Introduction

Sometimes, it’s better to talk it out. 

Maybe that’s why almost 71% of customer conversations STILL happen over the phone. 

But when the phone keeps ringing off the hook, it’s difficult for small businesses to keep up. Especially when your staff has a laundry list of things to do each day—besides talk on the phone.

So, how can businesses better manage phone calls when resources are slim? 

New web-based phone systems called Voice over Internet Provider, or VoIP, are making it easier for small and local businesses to scale their phone operations—without sacrificing the customer experience. In this guide, you will learn: 

• The advantages of a VoIP system over traditional landlines 
• Best practices for managing phone calls and an introduction to prompt-to-text 
• How to choose the best phone systems for your business

Why Phone Systems Need a Modern Facelift 

If you’re using a phone system to communicate with your customers, you’re likely familiar with the options available today. For many businesses, it’s as simple as one front desk phone with a single member of your team fielding incoming phone calls from prospects and customers. 

For other larger businesses, a desktop phone setup might be more complex with multiple phones and multiple people managing incoming inquiries. If this is the case, the phone system is likely more sophisticated than a traditional front desk phone. For example, it might be equipped with a dialing system, buttons, a receiver, or a touchpad. 

In either scenario, these phone systems are connected to a landline and it’s stationary. Team members are dependent on a desk phone and any limitations it may have. 

But phone calls are an important part of customer communication. In fact, 41% of Americans say they have used a landline phone to reach a customer service representative. 

Why are these systems outdated? We’ll talk about the other option in a section below, but it’s important to first understand why these traditional phone systems aren’t meeting the needs of your customers or your business. 

Fielding Calls 

There are many reasons for a higher-than-average call volume—from holidays to seasonal needs to new product launches, or even a successful marketing campaign. Regardless of the reason, if your team is struggling to keep up with incoming calls, the repercussions can be major. Managing high-call volumes can be a serious struggle for teams, especially when they’re using desktop phones to communicate with customers. After all, waiting in a queue or on hold can be frustrating for customers. 

In fact, 49% of consumers say long hold times are one of the top reasons phone calls are so frustrating. 

Many businesses try to manage high-call volume with: 

• Self-service content on their website: While this solution should always inform your website strategy to include good content for your customers, sometimes customers need to speak to a real human on your team.
• Callbacks to customers waiting in a queue: This option can be even more frustrating for customers (especially because nearly 50% of customers say long hold times are a serious frustration for phone calls). If your business doesn’t call back within a short amount of time, the customer might not be in a place where they can continue a call—or even be interested in speaking again.

The bottom line: Traditional phone systems don’t create opportunities for real customer conversations with every customer that wants and needs to connect to your business. 

Phone Anxiety: Why Customers Want – and Deserve – Options

At least 77% of consumers report that talking on the phone causes them anxiety. And when businesses try to return phone calls, it’s no surprise that 87% of consumers reject or ignore incoming phone calls. But here’s an interesting data point—74% of consumers say they would respond to a business within an hour if they sent a message via text instead. 

Instead, customers who can’t connect with businesses on the phone immediately want other options, such as: 

• Website chat: More than 41% of consumers say they expect to see a web chat option on your website. When customers visit your site on their mobile device the expectation rises to 50%. (And this expectation pays off—data suggests a 30% boost in conversions when you offer a live chat on your website.)
• Text: 9 out of 10 consumers say they prefer to interact with a business via text message. Offering this option can ease the anxiety many consumers feel about phone calls and increase response rates (text messages boast a higher response rate than other platforms with a response rate that’s 209% higher than phone calls, emails, and Facebook).
• Social media: At least 64% of Twitter users who send a message to your business expect a reply within 1 hour, while 85% of Facebook users expect a reply within 6 hours. A smaller group of 13% expect a response on all social media platforms within 1 hour. And when responses are too slow, 30% of consumers will buy from a competitor instead.
  It’s important to note that consumers have increased their usage of Instagram to contact businesses directly, increasing the use of this channel by 75% during the pandemic. Facebook Messenger usage has also increased by 20%. 

