You have several options when choosing a phone system for your small business. You could opt for a traditional phone system, though you will be able to access many more features if you choose a virtual phone system or a Voice over Internet Protocol phone system.
The latter is often the most cost-effective option. Also, with a VoIP system, you get all of the features that are provided with traditional phone systems as well as many advanced features.
While you should spend some time comparing different phone systems, you should also consider which features will be most beneficial to your small business.
Get started by taking a look at the following seven important features your phone system could have.
1. Unified Messaging
With unified messaging, multiple types of messages can be delivered to a single email box. So, you can receive messages like voicemail, emails, and fax messages all in one place.
Needless to say, by choosing a unified messaging feature in your phone system, you can save time and enhance efficiency at the workplace. You can also share any of your messages easily and quickly.
So, unified messaging allows you to manage your communications in the most effective and convenient way.
2. Voicemail Transcription
Some phone systems that feature unified messaging also offer voicemail transcription. That means you receive a transcription of an email message along with an audio file attachment. VoIP systems usually have this feature, enabling more flexibility in message access. You then have more options regarding how you access messages. Businesses using virtual numbers can particularly benefit from this. A Mexican virtual number for business, for example, allows for seamless communication with clients across different regions in Mexico. Whereas you would need to stop what you are doing to read written email messages, this feature allows for seamless multitasking.
Determine your business’s tech needs to discern whether the voicemail transcription feature is needed for your small business.
3. Integrated Instant Messaging
This is a neat little feature that can be very useful for all kinds of small businesses. Integrated instant messaging is a messaging feature that you integrate with your phone system and calendar.
It enables you to see colleagues’ availability in real-time. So, you can instantly know whether someone is in a meeting, for example. Or whether he or she is available to take your call.
4. CRM Integration
You should also consider a phone system that can be integrated with your customer relationship management software and other business applications.
When your phone system is integrated with your CRM, you can access features like ID caller information, enterprise phone presence, and click-to-call.
5. Integrated Video Calling
Integrated video calling makes it easy to interact face-to-face with colleagues and others from any location using a variety of devices.
If your small business relies on face-to-face communication, you should most definitely look for a phone system that comes with the integrated video calling feature.
6. Call Recording (for Training and Legal Purposes)
It is definitely a good idea to use phone solutions for businesses that have call recording features. Call recording can be used to meet legal requirements. It can also be very helpful for training purposes.
And the best VoIP systems make call recording very simple. So, be sure to look for the call recording feature when determining which features your small business’s phone system should have.
7. Administrator Portal
When you get a phone system with an administrator portal, authorized users can access and manage their communications in their own time from any location.
When users are able to use an administrator portal to do things like change call routing and reset passwords, greater efficiency can be achieved. Without an administrator portal, users may have to rely on ticketing systems and wait for their provider to make the changes on their behalf, which can be frustrating and time-wasting.
