Effective communication is the foundation of a successful small business. It helps in building relationships, improving operations, solving problems, and therefore ultimately, achieving your business goals. Put simply, small businesses that prioritize best communication practices are more likely to succeed.
One way to ensure your business or office can communicate effectively is by updating your phone system for scalability. At Vested Networks, we are invested in your success. Our question is this: are you investing in your own success by making sure your business phone system can accommodate your growth? In this 3-part series on scalability in business communication, we’re going to help you answer that question.
Traditional premise-based phone systems have limitations, especially for growing small businesses. A cloud-based solution is a more cost-effective and scalable system with better quality, service, and features. Let’s compare the two. Then we’ll give you 7 questions you can ask to determine if you’re in need of an upgrade and a 7-step plan to picking the right provider for you. Let’s dig in.
Traditional phone systems are not cost-effective.
Typically, these systems require an upfront investment in hardware, including a PBX server, phone handsets, and sometimes additional wiring. There are ongoing costs associated with hardware maintenance, software updates, and IT support as well. If you’re relying on IT staff to handle routine maintenance and troubleshoot issues, that adds to operational costs for you.
Traditional PBX systems are also becoming obsolete over time, especially with the desire for cloud-based systems growing. Cost to upgrade outdated systems will only rise as more time goes on, making it exponentially more difficult and expensive to keep up with the latest communication technologies and features.
Traditional phone systems are not easily scalable.
In addition to their overall high price tag, trying to scale a traditional PBX system for your growth can be really complex. Adding new phone lines or extensions often requires buying additional hardware, and expanding the system may involve significant downtime, which means time you’re unavailable to communicate with your customers. Any downtime disrupts your business operations and can negatively affect customer service and sales. Plus, all that equipment has to live somewhere. This can be make or break for offices with limited space.
As businesses change and grow, the need for greater flexibility grows too. Say you want to open up a second location, or you and your employees need to operate outside of the office at times. What do you do then? Additionally, with hybrid workers and telecommuters, it’s nearly impossible to communicate effectively with a traditional premise phone system. A distributed workforce will almost surely be getting their wires crossed (pun intended, and we’re not sorry).
It’s really pretty simple. If something is to grow, it has to stretch, and that’s not possible with an outdated system.
Traditional phone systems don’t have the features
growing businesses need.
So they cost too much, they don’t scale well, and they don’t have the features a growing business needs to communicate well? Wait, why are we still talking about these phones? That’s kind of our point. These systems will fall to the wayside, and businesses who haven’t upgraded could suffer.
Let’s talk about a better option for your growing small business.
Cloud-based systems offer you a communication solution that accommodates your growth without limitations.
We want you to succeed. As your business grows, so will your needs. We know this first hand because––not to toot our own horn, but––we’ve been a successful growing small business. We’ve done this before, and we’re here to help you.
As you hire new employees, offer new services, or open a new location, you’re going to need more phone lines and features for a better price. How do cloud-based phone systems do this? They’re inherently scalable and flexible.
Unlike traditional systems, our VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) phone system doesn’t rely on cumbersome, expensive hardware. There are no physical or geographical limitations. You can work from anywhere, and you don’t have to worry about having the space to store all that equipment anywhere.
Cloud systems also allow you to implement any upgrades quickly and seamlessly. Adding new employees or locations is as simple as provisioning new user accounts and phones through an online portal.
Features available on an upgraded system like video conferencing, call recording, automatic routing, voicemail-to-email, and app integrations all enhance your business operations and streamline communication. We know clearcut processes drive customer satisfaction and sales. This all means more efficiency in your processes, more room to grow, and more money in your pocket. Growth is funny like that. Given the right tools and consistent motivation, growth feeds more growth.
So now you know about some of the limitations of traditional phones and some of the benefits of a cloud-based phone system. How do you really know if it’s time to upgrade? Join us for part 2 where we give you 7 simple questions you can ask yourself to determine if your phone system needs an upgrade.