For customers and prospects that don’t want to speak on the phone, offering other options is critical to creating opportunities to connect and retain or earn their business. 

Lack of Call Insights Hurt Operations & Customer Experience

Traditional phone call strategies lack insights into the customer experience. This is especially true for customers that call in and speak to a team member that doesn’t have all of the customer’s information in front of them. 

This burdens the customer with retelling their story or resharing their problem and trying to find a solution with a customer service representative that doesn’t have a complete customer picture. 

Without customer insights and data collected from phone calls, your business could be missing out on: 

• The number of times customers call about a specific problem
• Trends or patterns in customer phone calls and challenges 
• Common questions customers call in to ask 
• The effectiveness of your sales team on pitching over the phone 

Not to mention, 82% of marketers say insights from inbound phone calls can reveal costly blind spots for your business. 

The Solution: A Web-Based Phone that Helps Grow Your Business

Voice Over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, offers a phone solution that’s flexible and able to support your business’s goals to grow. Instead of the restrictions of a landline, which is based on analog technology, VoIP systems allow businesses to make and receive phone calls over the internet. Instead of sending data through copper wires, VoIP phone calls break down your voice into digital packets. 

Because VoIP technology uses the internet, it can offer features that traditional landlines can’t including security, accessibility, call forwarding, voice analytics, voicemail to text or email, and so much more. 

Using a VoIP solution is also proven to increase productivity by 20%. 

Keep reading to find out why VoIP phones could be the solution to your outdated phone strategy. 

VoIP Systems for Local Businesses

VoIP-based phones are a great option for many local businesses to consider. By switching to a VoIP system, small businesses can see serious operational cost savings. 

Most businesses see a 30% drop in their phone bill costs and a 75% savings on operational costs. VoIP systems allow local businesses to consolidate expenses by eliminating the need for separate networks for data and voice. And they can avoid landline setup fees (including all of the required hardware like hubs, switches, telephone adapters, and more). 

A virtual number also allows businesses to save on calling costs to both local numbers and international numbers. Plus, VoIP phones provide more features than a landline option. Businesses can easily add video conferencing to expand their communication options to customers. 

Local businesses can also benefit from a higher call quality with a VoIP system, assuming you have a strong internet connection. Your customer service representatives and anyone else fielding phone calls from customers can increase the quality of the call with a better microphone or headset. 

VoIP systems also offer tools that help you create a better customer experience, such as: 

• Call recordings
• Integrations with other platforms 
• Call deflection, or moving calls to other channels like text 

What is a VoIP System? 

Using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone line, VoIP systems allow you to make or receive voice calls. 

Many VoIP services allow you to call anyone with a phone number including mobile phones, international phone numbers, long-distance phone numbers, and local phone numbers. 

While a dedicated VoIP phone is a great option for making VoIP voice calls, you can still use other devices like a smartphone, computer, or even a regular landline phone with a VoIP adapter. 

VoIP vs. Traditional Landlines: What’s the Difference?

Traditional landlines use analog technology. To make a phone call with a landline, telephones use either fiber optic cables or twisted copper wires to transmit a signal. These phones are usually plugged into a two- or four-pin wall jack and they rely on a series of physical switch boxes to transfer the voice call from one person to the next. 

VoIP systems are not analog systems. Instead, they’re a digital solution for voice calls that relies on the internet. VoIP systems will break down the voice from one caller into digital packets and then transfer those packets to the other caller. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the differences between traditional landlines and a VoIP system: 

Outside of the additional features, we’ve already outlined for VoIP technology, the benefits outweigh the small list of cons.

VoIP systems offer a more effective communication tool, especially when compared to traditional landlines. VoIP systems are highly reliable, provide worldwide access, an extensive list of additional features, and an easy set-up process. With a digital voice option, there’s no need for the maintenance and hardware required with a landline option. 

For local businesses, all of the benefits can add up to dramatic cost savings, easy employee onboarding, and a scalable option that grows with your business. 

Specifically, local businesses can benefit from VoIP technology in the following ways: 

• Quick onboarding process for new employees
• Low costs for setup, international calls, and additional features 
• No hardware maintenance 
• Complete portability for users across the globe
• Clear voice quality 

In the next section, we’ll dig a bit more into how your local business can benefit from VoIP technology. 

