one time, having all of their phones set to ring when a customer calls is an excellent aid. This feature means that customers won’t find themselves waiting for the phone to answer, and busy agents can rest assured knowing other agents are receiving the call.

Music on Hold

If your business ever needs to put a caller on hold, having music or a message is essential. This feature means that no customer has to listen to silence while they wait or obnoxious elevator music. Instead, you can choose to have popular songs play interspersed with messages assuring them that their call will be answered soon. This feature helps make the wait a lot less maddening for your customers or clients.

Conference Calling

Having the ability to conference call while on the same system throughout the business can be incredibly beneficial. Having a unified system makes communication much easier than it otherwise would be, and conference calling is no exception. Many services offer unlimited listeners to the conference call, as well as the ability to manage who is invited and who is muted at all times.

Do Not Disturb and Out of Office

Often an underappreciated feature, these options allow you to focus on work or leave the office without being disturbed by calls throughout the day. These features allow for a voicemail to be set up outside of office hours and can automatically be set up for certain times of the day or week. This ability can ensure that your phone doesn’t ring outside of work and you can step into a meeting with do not disturb without worry.

Preparing Your Business

Before setting up a VoIP for your business, you must be prepared to use the technology to learn the basics of VoIP technology, implementation, and security first and understand the practical applications and chances of failure. When considering a VoIP company, it is essential to seek reviews and to ask questions about the bandwidth requirements, security recommendations and other features before implementation.

If done correctly, a VoIP system can change the game for your business in terms of productivity and communication. As such, you should consider all of its features and capabilities before making the switch.