To any new business struggling to build a profitable enterprise, being frugal and cutting costs is often a necessity. Entrepreneurship is not an easy road, even under the best of circumstances. In the early years, profit levels may fluctuate wildly, with positive cash flow one year and massive losses the next. Hiring employees, renting office space and purchasing equipment are all significant expenses that drain any cash reserves. Cutting costs as far as possible is the only way forward in dire circumstances. How to do this is the key question. Thanks to modern technology including the Internet, the answers to this question have multiplied.
Phone System Options
Maintaining access to current customers is critical in the early stages. Setting the stage for future business by giving would-be customers a method of contacting the business is also essential. A new enterprise does this by installing a phone system. Previously, the only option a business had involved setting up a wired hardware system. Wireless communications made this better by giving the business the ability to switch from wired phones to cell phones, but a wired system usually needed to be at least partially incorporated.
Emails sometimes simply do not make the cut in terms of human communication. Everyone reads an email in their own unique voice, which can result in drastic misinterpretations. When customers talk to the business owner by phone, human communication takes over. Voice inflections, nonverbal meanings and pure intuition provide far more data than an email message to the human mind. This means that phone systems will always have a place in a business communication setting, regardless of the technological advances. Where technology can help, however, is cutting costs for businesses seeking to implement a phone system.
Virtual Phone Systems
The Internet has facilitated multiple communications revolutions. One of the latest is virtual phone systems. Instead of a hardware-based system, customer calls are handled through the Internet. A technology known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allows phone calls to be digitized and sent through the Internet as data. All that is necessary is a high-speed Internet connection and a set of phones that are VoIP-enabled. The business is all set to take customer calls. No phone lines, no hardware and no traditional phones are even required. The basic model is fulfilled, although the business may still want to invest in cell phones and other wireless technology.
Advantages
A virtual phone system can do more than eliminate the expense of installing a traditional system. It may even mitigate the need for office space altogether. The owner can run his business remotely, and any employees he hires may be able to work from home. Telecommuting is the new method of working in the 21st century. The owner can save tremendous money on rent, security and maintenance costs for an office space.
A high-quality virtual phone system can offer other advantages to business owners. Virtual receptionists, artificially intelligent computer programs that mimic traditional human receptionists, can take and handle customer calls. All of the functions of a receptionist can be virtualized and performed by a computer program. A virtual phone system can redirect incoming calls to a mobile device. This eliminates playing phone tag; business owners and employees can take calls wherever they happen to be located.
Keeping track of conversations and voicemails is also made much easier. Logs of conversations can be stored in cyberspace and accessed via computer. It is even possible to create transcripts of phone conversations if needed. Virtual phone systems promise to revolutionize entrepreneurship by eliminating a lot of the start-up costs and enhancing customer communication.
Author Resource:
The author is a creator and researcher of small business resources and products on subjects such as virtual phone systems and virtual phone system providers. Please visit http://www.pbxcompare.com/virtual-phone-systems for more info on virtual phone systems.
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