Many small businesses today are eager to make the switch to Hosted VoIP phone systems. (VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol). In fact, according to Juniper Research, it was estimated that there would be approximately 1 billion VoIP users by the end of 2017.
The rapid rise of adoption rates is credited to companies wanting to enjoy the perks of a streamlined communications platform that’s efficient and effective. However, businesses tend to focus a lot on traditional voice features such as voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, and call routing.
Hosted VoIP systems offer much more than that. Jive’s business phone system, for example, offers more than 80 advanced, cloud-based features, including the common ones mentioned above. Here are some that help small businesses establish a professional, efficient phone presence:
#1. Custom schedules and greetings
Small businesses that are ill-equipped regarding custom schedule features have no choice but to let their phones ring during non-business hours or holidays. Calls go unanswered, customers get frustrated and leave, and your reputation takes a hit.
Custom schedules allow users to configure time-based call routing, scheduled as far ahead as a year in advance, in one easy step. Used in tandem with custom greetings, this means you can ensure that your customers are informed of critical information, even when no one is around to answer their call.
#2. Find Me/Follow Me
When using traditional phone systems, there’s always the risk of missing important calls, especially if your job requires you to be mobile. Jive’s Find Me/Follow Me feature lets users route incoming calls to multiple phones, following a specific sequence so that it follows a unique call flow.
For example, if you list down your office phone extension, mobile phone, and home phone and someone is trying to reach you, the feature can be set so it automatically tries to reach you via these numbers before going to voicemail. You can easily customize it, so your office phone rings twice and then goes straight to your mobile phone. If there’s still no answer, it can go to your home phone next. Or, if you have to answer calls quickly, you can program the system to ring all your phones at once. Never miss an important business call again.
#3. Intercom
Jive’s system lets you utilize your desk phone as an intercom with no additional hardware or equipment. This allows colleagues, in real time, to easily reach out, announce visitors, communicate quickly, or simply check in. The feature is especially useful in terms of projecting a sense of professionalism when a customer calls.
#4. Call monitoring modes
If your business handles a lot of customer calls, this feature allows you to easily monitor calls without interference. Jive’s call monitoring features offer a spy mode, which lets you enter an ongoing conversation without interrupting the call. Whisper mode lets you coach a customer representative without the caller knowing. Barge mode lets you enter an ongoing conversation.
These features are useful for training, coaching, customer service assists, evaluation, and assessment.
#5. Voicemail to email
You can eliminate the tedious process of retrieving your voicemail messages using this handy feature.
For missed calls, you can basically configure your voicemail to directly send the voicemail message to your email inbox. Therefore, all you have to do is click the link to listen to the message. You can easily delete, save, or forward messages directly from your email inbox.
Make sure you’re making the most out of your Hosted VoIP provider’s services by tapping into these features.
If you’d like to explore the available Hosted VoIP options that Jive offers, feel free to contact us.