It has been a turbulent year for small businesses – The office of National Statistics found in their recent data that 79% of businesses are looking ahead with concern for August which is an increase of 3% compared to July 2022. This figure will likely not surprise most UK business owners, who have been dealing with inflation, stock and staff shortages for over 2 years now. Your business has had to adapt to social and economic changes rapidly, and with decreased profits being experienced you may be looking for a better, more cost-effective way to handle your calls and improve customer service. Here at Need More Time, we’re sharing the benefits of our Cloud Telephony Solutions, combined with our Virtual PA and Telephone Answering Services, as a new option for handling your calls.
Boosting your business often follows a simple formula (in theory) – you need to increase efficiency and reduce overheads while still providing a good level of service. In practice, many businesses’ take an “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” approach to their longstanding communication methods and infrastructure for calls, but this will likely be doing your business and customers a disservice. Cloud Telephony is an obvious choice when compared with many traditional telephone systems that limit your options due to a short fall in features and flexibility.
The new wave of Cloud Telephony Solutions offers far greater suitability for modern businesses especially with new hybrid working patterns. This is even more relevant for smaller businesses that have working models which tend to be more transient. Older analogue lines are also scheduled to cease in 2025 making your consideration an opportunity to get ahead of the pack. The Cloud Telephony Solution removes many of the maintenance costs of traditional phone systems used by many businesses.
In June 2022, 56% of UK businesses reported an increase in the prices of goods or services bought. For smaller businesses, this could create a dangerous spiral where higher outgoings mean a lack of investment, leading to reduced business capacity; or having to pass the cost increases on to the customer, potentially driving away new and longstanding clients. Cloud Telephony can help reduce costs by letting you place calls directly from any computer or mobile device with an internet connection, meaning you won’t need to buy and store stand-alone hardware, like PBX boxes and handsets. By offloading hosting and management responsibilities to a cloud communications provider like Need More Time you can reduce overhead costs and not have to worry about things like backup connections for calls or protecting your lines against emergencies or natural disasters. The cloud-based nature of the service also means you won’t have to deal with rerouting or updating traditional phone lines and interrupting your staff at work.
In practical terms, the freedom of our Cloud Telephony Solutions allows your employees to make and receive calls anywhere with an internet connection on any connected device, whether they are in the office on their computer, on site with clients via phone or on the move working on a tablet. This creates a seamless flow of work for your company, increasing efficiency and improving customer service as responses happen faster. While aiding you in the day-to-day, cloud telephones are also better equipped for the future, allowing you to add, change and remove colleague phone numbers easily. As a client of Need More Time, you will benefit from over 20 years of our experience in Telephone Answering and Business Assistant services. This combines Cloud Telephony with traditional human contact should your in-house teams be unable to answer your calls, handle orders over the phone or manage general customer services enquiries. It is a truly seamless solution that will take the worry out of sickness, holidays or peak demands that may have already troubled your business model.
With 1 in 3 businesses now operating on a remote or hybrid work structure, businesses need to make sure their calls are still being answered . Our in-house teams of PA's are on hand to answer calls that would otherwise be missed. Due to the bespoke nature of our service they can seamlessly integrate with your in-house staff. Unlike traditional lines, cloud telephones can take any number of incoming calls and have them ring to multiple phones, with advanced call centre routing available to ensure callers are directed to the right people. Using flexible numbers, your employees can call customers from their devices with a number that appears to be from a specific department or main business line. This gives customers a relevant contact to call back on, and provides security to your employees by not using their personal numbers. This is especially important in legal and healthcare settings for confidentiality, and where secure communications traditionally come at a high cost which you can now avoid.
Making the switch from traditional to cloud lines also provides you with more data from callers, which you can use to learn customer habits, as well as user behaviour and insight into optimising employee efficiency – in fact 75% of cloud telephone users experienced improved productivity levels. To keep track of employees no matter the location, your company can take advantage of Call Reporting and productivity tools, Call Recording, multiple Voicemail inboxes and the ability to use services remotely on a mobile, alongside many other advanced features. You’ll also have a range of call management tools at your disposal, helping you review your relationship with clients.
Overall, our Cloud Telephony Solutions provide businesses with a resilient and smart service, with many functions to tailor to your individual needs, all while saving you time and money. That is our main mission at Need More Time, and with over 20 years’ experience, we’re confident we’ve got the best solutions for you. For more information, contact us on 020 3303 3303 or email us.
Sources: Office for National Statistics (July 2022)