7 Reasons to Choose a Cloud Phone System

Introduction

In the juggling act of trying to bring in the most amount of revenue whilespending the least amount of money, small businesses often avoid investing in aproper business phone system. But, what many business owners and managersdon’t realise is, while the cheapest solution can save you money in the short-term, it can cost your business in other areas.

It’s common for business owners to cling to their mobile or residential phone line,under the impression they’re not yet big enough for a professional phone systemor that it might be too expensive. But whatever the size, all businesses canbenefit from a professional phone system that fits within their budget. And astechnology changes, it’s important to adopt modern solutions to staycompetitive.

If you have limited experience in managing a business, or if you haven’t used abusiness phone system before, the benefits of upgrading might not be obvious.This paper will give you an idea of what a business phone system is, and what itcan do for a budding business.

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Is basic calling enough for your business?

Key question

Mobile Home phone Phone system

Unlimited calls

Number of users/lines 1 1 - 2 2 – 200Pass calls between users -

Get voicemail as email

Direct calls to groups/teams

Play music on hold

After-hours diversion

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What is a business phone system?

A business phone system is a voice solution that lets you make ormanage multiple calls at the one time. It’s designed to be tailored to anindividual organisation to provide a personalised and streamlinedcommunications process.

Don’t think it’s just making and answering phone calls either, there’s awide range of features designed to ease your workload. These featurescan automate a lot of the fiddly processes that come with callmanagement and in fact free-up a lot of your time.

While learning what a phone system and its features can do for yourbusiness can often seem quite technical – it doesn’t have to be. For mostsystems it’s as easy as plugging in your handset and you’re ready to go.

Main number

Ring multiple staff at the same time

Pass calls between staff(Hold / Transfer / Park & Pickup)

Divert calls to your mobile after hours

Voicemail sent to your email (as audio files)

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Cost-efficiency Handle calls intelligently

Easy to manage Present professionally

Easy to relocate Smarter way to communicate

Easy to scale

At MyNetFone, we’ve found that the benefits of moving to a phone system are felt more by small teams that have previously had to ‘make do’ with residential-grade services.

Here are seven real-world examples of how businesses of any size can benefit from investing in a business phone system:

Phone systems are only for big companies, right?

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Cost-efficiency

Easy to manage

Easy to relocate

Easy to scale

Handle calls intelligently

Present professionally

Smarter way to communicate

You may think you’re getting a greatdeal by using your personal mobile forbusiness. However, a small businessphone system will cost roughly thesame price as a professional mobile plan- but you get so much more. The cost ofinvesting in a professional phonesystem can deliver a tenfold ROI.

It’s important to note that not allbusiness phone systems are alike.Customers that choose a modernvendor like MyNetFone tend to save 30– 60% because they aren’t locked into‘per user’ pricing, and they can scale upor down as needed.

A 2-line business phone system can beincredibly economical for a smallbusiness, even on a tight budget. If youtake advantage of features like Linepooling, a 2 line plan will provide plentyof capacity until you’re up to 5+ people.

This means you don’t have to worryabout upgrading until you’ve employed6 or more staff - and at that stage you’llhave the budget to do so.

While an extra monthly cost might seemscary at the onset, it will provide muchgreater cost-efficiency in the long-term.As a business owner, your time isincredibly valuable to your business.With the extra time-saving features andflexibility a business phone systemoffers, you’ll be able to put more backinto your business and boost yourproductivity.

Not only will it help internal operations,a professional phone system offers newand existing customers a much betterexperience. Customers want to betaken seriously, and presentingprofessionally shows that you and yourproducts/services are just that.

Customers that choose a modern vendor like MyNetFone tend to save 30 – 60% because they aren’t locked into ‘per user’ pricing, and they can

scale up or down as needed

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Cost-efficiency

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Easy Setup and ManagementOnce upon a time, business phone systems were a headache to operate. In thepast, setting up a phone system required a skilled technician to connect phonelines, provision handsets, configure user accounts, and setup routing features. Butwith a modern vendor, like MyNetFone, those days are long gone.

Nowadays, getting your phones setup is as simple as plugging them in. This savestime, and saves you money because you don’t need to hire an IT boffin. Modernphone systems like the Virtual PBX come with desktop or cordless phones thatwork right out of the box. Once your handset is plugged into power and internet,you’ll be able to make and receive phone calls using your business number. Andyour team will be able to perform basic call handling functions: like extensiondialling, call hold and transferring calls. More advanced features – like Voicemail toEmail, Line Hunt and Auto Attendant – can be setup and managed via an onlineportal. Again, no IT needed.

