Business Phone System

33+ Essential Features of a Great Business Phone System

Managing teams, whether big or small, has its own challenges. The biggest one, especially with remote work, is ensuring everyone is on the same page. 

This is especially true for sales and support teams. 

A cloud business phone system that brings together everything under the same roof can help streamline your operations. From business calls, SMS, data, analytics, and coaching, you need to be able to get an eagle-eye view of your sales and support to ensure your customers are not left in the lurch. 

But with endless business phone services and systems available in the market, it isn’t easy to pick the one made for your business goals.

We’ve curated this guide to make it as easy as possible to shortlist the best phone system for your small business and the business phone features you need.

5 Benefits of an Office Phone System

Office phone system features like advanced calling and collaboration etc., can simplify your work and enhance your bottom line. Here’s how a business phone system can be beneficial for your business.

1. Save Money and Time

Old-school PBX systems are expensive and bulky and require specialized support for installation. They need ongoing maintenance, and including new features or additional capacity costs your business time and money. A business phone system, on the other hand, eliminates all of these issues.

It’s off-site, easy to install, and grows with the changing needs of your business. In all, a cloud phone system offers advanced features that are more affordable and flexible than traditional phone systems.

2. Stay Connected Anywhere, Anytime

You can work from anywhere (office, home, or any location) with a cloud phone system without thinking about hardware. With the help of business phone features like seamless call forwarding, your employees can stay connected to your clients irrespective of their location.

Collaboration tools and free or paid conference calls help your team stay on the same page no matter where they are. This type of flexibility is indispensable for business expansion.

3. Maintain Your Privacy

Using personal phones for business can risk your data and privacy. With customer contact and call logs info stored on personal phones, your proprietary client data is moving out with your employees.

Mobile phones often get stolen and are easy to lose. When this happens, your proprietary data is exposed.

A cloud phone system lets you control where and when customers contact you and keeps your personal contact information private. It ensures the safety of your proprietary information by making it accessible only to your employees.

4. One-Stop Solution for Business Communication

Switching to a cloud phone system grants you access to new features that traditional phone systems can’t match. Everything from call screening and rule-based call answering to team collaboration tools and advanced call notifications makes your business communication easier.

Rather than using an inefficient set of tools, you can concentrate on one simple solution with tools that work well together. The one-stop approach also enables easy integration of online tools like Dropbox, Microsoft Outlook, and Google Apps with your existing tools.  

5. Project the Image of A Large Enterprise

A cloud business phone system can do a small business act and look like a professional one. You can use automated assistants, quickly route calls to the correct person, and use call notifications and pro-level voicemail to keep a record of your customer needs.

Even if you’re a one-person show, these business phone system features enable you to offer flexible and top-notch customer service effortlessly.

Types of Office Phone Systems

Below are different kinds of phone systems that you can choose for your office.

Legacy Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN): This refers to the traditional phone system which dates back to the late 1800s. This system utilizes underground copper wires to build a call connection. They’re popularly called landlines.
Private Branch Exchange (PBX): PBX systems are the hardware that allows companies to shift between multiple landlines. As individual lines for each employee are not required, these systems are cheaper than landlines. This is why some telecom providers prefer PBX systems.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP): This type of system doesn’t use copper wires to connect phone calls. Instead, data is transmitted through an internet connection to make calls. A VoIP phone system thereby creates a virtual phone line.

30 Features of Business Phone System

Best-Remote-Business-Phone-Features

1. Auto Attendant

Automated attendants are one of the most useful business phone system features. They greet incoming callers and inform them which department to approach by clicking the respective key on their telephone or mobile device.

You can enhance customer satisfaction by diverting inbound calls to the right people without requiring the services of a receptionist.

2. Call Forwarding

The VoIP call forwarding feature automatically diverts incoming calls on your past number to your new VoIP device without the knowledge of the caller. It also allows you to use your old VoIP number to make calls from your new VoIP device.

Hence, there’s no headache of updating contact information in case you’re shifting your office or working remotely.

3. Call Logs

A phone service software records all important details like the date, time, caller ID, duration, and status (transferred to voicemail or accepted) of a VoIP call. This stored information can be used to handle customer queries and analyze sales activity.

If customers call for an update, you can verify who the initial case handler using the call log was.

