Your business is growing, which means you’re obviously doing things right. But at some point, your small business is going to outgrow your personal phone lines. Whether you’re hiring new staff or need advanced calling and collaboration features, upgrading to a business phone system can make your work easier—and improve your bottom line. Here are five ways a business phone system can help your business as you grow.
Save time and money
Old-school PBX systems are just that—old. They’re bulky, expensive, and take up space. Setting them up takes specialized support, and they require ongoing maintenance that also costs your business money and time. As your needs change, adding more capacity or new features uses resources that are better spent minding your business, instead of your phone system.
RingCentral’s cloud phone system eliminates all of those headaches. It’s off site, easy to set up, and grows with you as your business needs change. Best of all, a business phone system gives you advanced features that are more flexible and affordable than traditional PBX systems.
One-stop shop, with all the features
Switching to a business phone system simplifies your small business communications. Whether you need call management features like forwarding and call logs, or collaboration tools like conference call services and online meetings, consolidating your communications has several advantages.
Instead of using a cobbled-together set of tools that don’t always work well with one another, you could focus on one simple solution with parts that are designed to work together. Moving to a business phone system also gives you access to new features that consumer phone lines can’t match; everything from rule-based call answering to call screening and advanced call notifications and team collaboration tools.
The one-stop approach also allows you to integrate easily with tools you already use. Google Apps, Microsoft Outlook, and Dropbox are just a few of the online tools you can easily integrate into a modern business phone system.
Stay connected anytime, anywhere
Desk phones are dead.
Well, not really. Many people use them every day in their businesses. But the reality now is that business doesn’t happen solely at your desk. It also happens while you’re out of the office, working from home, or working from the other side of the world. With a business phone system, you can work from anywhere, without worrying about hardware. Use the same tools and features that you’re familiar with, no matter where your business takes you.
A business phone system also keeps you connected to telecommuters. Seamless call forwarding keeps employees connected to your clients no matter where they are, and either paid or free conference calling and collaboration tools ensure your team stays on the same page, even when they aren’t in the same room. This kind of flexibility is key as your business expands.
Project a professional image
When you’re running a small business, you have a lot of different jobs, often at the same time. But even when you’re small, you want to look and act like a pro. A cloud business phone system, often referred to as a virtual phone system, can help with that. Quickly and easily route calls to the right people, set up automated assistants, and use pro-level voicemail and call notifications to keep track of your customers’ needs.
Even if you’re a one-person show, a cloud business phone system helps you project success. Hold music, transferring calls to other extensions, and even flipping a call from your desk phone to a mobile device—these are all business phone features can offer that will help you provide top-notch, flexible customer service simply and seamlessly.
Keep your private information private
If you’re using personal phones for business, your privacy and your data is at risk.
Giving your cell number out to clients is great for mobility. But that also means that your customers can call you any time, anywhere, even when you’re on vacation or spending time with your family. A cloud business phone system keeps your personal contact info private, and enhances your ability to stay in touch with your customers whenever you choose.
BYOD policies are increasingly common. But if your employees are using their own devices, your proprietary data can be at risk. With call logs and customer contact info stored on personal phones, your business is literally walking out the door with your employees. Mobile phones are easy to lose and often get stolen, and when that happens, your data is exposed. That’s not the only threat, however. When employees move on from your company, they can easily (and accidentally) take your proprietary client data with them on their mobile devices.
A cloud business phone system lets you control when and where customers contact you, and keeps your proprietary information accessible to employees and safe from getting lost—or “borrowed.”
As your business grows, your communication needs become more demanding. A cloud business phone system offers the features, flexibility, and security that your business needs. At the same time, it offers employees the tools to stay connected and be more productive so that your business will continue to thrive.
Originally published Nov 10, 2016, updated Aug 26, 2024
