VoIP is well-known as a way to save calling costs and provide geographic flexibility for enterprise and SMB office environments. But it can also be used as a business productivity tool — and a first step toward a full investment in unified communications.

In a recent story, Marlin Financing pointed out that VoIP’s ability to meld with other communications platforms around the office can boost productivity and improve customer and partner satisfaction — a message that carries considerable weight. Consider the office voicemail that goes without being listened to for hours, because no one is in the room to see the blinking red light on the desk phone.

“Maybe the caller reached out after business hours. Maybe the call came in while you were in a meeting,” Marlin said in a blog. “Doesn't matter. Whatever opportunity might have come from that phone call might be irretrievable, all because a busy schedule crowded your view of your answering machine.”

VoIP on the other hand can offer a find-me, follow-me function, or alerts on one’s smartphone or tablet when a message comes in.

According to an annual trends report from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer, people check their smartphones around 150 times every single day. “Therefore, voicemail messages uploaded to an office email account synced to a smartphone have a greater chance of getting noticed,” Marlin said.

From that simple example, VoIP and its benefits can act as an entree into an investment in unified communications, which, of course, boosts productivity even further. Web conferencing, messaging, telephony and other communications working together to optimize operations is a message that makes sense to those interested in productivity, but many companies are holding off on pulling the trigger on investment.

Marlin said that using VoIP to lead the purchasing conversation is thus a path that works. “As such, telecommunications equipment financing has never been easier,” the piece noted. “Increased consolidation among communication media places all monthly expenses under one roof through a single provider, which means no redundancy and only paying for what matters most to you and your bottom line.”