4. Call Analytics

Small-Business-Phone-System-Call-Analytics

The VoIP analytics phone system features allow you to view call data and manage your call flow in real-time. It’s beneficial for your sales team as you can view the following:

Which sales representative answered the maximum calls
Which are the “hot” leads

You can also find out if an employee has a long queue and divert a few calls to another worker.

5. Greetings (Announcements)

Announcements are one of the best business phone systems features that greet your customers when they’re on hold. Instead of listening to the annoying ringing sound, your customers are entertained as they wait.

What’s even better? The average length of such greetings is 15 seconds. You can utilize those precious seconds to grab your customer’s attention.

6. Busy Lamp Status

Business phone features like the busy lamp status enable coworkers to notify the receptionist if they’re on a phone call. A green light signifies they’re available to take a call, and a red light indicates a “do not disturb” sign.

Depending on their availability, you can divert the call without placing the caller on hold.

7. Call Parking

The call parking feature allows you to put the customer’s call into a number-based virtual parking bay rather than putting it on hold. The parked callers will hear hold music while they wait for you to continue the call.

Such phone system features are useful if you’re working from home or have a large call center or office.

8. Call Recording

Some VoIP business phone systems allow call recording. You can save the audio in cloud file storage and use the conversation for future reference. This feature can be beneficial in training employees.

The recordings of unsatisfied customers can be used to train recruits in resolving customer queries.

9. Call Queues

At times when you have too many calls to attend, the call queue feature can be your savior. Call queues inform the caller about the estimated waiting time.

An automated message will inform them how many callers are ahead and when to expect a response. This act of updating the callers can prevent them from hanging up.

10. Desk Phones

A lot of VoIP providers offer desk phones as a part of their installation package. This hardware allows you to answer, divert and make calls from your desk.

The good news is that you don’t need old-fashioned copper wires to install the hardware in your office, as VoIP-enabled devices make calls using an internet connection.

11. Conference Calls

The VoIP conference calling feature allows all your employees to join important business calls using just one line. No matter where they are, all they need is the dial-in number to join.

This feature acts just like an audio-only conference room which also includes video conferencing.

12. Follow Me/Find Me

The Follow Me/Find Me feature enables you to automatically divert your desk’s incoming calls to your coworker’s desk phone. For instance, let’s assume that your extension number is 204.

You can perform the following activities using a coworker’s desk phone:

  • Dial the 204 extension number
  • Enter the code for Follow Me/Find Me along with your password
  • Use your coworker’s desk phone to answer calls

13. Direct Inward Dialing (DID)

Direct Inward Dialing (DID) helps in handling the staff network. Each employee is given a personal ID number instead of buying a physical telephone line for them.

This feature requires very few telephone lines, and incoming calls can be diverted to the right person by simply adding their personal contact number. This not only saves the installation time but also has cost benefits.

14. Hold Music

You can create custom hold music by uploading an audio clip to your VoIP phone system. This music will be played to your callers after you place their call on hold.

With this, they’ll have something to listen to instead of assuming you dropped their call. 

15. International Calling

VoIP devices allow you to make international calls irrespective of the receiver’s location. The best part is that you don’t have to pay extra for overseas calling as you utilize data from your device’s monthly allocation.

This feature is highly beneficial if you do business across various countries.

16. HD Voice

Phone systems with HD Voice feature deliver twice the voice quality as traditional calls. This feature will make you sound as if you’re sitting next to your customer in the same room.

You can not only record the crystal-clear audio but also upload the recording to a transcription system and get a hard copy of the conversation.

17. External/Internal Call Transfer

With this call transfer feature, you can direct your call to an external or internal line. The call transfer costs are calculated based on the person to whom the call has been directed. A call transfer, using VoIP, to devices like a mobile phone is generally free.

However, standard charges may apply if you’re directing the call to a non-VoIP system. 

18. IP PBX

An IP Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is a feature that enables your staff to accept incoming calls made from landlines. It connects calls from VoIP-enabled devices to local lines.

You can also transfer the call from your device to your coworkers using extensions. This means your callers can speak to anyone in your call center or office by simply dialing a number.

19. Managed Caller ID

Including your company name in the caller ID is important, as customers would not answer a call if they didn’t identify the caller. Some phone systems allow you to add your company or employee name to your caller ID. This can be beneficial for the sales team.

