Many businesses have already made the switch to a VoIP service. And for those who haven’t so far, they are also contemplating the idea to move over to a Voice over IP (VoIP) system. If you are in the latter category of businesses, this is the perfect post for you then, as we will be explaining in detail how you can pick the right VoIP service provider.
VoIP services follow the Software as a Service, commonly known as the SaaS model. In this system, companies subscribe to a remotely hosted service rather than buying an on-premise solution that would have required numerous servers and extra hardware.
SaaS requires companies to pay a fixed sum of money for using the service, eliminating the need for the companies to invest in hosting the VoIP service.
There is no point in considering adopting a VoIP service if you cannot foresee clear advantages for your business.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using VoIP for your business communications:
You can enjoy a lot of flexibility in your business with VoIP. And this technology has made it feasible for businesses of all sizes to have a business phone number. VoIP can be used by all whether you are an SMC or a large corporation.
Before we head on to the considerations and factors you need to pay attention to while choosing a VoIP provider, first of all, ask yourself.
When you start a business, you would want to make sure that customers and users can interact and communicate with you. For that, many companies incorporate a contact form on the site to ease the process. Sometimes, customers want to get an instant response, depending on the industry, of course.
Due to this, many businesses offer live chat or call options to the users so they can get in touch with you and tell you about their concerns, comments, and queries regarding your products and services. Through these efforts of providing multiple channels for customer support services, companies can improve their services, leading to more sales.
So, there are many plus points of transitioning to VoIP. And many companies have already incorporated VoIP into their businesses. If your business depends on 24/7 calls, communication, and collaboration between teams, you need VoIP. Particularly, if you have to make long-distance calls.
Having said that, now let’s see how you can choose a VoIP provider:
There are plenty of VoIP service companies. And the competition is tough. The plethora of options, coupled with the advertising, makes it all the more difficult to make a final pick. You would want to go with the one that is within your budget, provides all the features that you need, while delivering excellent call quality. Flexibility and ease of use are also crucial points that you do not want to miss. Ideally, a plug-and-play system is best because you do not have to worry about the time and cost required for installation, particularly if you have to move your business elsewhere. These are the areas you just cannot compromise on, or it could greatly impact customer experience.
There are many factors that you need to pay attention to, and it is only after a thorough search and comparison, that you can make the best decision.
Here are a few considerations and factors you should go through to help you with choosing a VoIP provider:
First of all, you have to identify the business communication needs of your organization. And you may want to ask yourself a couple of questions as in:
Once you have answered all of these questions and identified your operational needs, you can begin to look for the VoIP service that fulfills these requirements most efficiently.
Of course, price plays an integral role in your decision making. If you have just begun, surely you would want to spend the least on it and look for the cheapest option you can get in VoIP phone service. But you must know that you may have to compromise on features if you stick to this approach and end up giving up features that may have turned out to be essential for your business.
You can expect to have a one-time charge that involves installation and the setup etc. Then there are going to recurring charges that will occur for the plan/package you subscribed to with service charges. You must go through all the details before signing up to confirm what you have to pay initially and in the coming months because these costs add up rather quickly. In short, perform a cost-benefit analysis for each feature vis-à-vis the price tag before purchasing a subscription.
This is crucial because no matter how a VoIP provider checks all the right boxes in terms of features, you cannot ignore the security and reliability aspect. A service, no matter how cheap, is useless if it does not work when you need it to.
But, through proper implementation of security measures, you can protect data during VoIP calls. One of the best ways to implement effective security measures is through strong high-level encryption, a process through which data (calls in VoIP scenario), is converted into an encoded form that only a decryption key can decode. This is the safest means to secure data for safe transmissions across the IP networks.
Since VoIP services mainly depend on the reliability of your internet service, see that the broadband connection that you are using at your workplace is suitable and sturdy enough to carry out VoIP services. Also, the quality of the hardware matters.
Again, research. Get as much knowledge as you can and get as much information as you can before you invest in VoIP. Or use of an IP phone or ATA router since the VoIP hardware your internet connection shall be handling plays a key role in determining the quality of service you will receive.
VoIP service comes with an array of features enabling employees to communicate and work remotely. Also, the workers can access the features of the phone system of the company. If there is a team that works remotely or some staff members are always spread out. This is an important factor. Also, if you own a big set up, you should set your mind on getting those services offering sophisticated facilities and equipment than smaller companies.
