Business VoIP Featured Article

5 VoIP Features That Have Changes How Small Businesses Communicate

December 10, 2015

By Special Guest
Jacqueline Thomas, FitSmallBusiness,

First, there was the telegraph, then there was the telephone, and now there is VoIP-- the technology that has revolutionized the way small businesses communicate with their customers.

Thanks to technology, features that were once reserved for big business, such as automatic directories and call groups, are now accessible to small and growing businesses. Modern small businesses don’t need to spend millions to be competitive or accessible around the clock. And more importantly, these VoIP features help small businesses connect with customers, answer their questions, and address their concerns in a timely manner.


Find Me / Follow Me

These two technologies give small businesses a new level of flexibility. With the ability to answer business calls around the clock and from any location (including home), small businesses can compete with bigger brands without the need for a 24-hour service department.


In a nutshell, Find Me / Follow Me lets you forward calls to a list of phone numbers or extensions. You can forward them in a particular order or all at once. Alternatively, you can have calls forwarded based on a time schedule. So you can forward all calls to your cell phone after hours, or whoever is on call that evening.

Call forwarding has long existed for landline phones, though with limited functionality and often at a high cost. With VoIP systems, on the other hand, you can set up complex call schedules that fit the needs of your business: For example, automatically forward billing-related calls to your accountant, even if they work from home on Fridays. Or, forward all emergency-service calls to your weekend technician, then automatically revert back to your regular schedule on Monday.

On & Off

Find me / Follow me makes it easy for small businesses to let calls follow them home from work. There’s an obvious downside to that, however: no one wants to be on call 24/7, especially when that means constant interruptions late at the night, or during quality time with your family.

The good news is that modern VoIP technology also makes it easy to turn on and off its potentially intrusive features. What’s especially handy is how this can be controlled from a web browser or mobile app. There’s no need to dive into hardware or memorize a special code.

Turning certain features off doesn’t mean you’re completely unavailable. You can always route calls to your voicemail or to an outside answering service. It’s all about control: small businesses can cover more hours with a small team while still carving out their personal space.

Auto Attendant

There’s nothing that says “big business” quite like an auto attendant. An auto attendant is the pre-recorded greeting you hear on the phone that directs you to different departments “press 1 for customers service, press 2 for sales,” etc. Although this feature has long been available to larger businesses who can afford PBX hardware, it now comes standard with many small business VoIP services.

With an auto attendant, a small business can present a “big time” image without the cost of hiring a full-time receptionist or operator. Callers can press a button to route themselves to the right department or extension. A dial-by-name directory enables them to find an employee’s extension by typing their name. Additionally, you can have callers press a button to hear FAQs like store hours or directions, or leave a voicemail.

You still want to make it easy to speak with a real person. The downside of auto attendants it that they can seem impersonal, and one of the chief advantages small businesses have over bigger companies is that personal touch. Auto attendants can help SMBs direct calls and give an impression of a larger company, but SMB owners should strive to ensure customers can easily connect with a real person.

Call Groups on Multiple Phones

Similar to Find Me / Follow Me, small businesses can set up their VoIP system to call multiple numbers, or groups, at one time. You can ring employees in a particular order (first ring Employee A, then Employee B, then Employee C), ring all phones at once, ring in a random order, or ring so that calls are divided evenly throughout the day. The last option is especially helpful for sales teams who rely on a fair distribution of leads.

Call groups have long been available to big businesses who could afford it. VoIP not only makes this feature accessible to small businesses, but it also gives you extra flexibility. By linking cell phones and virtual extensions, remote workers can be connected to the same call group as employees in your office. This makes it a great option for virtual teams, or businesses that rely on hiring remote workers.

This also helps sales and customer service teams that want to extend their hours without intruding on employees’ personal lives. With a team of five people, for instance, you can extend your calling hours into the evenings just by having one team member ‘on call’ for a couple extra hours each night of the week.

Vanity Numbers

Vanity numbers like 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-888-HURT-NOW are easy to remember and provide an often-overlooked opportunity for branding. For businesses who plan of advertising on local radio, via flyers, or even on billboards, vanity numbers are an essential way to stand out and attract callers. With modern VoIP systems, it’s easy for small businesses to add a toll-free number to their existing system.

On the other end from the 1-800 spectrum, small businesses can also easily book multiple local numbers. If your existing cell phone is in another area code, or if you do business in multiple areas, the right area code can sometimes be the perfect local touch.

Final Thoughts

VoIP helps small businesses compete with the big brands by giving them equal footing. Even for tiny mom and pop shops, a VoIP system can create an elevated and professional first impression for current customers and potential leads. And for SMBs that rely on phone sales or customer service, these features can be an invaluable means to extend your ability to answer calls without stressing your sales team.

Jacqueline Thomas writes about small business development, business technology, and real estate for Fit Small Business. She can be reached on Twitter @kyothomas, or on her personal website, ThePearlofAfrika.com.




Edited by Maurice Nagle

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