Making The Most Of A VoIP Installation- It's Not Just About Cost

Updated: March 28, 2011

It's one thing to go out and get a new phone system. It is something completely different to make use of it effectively. Fortunately for most businesses, the reason they moved to VoIP is primarily based around cost savings, so it's not like you have to do a lot more than make the switch to start seeing the expected ROI. But that's a very simplistic way to look at it. Because the pure cost benefit of a new phone system is often the LEAST important reason to make the switch.

The REAL reason? The new features and capabilities that the new phone system brings to the organization. From little things like voicemail-to-email that make it possible to check messages in a new way, to big things like automated call and response patterns that intelligently and seamlessly transfer calls through to the best place for them to be answered, even if the recipient is in a remote office that day.

But the big improvements come when you are ready to change your business processes to make use of the new technology. Here are some steps to take that can lead you nearer to that goal:

  1. Train users and give them time to learn the new system and ALL its features. This will get you to the point where people in your business can understand what the new system can do for them. You should start to see improvements in productivity and communication over the next few months.
  2. Put together a group, preferably from across the business, that looks at how you do your core business processes now (say from receiving inbound sales calls through to fulfillment of an order) and how the new technology can be used to improve them. This time implementation and adjustments will take longer but the productivity rewards will be greater.
  3. Monitor your phone system and get reports and metrics to see how people are using it and to look at patterns that indicate success and failure, then make changes to replicate the success in new areas. This includes looking at the underlying technology and making changes to your IP network infrastructure if necessary.
  4. Look at additional tie-in products or services that can create even greater efficiencies. Examples might be better integration of VoIP and networking, adding video conferencing, adding call center applications, adding CRM systems and much more. All of these opportunities are opened up by the initial acquisition and use of that VoIP system.

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