When looking for a provider, it’s important to choose one that not only offers youextra call management functions, but one who also offers self-service through acustomer portal. Accessing your virtual phone system online will allow you to makereal-time adjustments to your system, from any connected device.

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Do you have the time and know-how to manage an on-site phone system?

Key question

When choosing a phone system you have two broad options: have a system installed and managed at your premises, or opt for a system that works in the cloud.If you’re comfortable running important business systems in the cloud – such as Xero, Office 365 or G-Suite - then why not have your office phones in the cloud too?

Suitable for• Using an existing phone system• IT-savvy business owners• SMBs with tech support on call• Telecom & ICT professionals

Traditional system (installed on-site) Virtual PBX (in the cloud)Recommended for• Time-poor business owners• Cutting IT support costs• Offices with no ‘technical’ staff• Simple, web-based management• Plug-in-and-ring handsets

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Learn more about Virtual PBXExplore on-premise options

Easy to RelocateIf you’ve ever moved office, you’ll know that the process can be gruelling.However, with a modern phone system you have one less thing to worry about.As mentioned in section 2, preconfigured desktop handsets and web-basedmanagement makes it easy to setup your phone system anywhere. So when thetime comes to move offices, the simple plug and play technology streamlinesyour move to the new destination. Simply unplug your handsets at the old site,and plug them back in at the new location and you’re up and running once again.All your numbers and features will work as normal, so you won’t miss out onimportant calls.

Not only is it easy to relocate, modern phone systems are also ready to be usedwith modern technology. As the NBN rollout progresses, the copper PSTNnetwork will gradually be disconnected and replaced by the new fibre network.The first round of disconnections has already began, with some areas nowrelying solely on the NBN for their phone services. Many existing landlineservices will not work when the NBN arrives, whereas a modern phone system isa future-proof solution - available today.

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A modern business phone system that iseasy to set-up and relocate, is alsoperfect for an office with big ambitions.Scalability makes it easy to add newstaff, open new offices or handle callsfor multiple businesses.

Adding team membersMyNetFone allows you to add anunlimited number of users and share apool of phone lines across your wholeteam. This makes it easy to scale onshort notice. Whenever you add newstaff, just plug-in new handsets and givethem each a new extension.

If you’re adding lots of staff, werecommend that you also upgrade yourplan so that you can make and receivemore calls at the same time. Typically,customers start with a small businessplan (allowing 2 calls at the same time)and upgrade incrementally as they grow.Our largest plan supports 50 calls at thesame time.

Adding officesAs with adding new staff, adding officescan be as simple as plugging-in extrahandsets and assigning extensions. We’dalso recommend using the online portalto update your settings so that calls goto the right office. For example, you maywish to add a selection to the AutoAttendant – Press 1 for our Sydneyoffice; Press 2 for our Brisbane office.

Operating multiple businessesRunning multiple businesses under oneroof? A modern phone system can besetup so that certain numbers ringcertain lines. This makes it easier toanswer the phone with the rightgreeting. You can also configuredifferent voicemails for each business.And you’ll be able to select a particularline when you call out – so thatcustomers see the appropriate brandphone number in their caller ID.

MyNetFone allows you to add an unlimited number of users and

share a pool of phone lines across your whole team

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Easy to Scale

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Business phone systems let you

collaborate with your colleagues much

easier, even if you’re based in different

locations. It does this with a range of

intelligent routing features that can be

tailored to your business.

Hunt-groups are one of the most

popular features of business phone

users. It allows your phone system to

‘hunt’ staff by directing an incoming

phone call to different handsets until

the call is answered. One phone system

can have multiple hunt-groups that can

be interchanged as desired.

Time-of-day routing is another

popular feature, often used in

conjunction with the hunt-group. Time-

of-day routing lets you create a set of

‘rules’ that incoming calls must abide

by. These rules will change

automatically depending on the time of

day. This allows a business to direct

incoming calls to office desktop

handsets during office hours and then

automatically switch to a message

service or redirect to your mobile

phone outside of office hours.

Geographic routing similarly to the

time-of-day function, allows you to

create a set of rules dependent on the

geo-location of an incoming call. This

allows you to choose where phone calls

from certain areas in Australia are

directed. This is helpful if you have

offices in different states, or if you

handle customer enquiries differently

depending on where they come from.

While powerful on their own, these

features can also be used in

conjunction with one another. They let

you develop an intelligent protocol for

your inbound traffic to follow

dependant on the date, time and

location of the call, or who is available

to answer it.

Handle Calls Intelligently

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What features do you need?

