If your business’s phone system hasn’t changed in the past ten or more years, it’s time to check out phone service options that could make your business more efficient. Find out if any of these features are right for your business.

1. VoIP

VoIP … voice over internet protocol … refers to calls made and received over an internet connection instead of using the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). As high-speed internet is now a staple in homes and offices, the VoIP business phone system is becoming preferable to normal phone service for many businesses. Advantages for using VoIP phone service include its relatively low cost, portability, and flexibility as to which materials can be sent. For example, subscribers are able to send video using VoIP. Most VoIP business plans can be customized to include all the features that are important for your business’s productivity such as call forwarding and international calling.

2. Call Center Routing

Call center routing is a service that connects customer calls to the agent that is best suited to address their needs. This allows agents with a specialty in a particular area to directly receive customer calls related to that area without the business having to jump through hoops re-directing the call manually. In addition to routing calls to agents based on particular skills or areas of customer need, call center routing can also direct calls based on geographic location. For businesses that span multiple cities, it may make sense for customer calls to be routed to agents in their particular area.

3. SMS Business Services

Many businesses are capitalizing on the popularity of texting as a way to reach and market to their target customers. If your business currently uses emails to market, consider that while only 20% of emails are looked at, 98% of text messages are opened. At 57%, the majority of consumers relate that they would be happy to sign up for a SMS based loyalty program. Whereas it may take someone days to respond to email, the average response time for SMS messages is 90 seconds. SMS marketing is a relatively new strategy for businesses, and 80% of consumers say they have not received SMS marketing messages from their favorite brands.

If any of these options seem appealing for your business, it may be time to update your business’s phone service. Questions or comments about these phone options for your business? Share your thoughts! Find out more at this site.