There is no second opinion that a virtual phone number is all you need to enjoy cost-effective, comprehensive, and commendable inbound and outbound business communication.
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This tool can improve your communication abilities up to an extent that you can clearly witness better ROI, improved customer experiences, and great market presence.
Most of the businesses know that they can benefit in that manner only if they have chosen the right VoIP service providers. Just as having the cloud telephony is important, getting it from the right vendor is equally important. Sadly, this aspect gets ignored all the time and businesses just follow the herd and pick any random vendor suggested by their business partners or promoted by others.
If you want to make most of your cloud telephony investments, enjoy hassle-free cloud PBX services and streamlined communication then here are points to ponder over when you have to pick the right vendor.
- Package pricing
No matter what service/product you purchase, the very first thing that you should take into consideration is the cost involved. Make sure that cost should fit into the spending budget. There is no point in buying an over-budget package and using only half of it.
Almost 20% of small businesses fail in their first year just because of poor capital management. We don’t want you to belong to that category. Hence, understand the kind of offerings and costs charged by the service provider.
Our suggestion to you is to gather quotes from different vendors and compare them keeping your requirements and budget at the center.
- Look for hidden cost
So, you are impressed with the lost per minute charges offered by a vendor and decided to go with it. Wait! Have you asked about the hidden costs? Yes, there are various kinds of hidden costs like connection fees, service taxes, annual maintenance, data cost, hardware cost, and so on.
All these costs, when added, can turn out a huge number. So, before you take any final decision, try to inquire about any hidden costs involved in the services.
- Features offered
One of the key reasons behind the growing popularity of cloud telephony is the features offered by it. These features amplify your communication ability and reduce response time. Without the right set of features, your virtual phone number is nothing but a waste for you. That’s why don’t forget to inquire about the kind of features you are getting in your cloud telephony.
Features like on-hold music, call forwarding, IVR, reporting & analysis, CRM integration, call transferring, auto-attendant, and welcome greeting have to be included by default. Other than these, some advanced business phone system features like time-based routing, call queuing, and global connect can be availed as per the need.
- The service quality
In cloud telephony, calls are transmitted over the internet. Though this type of call transmission is highly beneficial but, due to poor connectivity, quality is compromised sometimes. To avoid this, you must ask for a test run of the services provided on your network.
By doing this, you will be able to understand your existing internet infrastructure’s capability of handling the cloud telephony operations. Any of the leading VoIP service providers won’t mind doing it. Along with this, make sure the vendor is offered services as QoS or Quality of Service. Under this protocol, all the quality standards are already maintained and end-users always get the best-of-breed services.
- Data protection
In cloud telephony, your data is exposed to the internet world.
Activities like cyber frauds, phishing, data theft, virus & Trojan attacks, and malware have made us fearful about exposing our data in the world of the internet. If you fall into its nippers, it can be fatal for you. So, before you make any final decision, you must check the security protocol adapted by the vendor.
All the data should be highly encrypted and should come with a proper & secure back-up facility.
- Diverse services
With time, your business requirements can also be changed. Today, you are using a local number; tomorrow you may require an international number. Now, a toll-free number is working fine for you, but you may require a vanity number in future. With the changed requirements, you can’t change your entire communication infrastructure.
So, it’s very important that you buy an office phone system from a vendor that is offering you multiple services under one roof.
Finding the right service provider
Cloud telephony can turn out to be the most advantageous resource that a business can ever ask for only if it is availed from the right VoIP service providers.
The cost charged, the features offered, the customer support provided, and the quality of the services offered by the vendor makes a huge difference in your growth and helps you overcome various operational hurdles. So, if you want to grow perpetually then make sure you are choosing the right service provider.