The fax didn’t arrive? I need to send it again? Ok, wait five minutes.
Most fax users have heard this or said it before themselves. The fax has served business faithfully for decades, but fax hasn’t always been a perfect technology. One issue is lost faxes.
Unlike e-mail, faxes can easily get lost when they arrive at an office fax machine. It is no fault of the sender, but the sender might need to resend a fax because something happened after the document was spit out of the fax machine.
While resending documents is not usually the end of the world, it is a hassle. And according to a recent study by research firm CEB, simple things like not having to go back to a customer and ask for a fax resend can make a huge difference.
According to CEB research, wowing customers with exceptional customer service doesn’t do much for the customer. But what matters a lot is meeting basic expectations.
Basically: Failing matters a lot more than succeeding.
There is no more basic an expectation than that of having one’s communication reach its destination. Yes, faxes can get lost. But really, doesn’t the business have its act together enough that it doesn’t misplace a fax?
That’s why it is important that businesses make sure they have their business communication running well. One way to make sure it runs well is by having modern fax technology that ensures incoming faxes don’t get lost. Ever.
This can be achieved with a fax-over-IP solution. FoIP, as it is commonly called, is fax taken over an IP infrastructure. Basically, it is fax gone digital the way that voice has gone digital with the likes of Vonage (News - Alert) and Skype.
With FoIP, businesses can have incoming faxes automatically route to the right employee and come in by e-mail. This means no lost faxes, and no lost faxes means meeting basic customer expectations.
FoIP need not be costly or complex, either. Companies such as AudioCodes (News - Alert) and its FaxBack MediaPack MP-202B HTTPS Enabled Fax ATA solution let businesses use existing fax machines over FoIP infrastructure.
FaxBack's fax machine solutions enable companies to connect fax machines to a premise-based fax server or to a VoIP provider. FaxBack (News - Alert) Fax Machine Solutions add features to the fax machine similar to how VoIP has added features to a phone, too, according to the company. These can include not only receiving fax notification via e-mail, but also the ability to track, archive and manage faxes through the fax server or service provider control panel.
While delighting customers is nice but not necessary, meeting basic expectations is important. One way to help meet those expectations is by upgrading to FoIP so incoming faxes never again go missing.