Phone Systems & Technology for Small Business

 There are two main ways, utilizing technology, that a small business can project a big-business image. A dynamic and professional website, and a dynamic cutting-edge phone system. These two can compliment each other and are often used in conjunction as marketing, customer service and revenue generation tools.

As a marketing tool it's obvious what a website can accomplish. It states for all to see what the business does and other promotional items. A phone system can be the second part of that marketing campaign. A customer who calls the business, as a follow up from the website, is already under a good impression. This positive feeling can be built upon with an advanced PBX (phone system). A multi-level menu system, with a professional-sounding voice, can greet the potential customer. The menu can be divided by departments. For a small business this can be valuable by giving the impression that there really are departments! The Sales, Technical Support and Customer Service departments can all be going to the same person. When a person is waiting on hold, or is being routed through the system, they can hear music or a recording about the business and what they do.

As a customer service tool a website can inform a customer on the different policies of the company. It can have technical support questions and answers. Contact can be initiated through the website via email, contact forms, instant messaging or web-VoIP (Voice over IP) calling. An advanced phone system can be setup to route calls based on priority or caller-id to the appropriate individuals. For example, if a small company of eight people lands a large account they will try extra hard to please this client. The phone system can be setup so that when the large client's caller-id, or a group of caller-ids if the company has multiple numbers, comes up it will be routed to the owner/manager. After business hours it can be routed to a special number. Losing a client has never been harder.

As a revenue generation tool a website can have a store. It can do lead generation by offering information or demos of your product which would require the customer to fill out a form. A sales associate would be able to follow up on these leads to convert them to sales. A phone system can be setup to make appointments for a service business. It can also be used to call past customers as a reminder for further service. The system can route calls to a salesman on the road to close a sale. No one even needs to be in the office, as the system will route the calls appropriately.

This is a small sample of how a website and an advanced phone system can make Sam's Discount Drug Store look like Walgreens.

Cy Yablonsky is a realtor associate at Othello Realty, www.OthelloRealty.com. Cy has an extensive background in technology and communications and applies that to the real estate market. Feel free to reprint this article as long as all links stay live and no changes are made.

About the author:

Cy Yablonsky is a realtor associate at Othello Realty, www.OthelloRealty.com. Cy has an extensive background in technology and communications and applies that to the real estate market. Feel free to reprint this article as long as all links stay live and no changes are made.

 Cy Yablonsky

More Articles 

Importance Of Technology In The Classroom - Debbie Cluff
Isn't it strange how education and technology are seen as the future for our children, but they are seldom linked in the classroom. Technology needs to be optimized in the classroom. Sometimes when I am teaching the 1st grade one of the older...

Baby Monitor Technology and Buyers Guide - Sarah Cooke
Baby monitors are a relatively new invention yet they have quickly become an essential part of any parent’s baby equipment. There are now many types available and this article summarizes the technology available and what a buyer should look for. ...

What Is The Best Technology To Stop Spam - Dzmitry Vladyka
Legislative measures failed stop Spam up till now. Since Spam is basically a human problem you can do something about it using anti-spam technology. Anti-spam software is the only thing we have now to block undesired messages. It’s not a foolproof...

Bring Your Business Telecom Technology Up To Date - Barbara Clements
Orlando, Florida – If you think you are overwhelmed by telephone bills and contracts as a consumer, how do you think Corporations keep track of their phone bills? If you can’t be certain all your telephone calls on your bills are correct, just...

Ways to Use VoIP Technology - Mike Bell
Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, uses your broadband internet connection to place phone calls. By converting your voice (or analog) signal into a digital signal, this makes for a more efficient way to talk on the phone and can save you...

Hearing Aid Technology Improves Quality of Life for the Hearing Impaired - Max Stein
Hearing is one of those things we tend to take for granted. Unless we lose our hearing, it’s not something we think about the mechanics of very often. We put more thought into the arrangement of our surround sound speakers than our hearing. As a...

Vodafone Considers A Major Technology-Outsourcing Deal - Manjotkamal Manu
Vodafone is considering outsourcing part of its IT operations in an effort to trim costs and calm shareholders. A massive deal could already be on the table and is slated to cut costs by £300m with IBM in the frame as Vodafone's outsourcer of...

Balancing Technology, Management, and Leadership - Jim Clemmer
"The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order." -- Alfred North Whitehead, 19th century British mathematician and philosopher As Achieve (my first consulting company) was working with our Clients to...

Video Surveillance Technology – A Primer - Bill Wallmuller
Video surveillance equipment technology is used in many ways for the benefit of society as a whole. The technology is used to study, among other things, the workload among pilots and air-traffic controllers, evaluation of driver reactions to...

Using Technology to Keep Families Connected - ARA
(ARA) – When time, geography or financial constraints keep you from being with family, a little old-fashioned imagination combined with some of today’s technological conveniences can keep you connected and make you feel . . . almost as if you’re...

DialResults Lowers Costs on Multi Site Call Centers through use of IP Technology - Richard Logan
DialResults Lowers Costs on Multi Site Call Centers through use of IP Technology By Richard Logan DialResults’ new Internet Protocol (IP) predictive dialer technology allows contact centers to implement multi-site contact center environments very...

Technology Advancement Changes Time Management Schemes - Tony Robinson
Where has the time gone? In today's world, the time is moving fast, making it more important for anyone to manage his or her time wisely. The world focuses more on money than time when they are laying out a plan to manage their time. This is the...