VoIP Phone Service-what the heck is it?

Quite simply, VoIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol, or Internet-based phone.

Years ago, VoIP had a reputation for being unreliable, but that is no longer the case due to the wide availability of high-speed internet. Most businesses successfully utilize VoIP as their business phone service– and love it!

Here are 7 things you can do with VoIP:

1. Stop missing calls during power or phone line outages.

Though losing power or internet service will temporarily disable your access to dial tone, Action DataTel’s specific VoIP service provides something we call Fail Over Service. This means that we program your VoIP phone system to forward any incoming calls to a designated cell phone (usually the Office manager or Owner) if service is interrupted. When power and internet are restored, the phone system rings your desk phones once again.

2. Keep your number when you switch to VoIP.

Yep! You read that right- you can keep your existing business phone number and move it to your new VoIP phone system. We can typically port your number from your existing telephone service provider.  You’ll be up and running within a short time frame.

3. Receive more calls with VoIP phone service at once.

Despite the incredible progress with technology, using standard/traditional business phone lines limits the number of simultaneous calls you can receive. If you have two phone lines, you are restricted to two simultaneous calls. With VoIP, that number is significantly multiplied. A third call no longer goes to voicemail unless it’s after hours.  You are now limited only by the number of desk phones in your office and the capacity of your internet connection.

4. Miss fewer calls.

With the ability to receive a much larger volume of calls, switching to VoIP means FEWER missed calls. Rarely will you have calls unable to get through due to busy telephone lines, nor will you have them going straight to voicemail! Plus, in the rare event of a power failure, our Fail Over Service forwards incoming calls to a designated cell phone.  Shazam!

5. Increase your revenue.

Studies have shown that dental, medical and business offices can miss up to 20% of New Patient/Client calls. If those calls are not returned immediately, go to voicemail, or just can’t get through to your office, you’ve lost (with almost 100% certainty) a new patient or client. To make matters worse, that means also losing the lifetime revenue of a patient or client (somewhere north of $4,500 PER PATIENT in a dental office). How many new patient or client calls do you get per day? Per month? How many can you afford to lose?  Switching to VoIP can help you catch more calls and land more New Patients or clients. Of course, it’s up to you to get these people in the office, but we can help you receive the call to do so.

6. Answer business phone calls anywhere.

Besides a VoIP business phone system’s ability to ring multiple extensions at once, it can also “find-me-follow-me”.  If there’s no answer at your desk, it rings your cell, then rings your operator or forwards to voicemail.  In addition, you can easily transition your VoIP phone from in-office to work-from-home. You don’t need to do any fancy programming, just unplug your phone from the internet, take it home, and plug it back in to a high-speed internet connection. TA-DA! Super easy, and now you’re receiving calls in your PJ’s.

7. Save on your monthly business phone bill.

Many people aren’t aware of this, but switching to VoIP can save you up to 30% on your bill.  Who doesn’t like that!?

VoIP brings many customizable and programmable features.  If you select the right provider, many of these features will be included in the cost of your service. As an IT Provider, we can bundle your VoIP service with the services you’re already paying for.

VoIP providers charge for services differently. Some charge a base fee, with certain features each listed as a billable add-on. They may charge for additional support. Or, like us, they could offer metered services based on your usage.  With Action DataTel you only pay for the minutes you use, and we provide the bells and whistles at no additional cost.  As a bonus, we offer trouble shooting, programming and support to go along with our services!

---

---