Key question

Voicemail to email Hunt group Auto attendant Call logs (basic) Divert to multiple numbersHave your voicemails automatically emailed to you as audio files

Assign your staff to groups and setup a number that rings all group members

Greet callers with an interactive welcome

menu (e.g. press 1 for sales)

Plan and allocate resources with inbound and outbound

call data

Follow Me is an easy way to setup a chain of diversions to

mobiles and landlines

Whitepages listing DIY online portal 3 way conference call BYO numbers – free Plug and play handsetUpdate your business phone number and office location

in the whitepages

Have full control over your PBX and make real-time changes to your portal

Setup a voice conferencewith two other participants

Transfer (‘port’) your numbers to MyNetFone, for free

Choose from our range of pre-configured handsets

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See all Virtual PBX features

Business owners can spend a lot of their budget

making sure their customer facing storefront or offices

look professional. When you consider that most

customers interact with your business over the phone,

why should your telephone reception be any different?

It’s important for your customers to feel like they’re

dealing with a professional. Even if you’re a one man

band, a business phone system can make your

prospective customers feel like they’re dealing with an

established organisation.

An auto-attendant or virtual receptionist (press 1 for

sales, 2 for accounts) is the first point of contact most

customers will have with a business. Not only will this

help your business present professionally to

customers, but it will help manage incoming enquiries

by directing them to the right department, so you and

your staff don’t have to. If the department they want is

out of hours, you can set a pre-recorded message for

that message pathway and include any relevant

information the customer might need.

Using multiple Auto-attendants in conjunction with

each other lets you create a layered web of detailed

information for your customers to access. This allows

you to guide your customers to the exact product,

service or department they need.

Tip: Some providers will charge you for additional

Auto-attendants used. Always check the service

inclusions before making a purchase.

Another way to present more professionally is by

pairing your auto-attendant with a 1300 number. 1300

numbers allow your customers to call you from

anywhere in the country for the cost of a local call. It

gives your business a national presence and a unique

and professional identity. You can even use multiple

1300 numbers for marketing campaigns, to see which

marketing avenues are driving the most amount of

sales.

Present Professionally

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A Smarter way to CommunicateBusiness communications has become much more

than just making and receiving phone calls. Inbuilt

features that accompany a modern business phone

system are often applied by default and designed to

make communicating with customers easier and

more flexible. They have even completely redefined

the ‘one user, one line’ telephony format that we’re

used to.

Line pooling for example is a money-saving feature

that’s a completely new take on handling and

managing phone calls. It helps you avoid ‘per

handset’ pricing traps which become more

complicated and expensive as your business grows.

The Per-user Pricing TrapMost service providers will charge customers on a

‘per user’ basis: one handset, one user, one price. So

you fork out a monthly fee for every phone in the

office. Even if a phone only receives one call a day, or

one call a month, you’re still stuck with the same flat

rate. This type of pricing was designed before the

internet, mobile phones or IP communications.

Line pooling, on the other hand, was developed to

match your organisation’s supply and demand much

more efficiently. It allows you to keep all of your

employees’ numbers active, while only paying for the

phone lines that you actually use. For businesses with

multiple offices, you can even share the same Line

pool across different work sites – anywhere in the

world. It’s the intelligent way to communicate.

Unfortunately, many providers still choose to charge

their customers in the outdated ‘per user’ structure.

So if you’re hunting for a new business phone system,

ask your potential providers if they offer line pooling

when you’re looking for a business phone system.

Voice Info as DataAs you make and receive your day-to-day business

phone calls, you’re creating valuable customer data

that can be used to help you run your business more

efficiently. Often this information is wasted if you

can’t access it easily. With a business phone system

you can turn your voice traffic into fruitful customer

data by accessing your inbound and outbound call

logs.

A good business phone system provider will allow you

to access your call logs online. This offers you a

reporting component on all of your inbound and

outbound traffic, both short term and long term.

These figures will help you monitor how your

outbound call expenses are being spent and identify

spikes in inbound call traffic, so you can identify your

busiest periods and then roster staff accordingly.

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MyNetFone are leaders in business phone systems, developing modern technology

and innovative communications solutions for small to medium-sized businesses,

enterprise and government. Specialising in the Virtual PBX, which can be scaled

anywhere between 2 and 50+ lines, MyNetFone strives to produce premium product

offerings, at the lowest cost.

Contact usSpeak to our friendly staff about what our communication solutions can do for your

business today.

Enquire online via our form, or call 1300 733 995 (Monday to Friday 8:30am to

5:30pm AEST/AEDT)

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Why choose MyNetFone?

Contact us today