If your organization is exploring the possibility of switching to a cloud-based phone system, then we cannot give you a single powerful reason to do so. Instead, we can give you THREE powerful reasons:
Reason #1: You Will Reach a Whole New Level of Mobility & Agility Thanks to a Cloud-Based Phone System
We all hope that we never have to see another lockdown. However, there is a realistic possibility that we may face them again — in one form or another — sooner rather than later. And even if we avoid that risk, there are other, more traditional reasons why it may be impossible to carry on business as usual: hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and other natural disasters. A cloud-phone system allows your organization to rapidly pivot to a remote workforce. Instead of falling behind and losing touch, your employees will stay connected and remain productive.
And if you currently have (or plan to have) employees working from home on a full-time or part-time hybrid basis, then switching to a cloud-based phone system is absolutely the way to go. These remote workers can simply plug in a headset or IP phone, or launch an app on their smartphone, and they instantly access the exact same telecommunications system as their colleagues in the corporate office. They can make/receive calls, chat through SMS/MMS instant messaging, view call histories, and have video conference calls. Here is an example:
Meet Lou. He is an amazing sales rep with a problem: the meteorologists were right for a change, and the storm that was on the way has arrived big time. He cannot get into work, but he has important calls with prospects lined up throughout the day. Rescheduling these calls is the last thing he wants to do — because he may lose those prospects to a competitor. Fortunately, Lou’s organization switched to a cloud-based phone system. Now, he simply launches an app on his smartphone, finds each prospect in his address book, and calls them at the scheduled time. And even though he’s using his personally-owned smartphone, Lou knows that his organization’s name and number will show up on each customer’s caller ID.
Reason #2: You Will Significantly Reduce Telecommunication Costs with a Cloud-Based Phone System
“Doing more with less” has always been important, but in the aftermath of the pandemic it is even more essential to get lean — but without reducing productivity, quality, or customer satisfaction. A cloud-based phone system is a strategic and safe way to significantly reduce your organization’s telecommunication costs. Here is why:
- There is no expensive on-site private branch exchange (PBX) system to install or upgrade. Everything runs on your organization’s existing data network (i.e. the same network that your people use each day to send/receive emails, access the web, transfer files, etc.).
- There are no ongoing maintenance costs or technical support costs. Everything is handled by the off-site vendor (see the example below).
- There are no domestic long-distance costs.
- There is no risk of getting saddled with excessive costs for lines that you do not need.
- You will not have to spend 5 or 6-figures in a few years to replace your cloud-based phone system to take advantage of new/advanced features and innovations.
- These are constantly being added by the vendor at no additional charge.
Exactly how much will your organization save once you switch to a cloud-based phone system? That depends on factors such as how many employees you have, and how many you want to have access to the system (some organizations choose to give each employee their own unique line, while others opt to assign one or two lines to teams/departments/business units, etc.).
However, based on our 20+ years of experience, many organizations will save 25-50% vs. the costs of a traditional landline phone system — and some will save even more, especially if they are being overcharged (read: gouged) by their current phone system provider. And there is still more to the story:
It is no secret that IT professionals dislike — actually, they HATE — having to maintain, configure, and fix conventional landline phone systems. It is tedious, time-consuming, and there are non-stop compatibility problems and user issues (and we won’t even mention resetting passwords, because we don’t want to send blood pressures to unsafe levels!). With a cloud-based phone system, all maintenance and technical support are handled by the vendor, which frees up IT professionals to focus on high-priority/high-value tasks. Here is an example:
Meet Lou. He is an amazing sales rep with a problem: the meteorologists were right for a change, and the storm that was on the way has arrived big time. He cannot get into work, but he has important calls with prospects lined up throughout the day. Rescheduling these calls is the last thing he wants to do — because he may lose those prospects to a competitor. Fortunately, Lou’s organization switched to a cloud-based phone system. Now, he simply launches an app on his smartphone, finds each prospect in his address book, and calls them at the scheduled time. And even though he’s using his personally-owned smartphone, Lou knows that his organization’s name and number will show up on each customer’s caller ID.
Exactly how much will your organization save once you switch to a cloud-based phone system? That depends on factors such as how many employees you have, and how many you want to have access to the system (some organizations choose to give each employee their own unique line, while others opt to assign one or two lines to teams/departments/business units, etc.).