Benefits of Using VoIP Technology 

Low costs, a scalable solution, advanced features (especially compared to a traditional landline option), and the ability to connect voice calls to text and other customer information make VoIP phone systems valuable for local businesses.  

Here are some other benefits to consider as you research VoIP technology: 

Improved Ease-of-Use

VoIP technology boasts an incredibly easy-to-use service. Because VoIP platforms can provide a variety of ways to make a voice call (regular landline with a VoIP adapter, computer, or mobile device), the technology is easy to use and easy to onboard with your team members.

VoIP technology is so easy-to-use, many providers offer a mobile app. With a mobile application, customer service representatives can connect with customers on the go. There’s no need to sit at a desk and field phone calls, anyone on your team with the mobile app can respond to customers, increasing speed-to-response and customer satisfaction. 

Plus, as a digital solution, VoIP technology is simple to update. As a software platform, security updates and new features are accessible with new product updates. And with continuous access to the internet, you can get updates as soon as they’re available. 

Better Customer Experience 

75% of consumers say they look forward to a consistent experience no matter what channel they use to connect with a business—whether that be social media, phone calls, online, in-person, or mobile devices. 

When customers don’t get a consistent experience, 73% say they’ll likely switch to a competitor. 

With VoIP technology, you can offer a better customer experience by creating a consistent experience. With all customer information routing from the same source—all text and voice conversations and notes—your team members can provide more personalized care to customers. 

Because at least 49% of consumers use three – five different communication channels to contact a customer service representative, a VoIP solution that offers video conferencing, voice calls, and text conversations can help you bridge connections across multiple customer channels. 

VoIP software that also offers prompt-to-text can also make it faster to reply to customers via text. And with texting, your team members can manage more conversations at once compared to a single phone call with a landline option. 

Speed to Lead: After-Hours Management & Missed Notifications 

After-hours phone calls are trending upward. In just one year, after-hours calls trended higher from 3.2% in 2020 to 3.8% in 2021. 

Another key benefit of a VoIP solution is fast response times. When customers have a service-related question, 90% say an immediate response is very important. And 60% of consumers say immediate means 10 minutes or less. 

With call forwarding, mobile applications, and text messaging, VoIP systems can help your team expand their reach to customers outside of normal hours. 

Call forwarding can push phone calls to an after-hours representative or team. Mobile applications make answering customer questions anywhere, anytime fast and easy. And text messaging can field easy customer questions and notify your team about more complex issues when your business opens the next day. 

Greater Context to Grow Revenue 

92% of phone calls are proven opportunities for business growth with specific opportunities to win business, lose business, improve brand perceptions, improve customer relationships, and more. 

When we let those conversations go to a voicemail, wait on hold, or route to a team member without a complete history of customer notes, your business will suffer.

Increasing your response time can help you close business, sell faster, and even offer upsell opportunities to customers. 

VoIP technology can also help your business resolve customer issues quickly. By increasing your opportunities to answer calls quickly and reduces the number of times customers wait on hold, you can retain more customers. 

When a business can resolve a customer issue on the first call, only 1% of customers will visit a competitor vs. 15% when the issue isn’t resolved to the customer’s expectations.

How to Get Started with VoIP Technology

To get started with VoIP technology, it’s important that you check a few boxes first: 

1. Check your internet connection: Because VoIP technology relies on the internet, it’s important you have a good internet connection. If your business is located in an area where you don’t have a good connection, your VoIP system quality will suffer. 
2. Research VoIP providers: When you move away from a traditional landline service, you’ll find that you have a long list of options for VoIP providers. Do your research and find the provider that will work best for your business. 
3. Select the type of VoIP service you need: A variety of VoIP providers means there’s a number of VoIP services you can select. Decide what type of service works best for you by considering software-based VoIP services, device-based VoIP services, mobile VoIP services, and business VoIP services. 
4. Research VoIP equipment: After you select a VoIP provider you need to make sure you have the right equipment. If your business is taking and making calls to customers, you’ll need more than a computer-to-computer connection. You’ll likely need VoIP-specific phones or an adapter for your current lineup of hard phones. 