Wondering how? Your customers can reference the caller ID to call you back even if they miss your call.

20. Instant Messaging

Some VoIP phone systems feature desktop and mobile apps that promote instant messaging (IM). Instant business messages augment productivity allowing your staff to respond to queries instantly rather than waiting hours to get a response via email.

By offering the IM feature, you can use a single communications platform to communicate rather than a mix-up of multiple apps.  

21. Line Extensions

This feature enables remote workers to accept calls without providing their personal numbers. Customers will dial the company’s primary number (mainline) and then press the extension (such as “3” for customer support) on their keypad.

This will direct the call to the concerned remote worker.

22. Group Announcements/Paging

With the group announcement feature, you can alert your entire staff through their desk phone- from yours. Such phone system features are very beneficial if your office is spread over multiple floors.

You can broadcast your message to all your VoIP devices or make one-way announcements to particular departments in an emergency.

23. Multiple Lines

This feature is perfect for big customer service teams. Your customers can call one number, and multiple devices ring. The first representative to answer their call is directed to the caller to handle the query.

As a large number of people are prepared to pick up the calls, this feature prevents issues like long wait times.

24. Phone Directory

A phone system with the phone directory feature helps you to maintain a record of your client information. You can use it for Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

This virtual phone record allows you to look for a client by name. You don’t have to search your email to locate the client details.

25. Multi-Device Support

As the name suggests, the multi-device support feature allows you to use multiple devices to make VoIP calls with the same number.

For instance, let’s assume you have a softphone using a VoIP application. You can make calls using the same number on several devices like desktop PC, mobile phones (iPhone or Android), wireless VoIP headsets, and VoIP desk phones.

This ensures that your business communication never fails.

26. Softphone Support

A softphone is an app that can be installed on your laptop, desktop, or smartphone. You can make outgoing calls using the dial pad that is included in the app.

Furthermore, the app has a distinct business contact number that allows incoming calls to come directly to your device. This ensures seamless business communication even if your employees are in remote locations.

27. Ring Groups

The ring group feature allows you to merge phone extensions and create ring groups for different teams like software support, account setup, finance, etc. For example, let’s assume your customer calls your customer service line and opts for help with “billing.”

Now your finance ring group will be contacted. The call will be directed to the extension lines in that group.  

28. Toll-Free Phone Numbers

Some office phone system features include toll-free numbers. Customers can call a toll-free number from their personal phones (including landlines) at no extra charge.

This way, customers can contact you without incurring costly long-distance calling charges.

Such numbers include a familiar 3-digit area code (802, 855, 899, etc.).

29. Text Messaging/SMS

If your office phone system enables text messaging, then you can easily receive and send texts via any VoIP-enabled device. This ensures seamless business communication using a single internet-based platform.

This feature is highly beneficial when your team comprises remote workers. You can send them a message if there’s a weak cellular signal.

30. Unified Communications

A package for Unified Communications includes conference calls, voicemail, email, text messaging, fax, and video/audio calls. It is a full-service package that requires the usage of several VoIP-powered devices. 

As you’ll require more connections and hardware compared to the traditional phone system, it is better to check the charges beforehand.

Cloud Phone System Costs and Installation 

It’s difficult to predict the cost of a business phone system. However, the cost of a VoIP system for small businesses generally varies from $30 to $45 per user per month. The following factors determine the price:

  • Type of business
  • Number of phone lines you need
  • Business phone features you require from the list above
  • Quantity of incoming calls
  • Your business commitment to the business phone system

Traditional phone system requires a lot of hardware to set up and maintain. But VoIP calls are made through an internet connection and don’t require additional equipment. Therefore, VoIP calls are more affordable irrespective of the number of lines you have.

Need guidance on setting up your business phone system? Book a consultation with our team of experts to get the full walkthrough.

Read Further Here: 

Sales Training: A-Z Guide to Improve Your Sales ROI

Keep Your Business Afloat With Remote Customer Service

8 Customer Service Metrics & KPIs To Track Reps Performance

6 Proven Ways to Improve Sales Reps Productivity with Cloud Telephony

With a foundational role at Saas Labs, Anand has been a key player in establishing the Product Management function and spearheading the launch of our Conversation Intelligence solution. His expertise in AI innovation guides both the strategic direction of the products and a team committed to excellence.

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