As the digital revolution continues to reshape our communicatory habits on a daily basis, it’s important for small business owners to understand that modern commerce still revolves around phone-based enquiries, sales, and negotiations. So if you had any doubts about the importance of telephones in today’s day and age, just take a look at some of the enlightening facts and figures shown below:
- 75% of present-day consumers still believe that calling a company hotline is the best way to obtain a quick response.
- 62% of people will repeatedly attempt to contact a firm by phone in order to resolve a particular issue.
- 52% of internet shoppers prefer calling the company in question to place an order as opposed to facilitating an online request.
- 85% of people whose calls remain unanswered will switch to a competitor.
- 53% of consumers become irritated if they aren’t transferred to the correct department from the beginning of a phone call.
Upgrading is Easy, But You Have to Partner with the Right Company
As you might imagine by now, your in-house telephone network is essentially the lifeblood of your organisation, which means that spending exorbitant amounts of money on internet-based marketing initiatives or SEO services represents the ultimate exercise in futility if your phone systems aren’t up to par. However, if you’d like to upgrade your in-house telephone network and bring your information dissemination protocols into the 21st century, it’s important to establish a long-term relationship with a reputable communications company such as Birchills from the very beginning.
In this regard, feel free to use the information shown below as your own personal checklist to help ensure you’re partnering with a renowned communications company.
The Salient Details
The best telecommunications organisations tend to focus on instructing, informing, and educating through their websites as opposed to selling, marketing, and peddling. So as you scour the Internet for a trustworthy service provider, make sure the companies on your shortlist display the following information directly on their homepage:
- Team Description: From the CEO all the way to the technical support team, you should be able to easily find biographies of all in-house employees and representatives. Integrity and honesty are everything in the communications arena.
- Focus on Service: The organisation should place the utmost importance on easily-accessible avenues of customer service. Call support, email assistance, and web-based enquiries should be available on a 24/7/365 basis.
- Testimonials: You shouldn’t have to visit third-party websites to find accurate, first-person accounts of the firm’s services. Testimonials, reviews, and customer feedback should be proudly showcased on the company’s primary webpage.
- Accreditations: You’ll have to ensure your communications company adheres to the guidelines and stipulations set forth by trustworthy regulatory agencies, such as ITSPA and Green Telecoms. After all, working with an accredited, registered firm removes a lot of the guesswork from the equation.
The Actual Services
After ascertaining the most reputable communications firms (based on the above information), the onus is on you to compare and contrast each company’s actual suite of services. In this regard, you should focus on the firms that can offer a top-to-bottom solution for your in-house telephone network:
- Design, setup, and maintenance of your new system
- Customisable voice messages
- Cross-compatibility with all smart devices and computers
- Port in your existing phone numbers or create new ones
- Wide selection of dedicated business phone systems, ranging from the new-age Grandstream models to the innovative VTech variants
- Advanced call analytics
- Personalised “on hold” music and recordings
- EasyDial+ compatibility
- VOIP phone specialisation
With this information in hand, you’re ready to start vetting communications companies like a true-to-life Silicon Valley tech maven! And before you know it, you’ll have a streamlined system in place with a team of world-renowned experts providing 24/7 support in the background.
