How many individuals will be assigned to help implement - then support - your service?.Can they provide the bandwidth you need now and can they continue to serve your needs as your company grows?.Do they provide the user features you have determined are needed for your operation?.Voice and data cabling linking remote sites.Do they offer the type of technology you need and is it compatible with your network?.Next, measure the quality of the vendor’s technology, the features and the support offered: What is your percentage of guaranteed uptime?.What other businesses like mine do you serve?.What do you provide that your competition does not?.How many certified trained employees work for your company?.Are you a licensed and authorized dealer for the technology you offer?.Measure the experience of each vendor you are considering by asking these questions:
Recommendations are probably your best option for choosing which vendors to evaluate. To avoid potential confusion and reduce the time you spend on this important evaluation, it is probably best to limit your evaluation to three vendors. Request recommendations from trusted colleagues. Determine the bandwidth and the features necessary to operate your business efficiently now, then project what you might need to accommodate more employees and more capabilities in the future.
Hold Music: Choose what your callers hear while on hold when calling your business.Do Not Disturb: Just as it states, this feature lets you stop incoming calls to your phone line during meetings and other times you do not want to be interrupted.Audio and Video Conferencing: Have the ability to put multiple people onto a call at the same time to better handle project planning and other business meetings with internal and external participants.Auto Attendant: This feature provides a programmable menu that lets you automatically direct callers to the proper extension and make your business appear more professional.Call Monitoring: Monitor how employees handle customer calls to make training more effective.Caller ID: Screening calls before they are answered is a capability that lets you better handle customers and clients and better manage calls from vendors and other business associates.Usage Reporting: View data usage over time to adjust services and manage costs more effectively.This feature is essential for maximizing sales in many types of businesses. Data Integration Linking: Many providers offer a feature that displays an inbound screen showing a customer’s complete relationship history when a call comes in from their number.Convert voicemail calls to texts or emails : This feature lets you and your employees receive transcriptions of voicemail messages to read at your leisure and keep a record of the content of important communications.Call Routing : Calls can be manually or automatically routed from office numbers to cell phones or home phones and other lines when employees are away from the business.This is important to know so your vendors can easily determine the compatibility of their system with your network.ĭetermine which phone features are necessary to run your business communications efficiently. This will help you determine bandwidth requirements and identify typical daily demands on voice vs. Make a map of usage patterns at your business. For example, do you typically send and receive large graphics files or simply text documents? Meet with your employees to discuss the various types of communications they need and usewhen communicating with customers, partners, and suppliers.Īnalyze your type of business and the type of data that needs to be exchanged electronically. You can use it to properly evaluate and compare prospective vendors and determine how well they are able to provide the specific voice and data capabilities your business needs: Step 1 - Analyze Your Needs There are countless companies supplying voice and data services today, so your decision requires planning and research to ensure that you find the provider that is best for your business.īelow is a process you can follow to help you choose your next telecom vendor.
This makes choosing the right voice and data vendor one of your most important business decisions. Regardless of your type of business, your ability to communicate with employees, customers, clients, vendors and others is critical to your success.
0 kommentar(er)