Some popular VoIP providers offer and support cloud computing. The idea is to centralize all the software and hardware resources in one place. The main aim is optimization at the best price. It all boils down to customization of services and features according to your business needs. Look around, do your research. Decide what you need, and want and then make your decision.
This is also essential. Know what others have to say about the VoIP provider you are thinking to buy services from. You should look at the reputation of the VoIP provider. There is the issue of separating the fake spam reviews from the genuine ones, but it is still important that you take a look and know about the general opinion others have about the company.
Also, you can look at the brands that endorse the services and trust the provider for communications. No brand would want to invest in a company that doesn’t deliver.
Different VoIP service providers have different schedules and timings for customer support. Some offer support 24 hours a day all week long. See that you can get immediate technical assistance the moment you face an issue or a glitch while using these services. VoIP outages tend to occur when you least expect them. So, in case any problem arises, having efficient and prompt customer support at hand is crucial whether you are using VoIP for residential or business communication needs.
Business cannot survive without communication, and any delay in response to clients and customers leaves a negative impact. So, you should have a clear knowledge regarding the support you are going to receive.
Usually, you have to sign a contract that is normally for a year. But to be on the safe side, it is wise that you go with a VoIP company that provides you with a free trial refund guarantee. This way, if you are unsatisfied with their service and not pleased with the features they are offering, you can refund.
Now that we have considered these aspects in detail, let’s go through how some VoIP services are better than others in terms of features.
These are all service features and each of them is explained below in detail.
You can utilize this feature when you want to block incoming calls to your phone from a certain number. Just add the number to the list and you don't have to worry about that anymore. This is useful when you do not want to engage with a particular customer or a client.
This feature alerts you about an incoming call when you are already on another call. You can choose to either attend to that call or let it be handled by the voice mail itself. This feature is especially important for customer services because it gives your team the time to respond to a caller more effectively. On the other hand, multiple customers can also stay engaged on a single contact number.
Voicemail is a service that would automatically answer all your unattended phone calls and even then when you are already on phone taking another call. Incoming callers can leave a message for you in the voicemail. Suppose you are in an important meeting but someone calls you in an emergency. You may not be able to take the call. However, the voicemail service can inform the caller that you are in a meeting or involved in something else and that you will get back to them as soon as possible. This can give the caller a feeling of relief.
This is a very desirable feature as it lets you contact the emergency services in case of an accident. You however need to ensure that your VoIP provider has the most updated address where you are currently living. Take note that many VoIP services do not offer this feature. This is because the connection for VoIP is not associated with a given address. As a result, emergency services are unable to identify the address from where a call is being made. Make sure to check that the VoIP service you are subscribing to gives you the option to add your address there.
This feature helps you block all calls to international destinations from your phone. You can unblock them as well at any time, which can save a lot of money for you.
You can use this feature to let anyone call you without any charges. It is an indispensable function for businesses. No one wants to spend money to contact for customer support or information. Furthermore, it sends a negative message to the customers that you do not care about their request for information, or their problems with your services/products. With a toll-free number, they can contact you anytime, without paying a penny. As previously mentioned, the cost is an important consideration in this department, so make sure you check at what price you get this feature.
For the most cost-effective VoIP package, check out Axvoice. While the service is comparatively new to the industry, it offers a packing list of features at a highly affordable cost. Axvoice is based on a simple plug and play system too, so installation and use should not be a cause for concern.
Almost all the features listed above are available with Axvoice.
AXvoice offers a whole range of useful and in-demand service features to its customers. You will find many VoIP providers making tall claims about the quality of service that they offer, but in fact, only a few can truly deliver what they promised. AXvoice has risen to fame because of the high level of trust that its customers have in its capabilities.
Do you find talking on the phone too addictive to reduce the number of callings you make? Have you sacrificed the calls you used to make because of the heavy phone bills? With AXvoice, you don't need to worry about the phone bills anymore. Our billing system is very transparent and that is why our customers respect us. Now, you don't need to use the old way of test and trial to select a VoIP phone service. The ever-growing clientele base is evidence of the high-quality service that we deliver to our customers.
