Integrating Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) into your business communications strategy can bring loads of benefits, including cost savings, enhanced communication capabilities, and increased flexibility. Here are the steps to integrate VoIP into your business communications strategy:
Set Clear Objectives
Define your goals for implementing VoIP. Are you looking to reduce costs, improve communication quality, or enable remote work capabilities?
Choose the Right VoIP Provider
Go for a reliable VoIP service provider that aligns with your business needs and objectives. Additionally, consider factors such as pricing, features, scalability, and customer support. Also, ask yourself how long you feel comfortable being tied into a contract. Many providers have contracts of 18 or even 24 months. However, at bOnline all our contracts are a more manageable 12 months long.
To help, we’ve put together several articles relating to this topic, including Virtual phone systems: Why they’re great for small businesses and our Complete guide to small business phone systems.
Check What VoIP Features Are Offered
Determine which VoIP features are essential for your business. Common features include call forwarding, voicemail, call data analytics, conferencing and video calls.
Ensure Sufficient Network Bandwidth
VoIP heavily relies on a stable and fast internet connection. Ensure your network can support VoIP traffic without causing latency or a drop in call quality. We strongly recommend fibre broadband if possible.
Choose Hardware and Software
Select the appropriate hardware and software solutions for your VoIP implementation. This may include IP phones, headsets, and softphone applications. Again, we’ve recently published a handy article to help: How To Choose the Right VoIP Headset For Your Business.
Train Your Team
Offer training to your employees to ensure they can use the VoIP system effectively.
Teach them how to make and receive calls, use voicemail, and access other features.
VoIP digital phone systems are all set up by us remotely, with no downtime or technical knowledge by you. They’re also incredibly easy to use, by simply logging in to the online dashboard. And of course, our team is always around if you need us.
Port Existing Numbers
If you want to keep your existing phone numbers, work with your VoIP provider to port them to the VoIP system. This is something we’re happy to do for you. Plus, if you want to change your number we can do that for you too. Maybe to a freephone or 020 number for example.
Test and Monitor
Before going live, conduct thorough testing to ensure that the VoIP system meets your requirements. Keep an eye out for any issues that arise afterwards too.
Integrate with Other Tools
Integrate your VoIP system with other business tools like CRM software and email platforms to enhance productivity and streamline communication.
Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan
Plan for contingencies by developing a disaster recovery strategy in case your VoIP system experiences downtime or technical issues.
Scale as Needed
As your business grows, adjust your VoIP system to accommodate additional users and new features. Additionally, regularly assess the return on investment (ROI) from your VoIP implementation to ensure it aligns with your business objectives.
Ready To Test Out a bOnline VoIP Digital Phone System For Free?
Sign up for a free 7-day trial today and start trying out all the business-friendly features on offer. There’s no obligation to continue and we don’t need a credit card.
Our cutting-edge digital phone systems come backed with things like call divert, call analytics data, hold music, voicemail, video calling and much more. Plus our fixed price packages are some of the lowest around. Why pay more for great service?
Need Some More Advice?
Our team is on hand to help if you’ve got any questions. Call us on 0203 617 9950. You may also find our Help section useful.
