The cost of communication seems to be steadily rising – and small business owners are caught in a trap.  They can’t cut your communication down, it’s how the business stays in contact with clients, but the increasing costs are paring the profits down bit by bit.

Then there’s the service issue – so many people complain about the poor service they receive when things don’t work as they should.  Even something that should be straightforward, such as taking your business telephone number to a new location, seems impossible for many telephone service providers.  That means new business cards, new stationery, changing the website, all your social media profiles and anything else with your phone number listed.

All this is the ‘old way’ – in today’s technologically advanced world, businesses can have a much more sophisticated telecommunications system.  Using the internet to carry the calls, but with a much more advanced range of options.

• First let me blow one myth away – an internet telephone system doesn’t mean you plug a headset into your computer – you get a real telephone to use!

• The phone system can be set up so that incoming calls are ‘recognised’ by the computer and the customer details are immediately presented on screen, allowing prompt and accurate responses to customers.

• Several locations can have a single number – and, if the business moves, the number can move too (without expensive forwarding charges).

• Business can choose a non-geographical number so companies don’t rule them out as an option because ‘they’re too far away’.

• The package automatically includes calls to all 01, 02 and 03 telephone numbers.

• There’s an answering machine built in and it will email messages to any email address specified.

And, best of all, the prices come down!  Call charges for internet phones are generally much lower than traditional telephone systems.  There is an up front charge for the handsets as they need to be able to work with an internet phone system, but the cost of these is quickly covered by the lower monthly bills for call charges.

Business doesn’t need to put up with an old-fashioned approach to telecommunication or a lack of service any longer.  In fact, business owners don’t even need to understand the wide range of packages any more.  With an internet phone system it’s not a case of finding a package that suits the user; the user gets the package that fulfils their needs.