Whether you’re choosing your phone system for a new small business, or updating your existing system, there are a lot of factors to consider. Is a traditional wired system more appropriate, or is your business structure better suited for a virtual phone system? Do you need certain features, like multi-digit extensions or variable forwarding settings?
There may be many different service providers that offer what you need; so, it can be overwhelming to choose between them. That’s why many people ending up bypassing the whole selection process and just choose the most popular service provider, which is usually a mistake.
Pick the Right One, the First Time
You might get lucky and find that the most popular service, with whom you chose to sign up on a whim, actually does end up being a great fit for you. If you’re not lucky, however, that service may not be able to support the size, call volume, etc. of your business—or if it can, there’s a good chance that the cost is too high. (That’s what you get with the massive, popular service providers.)
The point here is that if you do end up in a position where you have to change to yet another provider because the one you hastily picked is not working out, then you’re going to be faced with the hassle, delays, and all the usual delights of switching providers. It’s definitely better to do your homework in the beginning to avoid complications later.
Map Out Your Needs Carefully
So how do you find a phone system that’s a good fit for your business? Everyone’s needs are different, and there are a lot of services out there. That’s why it helps to have your own set of criteria before you get started. Here are a few guidelines that can help you weigh out the options. Make sure that your selected service…
- can support your expected call volume.
- offers all of the features that you need.
- discloses any hidden fees.
- does not exceed your budget for phone services.
- has quality client support, technical or otherwise.
A Lot of Fish in the Sea
You might have a longer list of selection criteria, which is great because the more you can narrow it down, the better. It’s unfortunate that choosing a new phone service can be such an arduous process and that there are so many choices today, but that also means that it’s a buyer’s market.
It’s likely that, after all of your research, you will be able to find a service that is absolutely perfect for your business. The key is to avoid picking the first one you see.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.