The Benefits of Purchasing Small Business Phone Systems From a Local Provider
Learn how to choose the right provider for your business.
In years past, VoIP business phone systems were too expensive for many small businesses.
Most providers would charge a premium for equipment and service packages, and until recently, if your business had less than 50 employees, a sophisticated business phone system was probably outside of your budget. Those days are gone!
The great news is that cloud based, VoiP service phone systems are now affordable and accessible to any size business. Small to medium sized companies and their customers can now receive enterprise level solutions and reliability that was once only available to larger organizations.
The question is no longer “how can I afford a business phone system?”, but “what provider is best for my business?”
We know that there are a substantial number of options out there between the big name telecom giants and smaller, local companies like Face-2-Face Telecommunications.
If you’re considering a business phone system we know you’re looking at all of your options, trying to find the best pricing and calling features best for your business.
With that in mind, we’ve outlined some key factors to consider before choosing a phone system provider for your business, whether that be local or nationwide.
Price
Large providers tout cheap rates and affordability, and appear to have many flashy features on the surface. However, oftentimes there are hidden costs from the larger providers that you may not have considered.
Across providers, it is not uncommon for standard features to include things like: multi-device access (aka mobility or twinning), automatic call recording, voicemail to email transcription, conference calling, call screening, and a handful of other common items.
But more often than not, the comparisons end there. What is deemed “standard” is what that cheap monthly fee those other companies offer will get you; other features and services are often extra.
However, when choosing a local provider like Face-2-Face Telecommunications, you tend to get much more for the price you are paying. In addition to those standard features, our monthly service fee also provides you with the following benefits that the big competitors typically charge extra for, if they provide them at all:
- Complete managed services package – We know small businesses often have limited IT support. That’s why Face-2-Face Telecommunications takes away the technical headaches of installing, troubleshooting, and updating your phone system by providing you with our own IT managed services throughout the life of your plan.
- All hardware included – We don’t just provide you with quality, enterprise level desk phones, but we’ll also include the data switches, wireless access points (WAPs), and firewalls that keep your call data running smoothly and securely. One less separate expense for you to worry about, and you can use this hardware for your office computers as well.
- Hardware maintenance included – We rent our equipment to you as part of our monthly fee, which means it’s our responsibility to keep it maintained. If you have issues with your hardware, our support team will repair or replace your device quickly to keep your business moving.
- Free remote moves and changes – We provide free remote support through a phone call, email, or our online support portal (coming soon!). This means if you have a move, update, or change to your system that can be done solely in programming, we’ll help you out at no additional cost.
- Share your existing high-speed internet – We have a Bring Your Own Internet model, which means we’ll connect your office phone system into your existing Internet. We believe you should choose your own Internet provider where many large phone companies will force you to switch to their own internet services (or worse, pay for a dedicated circuit on top of existing internet) and pay extra.
- Support – Other local competitors’ support is not even based in the same country, whereas others are not even in the same state. Face-2-Face Telecommunications is local to you, and we care about your business.
Reliability & Connectivity
When someone is shopping for a new phone system for their business, they usually assume that the big companies are the only ones that can ensure the reliability of their service, or integrate their phone systems with other third-party platforms. On the one hand, it’s understandable to think this, since telecom giants and Silicon Valley-based startups are known for their technology.
However, the same advances in technology that make VoIP business phone systems more affordable for any business also means that you can achieve the same reliability and connectivity with a smaller, local provider.
At Face-2-Face Telecommunications, our virtual systems are constantly being enhanced by our manufacturer and allow for your phone system to be integrated seamlessly into a number of existing third-party CRMs and unified communications platforms. This means that you can keep your communications with your clients connected and accessible when you need it, from virtually anywhere and on virtually any device.
Just like the big names, our system is housed in geo-redundant data centers with top-tier providers. This means your communications data is not only regularly backed up and protected, but your phone service can continue even in the event of a major catastrophe. In this unlikely scenario, your call routing would continue to function, voicemail to email would still be sending notifications to your employees, mobility/twinning would continue to route calls to mobile phones, and we can even redirect your published number(s)to another physical location (or cell phone) if necessary.
While you may not need all of these features, we feel it’s important to have peace of mind knowing you can stay connected to your clients at all times. This is why they are included as part of our monthly fee.
Customer Service
Last, but certainly not least, when buying a business phone system for your company you’re not just purchasing devices, you’re looking for someone who will be there to support you when you need it most. As you evaluate your service provider options, be sure to ask if you will receive dedicated, local support and quality customer service.
We often hear about people being stuck on hold for hours, waiting for days for a response to a support ticket, or sitting around during a six hour window for a technician to show up on site when trying to get service from larger telecom companies. When you can reach an agent, customer service and support is often outsourced or based out of large call centers, which means the person you’re talking to probably doesn’t understand or consider the unique needs of your market or your business.
Here at Face-2-Face Telecommunications, our managed services, support, and customer service approach is unparalleled in the area. All of our support representatives and technicians are locally based out of Cincinnati, Ohio and have a deep understanding of our market and the needs of local area business owners. We aim to make it a standard to not only respond to, but resolve any issues you may have with your phones within one business day. Furthermore, if a technician is needed for any onsite updates or repairs, we’ll be there when we say we will, on-time, and not make you wait around all day.
We know that as a small business owner you have many things that keep you busy. Keeping your employees and your clients connected shouldn’t be one of them, so we strive to take on that burden for you with the best support and customer service in the area.
Choosing The Right Business Phone System Provider
For many decades business phone systems had been a unique product offered by national internet and phone companies. Their “monopoly” on business phone systems was largely because the technology was very expensive and only the largest providers could afford to offer competitive rates to business owners.
However, that is no longer the case and today local companies like Face-2-Face Telecommunications often offer better pricing and dedicated service that larger providers simply can’t compete with. We are a SMB ourselves and have been a close partner of businesses in the greater Ohio area since 2000, so we understand the unique needs and challenges of your business.
Call or contact us to learn more about our affordable business phone systems and how we can help you reduce costs and increase employee & customer satisfaction with a reliable, secure phone system.
