VoIP isn’t exactly ground-breaking, as it’s been around since the mid-90s. Even if your company doesn’t use it now, you’re probably familiar with the basics—standard calling, call transfer, call forwarding, and email. However, VoIP systems can handle a lot more than you might think. In fact, the options are so robust that most companies only use about 40-50% of the VoIP system’s functionality.
Your ideal VoIP setup should be unique to you. The goal when setting up your system isn’t to implement every advanced feature but to find the perfect blend that fits your company just right.
Let’s explore nine useful things you can do with VoIP technology.
1. See Who's Calling and Control How to Handle It
No one admits they do it on their cell phone… but we all do. Call screening is all about convenience. You may not have time for a conversation this minute, or you may not want to talk to a certain person. Ever.
With your VoIP system, you have access to a more advanced version of call screening than you might expect. See who’s calling, and then decide how the call should be handled. Send it to voicemail, push it to your mobile phone, or simply disconnect the call without giving the caller a chance to leave a message.
2. Read Your Voicemails When You're Too Busy
Voicemail transcription (or visual voicemail) is every bit as useful as it sounds. Imagine this. You’re in a meeting. You miss a call. Right then, you can scan the transcript on your phone, immediately knowing if there’s an urgent issue — all without interrupting or leaving the meeting.
3. Monitor and Coach Calls With No Interruption
Call recording and coaching can change how your business conducts sales and customer service. Recording allows management to review calls after the fact, listening for strengths and weaknesses. Used as an advanced training tool, it’s a great way to maximize customer contact.
Call coaching is more or less the same thing but in real-time. For example, a sales manager can listen in on a call and even speak directly to the employee without the customer hearing. If the sales rep gets into a rough spot, the manager can help out, and the customer will never even know.
4. Program a Robot Receptionist for Off-Hours
Most advanced systems include an auto-attendant. If your human receptionist is busy, or if it’s after hours, customers will still hear a friendly voice when they call. The auto attendant can facilitate call transfers, voicemail, and even basic support. It doesn’t take the place of an actual person, but it’s a better solution than a basic outbound voicemail message.
5. Set Up Incoming Calls to Ring Multiple Phones
You can set up incoming calls to ring on multiple phones or ring your office phone a couple of times and then ring your cell phone. And if there’s no answer, then go to voicemail. It’s called follow-me call routing, and it grants you the ability to send the call to where you are without having to worry about call forwarding.
6. Leave Me Alone, AKA Do Not Disturb
The opposite of follow-me call routing is the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature. The name says it all. Turn on Do Not Disturb, and you don’t have to worry about dealing with any calls. It simply won’t ring. You can choose to turn on ‘Do Not Disturb’ manually or set it up on a schedule, such as during evenings and weekends. This feature allows for greater work/life balance, and you’ll know that calls are still being handled.
7. Control Entry Points from a Phone
If your office has a locked front door, integrated entry control is a perfect option for you. Employees can respond to guests who push the buzzer, screen them as desired, and, if they wish, unlock the front door — all from their phones.
8. No More Elevator Music
Tired of the same old hold music? With a VoIP phone system, you can pick your own. Whether you want rock, country, jazz, or something more refined like classical, the choice is yours. Yes, this is a completely “aesthetic’ feature, but it has the potential to fold nicely with your company’s overall culture and brand. Anything that makes you stand out from your competition is a good thing.
9. Track Data and Statistics
Modern VoIP systems track virtually everything — usage, bandwidth duration, call origin, call destination, and cost. All that data can give you a greater insight into how you use your phone system and how you can use it more efficiently. It also created a handy record of all inbound and outbound calls in case you ever need to know if or when a call took place.
Why Work with Digicorp?
From advanced call handling to increased efficiency, VoIP technology offers a wide array of benefits for your organization. At Digicorp, we focus on finding the perfect blend of features for your organization, at cost-effective prices. We understand the importance of having stable, high-quality phone calls, which we do not believe have to be mutually exclusive.
As early adopters of VoIP technologies, we know that there is some confusion on how exactly to best leverage and deploy IP-based telephony strategies into your infrastructure, without exceeding anticipated costs or encountering technical issues. With multiple options for IP-based platforms, end-points, and applications, we can assist with determining the best path for your organization. Additionally, we can provide critical assessments to examine your network infrastructure before installing your new system, saving you from unnecessary and costly outages, dropped calls, or call-quality issues that can all negatively impact your bottom line.
When properly deployed and supported, IP telephony can be a tremendous benefit to your users, as well as a huge asset to your organization.
Ready to take advantage of the power of VoIP?
Contact Digicorp today to discuss how we can help you transform your communication strategy.
