Each VoIP provider has a range of extra features and services – the key is looking through each provider’s plans and seeing how much they have of what you need, and if there’s a plan that suits you and your business. Some of the most popular features for your virtual phone system could become must-haves for your company.
Mobile Business VoIP
Mobile VoIP in and of itself is extremely powerful. Many employees would rather have flexibility than a pay rise! That means that giving them a business VoIP solution that can follow them wherever they go, allow them to work from home or from a coffee shop, or be accessible when they’re needed but free up time elsewhere is a great benefit.
Mobile VoIP usually works through an app that can be downloaded from the app stores like any other. Their phone then becomes a Business VoIP system, all from the palm of their hand. Here are some great mobile VoIP features to look out for that can make a real difference.
– Find me/Follow me: This means that any calls made to your employees desk or primary phone will go through to their mobile immediately. You can even make more than one number ring concurrently, so that if you aren’t with your mobile – your home phone rings, too.
– Unified Communications: Some people might want to keep their business and personal communications separate, and with mobile VoIP this is really easy. You can use one business number and one personal number, all from the same device. Send and receive calls, use SMS messaging capabilities, and even send emails and faxes from one account. Then use your personal account when you’ve switched off from work for the day, or during a break.
– Video Calls: It’s not just voice calls that you can use the best mobile VoIP apps from. Conference into a web meeting with video capabilities. Just make sure you have good WiFi!
– Monitoring Capabilities: Ask your Business VoIP provider if they offer presence monitoring. This means you can see if your contacts are away, online, or on another call. You can set your own status so that you’re not disturbed when you aren’t at work, and can let people know when you’re available for meetings.
– Call Flip: This feature is really helpful, and allows you to seamlessly transfer a call from your office business phone to your mobile, without the caller ever knowing there’s been a change. If you’re in the office and a meeting is running long, simply transfer to your mobile and continue in your car or on the move. No interruptions.
It’s not just about mobile though. Your office extension and virtual phone line can include powerful new features that you could never get with a traditional phone line.
One good example is door buzzer integration. Being able to use your business phone line to admit or block entry to your offices is professional and helpful. It also upgrades security, so that you’re always sure who is in the office.
Some productivity extras include features like Voicemail to Email. If your staff are involved in busy office calls, they may not have time to listen to their voicemails. Having this service come through as an email can be a real time saver, allowing them to scan the message while they listen in to their meetings. Call screening helps staff to take only the important interruptions to their working day.
Other features could be to do with customer service and support rather than business VoIP extras for your staff. On hold music or call routing extras are good examples of this, giving a more professional business environment, and making life easier or more pleasant for anyone calling in.
Of course, there are also technical extras to look out for. The latest VoIP trends include
employing Artificial Intelligence behind the scenes to discover and fix issues in quality of service. AI can actually detect and troubleshoot in real-time, which means that the problems can be fixed before any customers even notice. Bandwidth utilization allows for better quality even on shared cloud VoIP or hosted VoIP systems.
Conferencing tools are some of the most popular reasons for companies to choose Business VoIP, and a great extra for virtual phone solutions. Manage invitations and requests for who you need on your call, set up conference flows, and manage the in-call settings like hand raises, muting etc. Everything you need all in one console.
One great extra that Business VoIP is getting better at, is coaching tools through your internet phone. A lot of workshops and training sessions are a struggle to get people to attend, and can be unhelpful as they deal with faux scenarios. In contrast to this, there are Business VoIP tools that can be used in real-time. Barge is one great example of this, allowing you to listen in and monitor your staff while they talk to customers. Whisper is another tool that gives customer service reps the ability to get advice from a manager while they are on the call. The client or customer will never know anyone else is on the line, and won’t hear the extra conversation happening whatsoever. This is a plus you could never experience without a virtual phone.