However, based on our 20+ years of experience, many organizations will save 25-50% vs. the costs of a traditional landline phone system — and some will save even more, especially if they are being overcharged (read: gouged) by their current phone system provider. And there is still more to the story:
It is no secret that IT professionals dislike — actually, they HATE — having to maintain, configure, and fix conventional landline phone systems. It is tedious, time-consuming, and there are non-stop compatibility problems and user issues (and we won’t even mention resetting passwords, because we don’t want to send blood pressures to unsafe levels!). With a cloud-based phone system, all maintenance and technical support are handled by the vendor, which frees up IT professionals to focus on high-priority/high-value tasks. Here is an example:
Meet Doug. He is an IT Director for a company in Greensboro, NC. He earns $117,000 a year (which is the average salary for IT Directors in Greensboro according to payscale.com). If we break Doug’s salary down into an hourly amount, he earns $58.55/hour. Doug spends an average of 40 hours a month dealing with the (dreaded) on-site landline phone system. He would love to spend those 40 hours doing more important things, but it’s not up to him. This is costing his organization a whopping $28,104 per year in lost productivity. Doug’s organization decides to switch to a cloud-based phone system, and he does an epic happy dance. Why? Because he knows that the vendor will be responsible for ALL maintenance and technical support, in addition to handling ongoing updates and innovations. Now, Doug spends those previously wasted 40 hours a month/480 hours a year managing the internet, firewall, routers, endpoints, apps, and other key tasks. And his organization saves $28,104 a year, which more than offsets the entire cost of adding a cloud-based phone system in the first place!
Reason #3: A Cloud-Based Phone System Boosts Customer Service
Everyone knows that customer service is important. But just how important is it in today’s landscape? For some customers, it’s EVERYTHING. Consider these eye-opening statistics:
- 90% of American consumers use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company. (Source: Microsoft)
- 58% of American consumers will switch companies because of poor customer service. (Source: Microsoft).
- If a company’s customer service is excellent, 78% of consumers will do business with a company again after a mistake. (Source: Salesforce)
- 50% of consumers say they would switch to a new brand after one bad experience. (Source: Zendesk)
A cloud-based phone system dramatically boosts customer service in several ways:
- Use the built-in Auto-Attendant feature to professionally answer all calls on the first ring, and reduce/eliminate hold times.
- Use the built-in Voicemail-to-Email feature to pick up voicemails as audio files, which increases response times.
- Use the built-in Live Call Transfer feature to seamlessly shift calls between devices (e.g. a sales rep at work can answer a call on her smartphone, and transfer it to the IP phone on her desk to carry on the conversation without interruption).
- Use the built-in Presence feature to see in real-time if colleagues are available before transferring a customer call — even if colleagues are working remotely.
- Easily and affordably give everyone in the organization — including temporary/seasonal staff, part-time staff, and interns — their own unique phone number, so that (as appropriate) customers can contact them directly.
- Easily configure time-of-day or day-of-week routing to shift incoming calls to a call center, mobile device, or any other number.
In addition, you can also seamlessly integrate a cloud-based phone system integrate with other platforms in your ecosystem to improve customer experience. Here is an example:
Meet Sarah. She is a customer service rep and gets a call from the number 336-555-1212. The cloud-based phone system automatically and instantly links into the CRM and identifies that this phone number is associated with a customer named Joe Smith. When Sarah answers the phone, a pop-up window opens on her screen that contains a wealth of important and valuable information about Joe’s customer history: what/when he has purchased, notes entered by other colleagues, and so on. As a result, Sarah can provide Joe with a much more customer-centric experience. Instead of putting him on hold and trying to dig up information, it is right in front of her!
The Bottom Line
A cloud-based phone system helps your organization drive total mobility and agility, dramatically reduce costs and boost customer satisfaction. These have always been important, but now they are more essential than ever.
Your next step? Simply contact Carolina Digital Phone and schedule your free, no-obligation demo of our advanced and affordable all-in-one cloud-based phone system. We can deliver your demo in person at your location, or over the web. Call us at (336) 544–4000 or chat with us during business hours by clicking the chat icon on the bottom of your screen.