What to Look for in a VoIP Service Provider 

As you research VoIP service providers a checklist can be helpful. Follow this list to ensure you’re reviewing all of the important features and specifics for a VoIP service provider: 

• Specific costs per user and any additional fees: VoIP providers often price their services on a per-user and per-month rate. Get clear on what features are included with the basic package and which features will require an additional fee. Oftentimes, additional features include toll-free minutes, video conferencing, and VoIP hardware.
• Standard features to get started quickly: Your new VoIP provider should supply a fair amount of standard features so you can get started quickly. Standard features to look for include:
  • Call forwarding
    With call forwarding, you can ensure that customer calls are always answered. You can forward calls to another extension or a different phone number if your customer service representatives are all busy.
  • Call analytics
    Collecting metrics is a major benefit of switching from a traditional landline to a VoIP platform. Standard features should include a list of call analytics such as agent performance, call session metrics, behavioral trends, and more.
  • Voicemail transcripts
    With a voicemail-to-text feature your VoIP service can transcribe voicemails and send those to a phone or computer as an SMS text.
  • Business text messaging
    Because VoIP systems are digital, a standard feature for VoIP providers is text messaging. Connecting your voice and text conversations can help customers connect to your business in the way that works best for them. Plus, it connects customer information from both channels in a single place so customer service representatives can get a clearer picture of customer history.
  • Hardware-optional phone calls
    VoIP providers should offer a softphone application. This feature allows your team members to make a call or send a text message on any device that is connected to the internet. Instead of managing customer conversations from a single location (as you would do with a traditional landline), your customer service representatives can field customer conversations on the go.
• Customer support and training: Customer support for you and your business is critical for a seamless implementation process and adoption amongst your employees. Look for a VoIP provider that offers support 24/7 and clear customer communication in case of any downtime.As you compare providers, check out the resources available for training and onboarding. Providers that offer these resources are likely a better fit and will provide ongoing customer support.
• Third-party integrations: Moving from a traditional landline to a digital voice solution already offers many benefits. But the ability to integrate other digital platforms with your VoIP solution can create even more efficiency and productivity for your team. Look for a VoIP provider that will integrate with your CRM, SMS, email, and cloud storage solutions. With a more connected tech stack, you can better serve customers.
• Security: As with all digital solutions, your VoIP provider should offer a high level of security. The most effective way to make sure your calls are safe and less susceptible to interception or breach is to employ high-level encryption. This process involves converting data from calls into a highly encoded data set. This data can only be decoded with a description key, keeping cyber attackers at bay.Another security consideration is to review how many data centers your VoIP provider has and their locations around the U.S. or the globe. A redundancy of service is a good practice and VoIP providers with multiple servers within a data center understand how this can increase security.  

Questions to Ask When Finding the Right VoIP Provider 

Ready to start vetting your options for a VoIP provider? Here are the top 10 questions to ask when you’re ready to find the right VoIP provider: 

1. How much will it cost for each user per month (and will signing up require a contract)?
2. Will you have to use a specific phone for the VoIP service or can you modify your existing desk phones? 
3. If you have to purchase new phones to work with your new VoIP provider, can you use these devices with another provider in the future? 
4. Does your VoIP service include a mobile VoIP solution? 
5. How many phones can a single user have with this provider? 
6. What do typical network alerts look like? Can you review the history of the alerts? 
7. Will you need dedicated bandwidth to use the VoIP system? 
8. Will you need any other on-site devices for the VoIP system? (Is this an on-premise or hosted service?)
9. How does the VoIP provider notify customers of any service disruption and how often has that happened in the last year? 
10. What features are available to add on and what training is available for those features? 

Final Thoughts 

VoIP calls allow businesses of any size to offer a better customer experience. For your local business, a better call experience could mean the difference between a sale and a loss. Consider your options as you compare landline options to the modernized voice option of VoIP technology. 

And with the right provider, you can make the experience easier for your team and better for your customers.