VoIP is short for Voice over Internet Protocol, also called IP telephony. Simply put, instead of using a traditional phone line, this modern technology lets you make calls over the internet. As such, VoIP is a convenient way to connect with your employees, stakeholders, and customers worldwide.
Even though VoIP has been around since the 1970s, it has recently started gaining momentum. The global VoIP market share is expected to hit t$55 billion by 2025.
In this article, you will learn more about the major benefits of VoIP for businesses.
Lower Costs
Small businesses operating with limited budgets need to consider every opportunity to save money. One of the most effective ways to lower costs is to switch from a landline phone system to VoIP providers.
VoIP can improve your bottom line in multiple ways:
- Reducing monthly costs
Landline phone service costs between $40 and $50 per line each month. On the other hand, VoIP services often cost less than $20 per line monthly, meaning you can now cut your company’s phone bills in half.
- Minimizing recurring expenses
Unlike conventional phone systems that charge for maintenance and fixes, VoIP service providers include these ongoing costs in their monthly subscription plans.
- Cutting installation costs
No matter if you run a large corporation or a small business hiring a handful of employees, traditional phone services require you to purchase or lease costly on-premise hardware (PBX) that connects your landline phones.
The initial PBX costs are immense and, as your business needs rise, these expenses may even grow. With VoIP, you can reduce installation expenses. Namely, given that your phone services are powered by a broadband connection, VoIP minimizes the need for installing additional hardware.
- VoIP is mobile
Since you can use it on all devices, irrespective of your location, you will be able to reduce mobile phone costs.
- No expensive add-on features
Traditional phone service providers can also offer many advanced features, such as call queuing or call transfer. However, those options are not a part of their standard offers. Instead, they are additional features you need to pay for.
On the other hand, VoIP service providers offer most of these options for free, as a part of a subscription plan you choose.
- Allowing remote work
A plethora of VoIP features, such as video calling, conference calls, or call waiting, enable remote work and keep your employees connected. This way, you will reduce the cost of office space, utilities, and commuting, as well as enhance employees’ productivity. According to recent studies, your business could save approximately $11,000 per person yearly by allowing them to work remotely 50% of the time.
Better Mobility
Based on the cloud, VoIP services are available to your team members, regardless of their location. All you need to have is a reliable internet connection to make and receive business calls. Even if you cannot answer the phone call, the VoIP service can direct it to your coworkers or store voicemail on your email. Providing your team with greater mobility, VoIP services will improve their communication and collaboration.
Enhanced Security
Have you ever audited the security of your phone system?
Telecom fraud is one of the most dangerous and fastest-growing crime areas. Research says that telecom scams cost modern businesses $32.7 billion yearly.
They focus primarily on your employees’ negligence. Not being aware of their vulnerabilities both offline and online, your employees can easily be tricked to reveal your company’s confidential information and be victims of the cyber criminal.
The perpetrators of telecom scams have a simple goal in mind – using social engineering to enter your phone system and steal your company’s money. Vishing calls are one of the most common phone scams, where a criminal manipulates your employee into transferring cash to their accounts or divulging your company’s financial, security, or customer information.
That is exactly why you should switch to VoIP. By leveraging advanced data security technologies, such as encryption or identity management, VoIP providers will help you reduce security risks. Most importantly, you will not need to perform network security audits yourself. A VoIP provider will do that for you. Precisely because of that, you should read Voice over IP provider reviews to choose a reliable service that will provide you with the utmost data security. They should perform regular security audits and automatically create alerts for suspicious calling patterns.
Improved Flexibility and Performance
Softphones are software applications that are installed on your devices, helping you make phone calls over the internet. Typically, softphones use simple interfaces, helping employees interact with their coworkers or customers easier.
A well-known example of a softphone is Skype For Business and similar video collaboration tools, although many VoIP services provide their softphones for business purposes. VoIP industry leader Nextiva, offers softphone support, among many other features.
Softphones can enhance your employees’ performance in multiple ways. As they provide greater mobility, they will help you create a constantly connected team and allow you to hire global talent. As you will not need to invest in additional equipment, they will also help you reduce costs and free up desk space.
Greater Flexibility and Scalability
One of the greatest benefits of VoIP lies in the fact that it adapts to your specific business needs. You can choose a pricing plan, based on your budget and business requirements. As your company evolves, a VoIP system will grow in step with it. This way, you will be able to add new features and functionalities to your phone system, without having to invest in additional phone lines or hardware.
Better Call Quality
In the past, one of the major disadvantages of VoIP services was their poor call quality. Today, VoIP provides clear voice quality, minimizing lags or call dropouts. This will enhance your employees’ performance and boost the effectiveness of your customer support.
Most importantly, VoIP providers offer advanced features, such as noise-canceling microphones and audio compression, helping your team minimize interruptions and maximize call quality.
Advanced Analytics Options
By improving the quality of phone calls, you will provide more reliable customer support and enhance consumers’ satisfaction. VoIP providers allow you to manage all customer interactions using a single platform. No matter if they use email, social networks, live chat, phone, or SMS, VoIP platforms will show customer data on a single screen and allow you to provide immediate feedback.
Most importantly, VoIP gives you the opportunity to collect and analyze customer data so you can improve your customer service and personalize marketing campaigns. VoIP integrates with your CRM platform, allowing you to analyze customer interactions easily. By collecting customer data, you will be able to take actionable steps and build meaningful customer relationships.
That is exactly what your customers want. According to Accenture, 91% of customers would rather buy from brands offering targeted offers and recommendations.
Over to You
The benefits of VoIP for businesses are multiple. It allows you to reduce costs, as well as improve call quality, enhance workplace performance, enable better workplace connectivity, and keep your customers satisfied. Therefore, if you are still using a conventional phone system, maybe it is time to switch to its more efficient alternative.
Sure, keep in mind that there are no uniform VoIP solutions. They depend on your business needs. Before investing in a VoIP plan, do thorough research to find a reliable VoIP provider and implement their services strategically.
How do VoIP services benefit your business?
