Businesses have always been good at putting the tools at hand to good use. The more creatively you can think of your tool kit, the more you can accomplish. With the introduction of VOIP business plans and cloud communication platforms, that tool kit just got a lot more diverse.
No doubt, it’s time to start brainstorming not just how we can replace TelCo phone systems with the new software-stackable solution, but also creative ways to put VOIP’s capabilities to even greater use.
Today, we’re highlighting five different creative ways to get even more functionality from the VOIP system your company is already using, or will be using soon.
1) Have a Permanently Unavailable Voicemail-to-Email Number for Promo Calls
In today’s B2B environment, it takes a lot of research to find the best services and cloud solutions for your company, which can mean signing up for a lot of demos and gated content. When those sign-ups demand a number, the last thing you want is for the number to be constantly ringing a real employee’s phone with promo offers, or risk that happening.
But you also don’t want to miss important calls and promotional offers that are good for the company. It would be better if these promos were sent via checkable email, and now they can be.
Set up a permanently unavailable VOIP phone number just to give when investigating potential products and services. When it rings to voicemail (probably with a recorded message) that message will automatically be transcribed to email using the Voicemail-to-Email feature, making these promos much easier to handle in a timely fashion without interrupting any employee’s workflow.
2) Direct Customer Service Calls to the Same Agent Every Time
Modern customer service is moving toward personalization through automation in a way never before thought possible. AIs are guessing customer’s favorite colors, buying trends, and what they want for their birthday deals.
VOIP can be used with that same customer relationship-building philosophy by connecting customers who call your service lines to the same agent every time. Imagine the relief of customers, frazzled from a technical issue, to hear a familiar voice who remembers their name and previous problems immediately.
This can easily be done with VOIP because it is a software solution and, therefore, programmable in many different ways. Simply forward specific customer calls to specific employee lines whenever possible.
3) Manage Access to Execs with VOIP Availability
Phone access to executives is something that companies have needed to protect for the many decades that execs have had phones to answer. This gate-keeper management has usually been put in the hands of personal assistants, and with VOIP gate-keeping to execs is easier than ever.
Availability management is something that VOIP platforms specialize in, as is call forwarding. Complex call forwarding Though detailed company controls, it can be possible to only allow specific numbers to ring directly through to each exec, while all other calls are directed to an assistant.
Your executives who require gated access can manage their own availability to only forward the calls that are on an approved list or are appropriate for them to answer while the company and their assistant have a convenient platform to blacklist known solicitors and screen all other calls on a caller-by-caller basis.
4) Create Internal-Only Lines that Only Answer Company VOIP Numbers
There are also lines that no one outside the company needs to be able to call. Your internal HR numbers, for example, your custodial closet, or your on-staff internal support offices don’t need outside lines and might even benefit from separate “employee numbers” versus “internal office numbers”
For these special internal lines, you can set up the VOIP system so that only other numbers on the company’s VOIP network can ring in. In fact, you can even limit access when appropriate so only specific other numbers or specific devices can contact these internal lines.
Internal lines are useful for all sorts of specific business purposes, including calling your own machinery. With VOIP, you have your hands on the controls for call forwarding and filtering because it is handled by software and not through a manual PBX or a system managed solely by the phone company.
5) Augment Company Childcare Policies with Protected Lines for Employee Teens
Lastly, we take a spin on employment perks. VOIP is a cool enough perk for many employees, but what about winning the war for talent by providing your team with courteous family and lifestyle services?
Many businesses, for example, offer childcare reimbursement or even an in-office daycare for very small children. With a VOIP system, you also have the freedom to break off a few numbers for parents who are worried about their middle-school and teenaged children who may be walking home alone, riding around with friends, or attending extracurriculars while their parents are at work.
Give your employees the gift of manageable phone numbers by supplying them with especially gated and controlled access for children. Because you can manage access number-by-number, it should be easy to set up parental controls and specially limited numbers so that teens, like their parents, can make emergency calls from anywhere on any device.
6) Give Company Vehicles a VOIP Numbers or Forwarded Hands-Free Driver Numbers
Companies with a vehicle fleet have a whole additional set of responsibilities and capabilities. Traditionally, communication has been limited to CB radios and employee cellphones. However, VOIP flexibility frees you those traditional bounds.
There are actually two different ways you can choose to hook your fleet vehicles into the VOIP system, based on whether you want to communicate per-vehicle or per-driver.
On one hand, you can assign each fleet vehicle with its own VOIP number that will connect with whatever team is actively driving or riding in that vehicle at the time. If you manage your vehicles by team with a rotation of drivers and need to organize communications in this way, a per-vehicle VOIP number is an ideal way to loop in the fleet.
However, if your drivers are the primary way you manage the fleet and they may change vehicles regularly, VOIP is great for that as well. Instead, you can forward calls to specific drivers through the hands-free communication devices mounted inside each of your fleet vehicles. This is a far safer solution than using driver cellphones, even with a dash mount, because drivers will never be tempted to automatically reach for the emplaced vehicle device when it rings.
7) Provide Phone Tree Redirect Instead of Voicemail
Another interesting way you can use VOIP call forwarding, redirecting, and advanced phone tree management is to make sure clients are never left leaving a voicemail. Normally, employees mark the hours they are not available to take calls and VOIP rings straight to their voicemail. However, for sales agents, key accounts managers, and other important client contacts, you may want to give calling clients options other than just leaving a voicemail.
With VOIP customization, you may be able to redirect calls to off-schedule employee numbers to an automated phone tree instead or directly to an available agent. The phone tree gives clients hoping to talk to someone specific the option to direct to an available agent, leave a message, or navigate their own way through your automated service options.
You can also direct calls to off-schedule numbers to another agent immediately, ensure that customers are never left high and dry when they want a representative to talk to.
8) Ask Your Employees and Managers for VOIP Usage Ideas
Finally, always assume that your team has insights that you and even we, the VOIP experts, haven’t thought of yet. No one knows their workflow and pain points better than the employees and managers themselves. So be sure to ask.
When looking for new and creative ways to make the most of the tools available, be sure to check with your team to find out how they think you can apply the new technology to the betterment of their workflow, their team, and the company as a whole.
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For more awesome insights into VOIP implementation and use, or to find the best possible VOIP plan for your business, contact us today!
