How Old Is Your PBX Phone System?
For the most part, if you are still using a PBX phone system for your business, there’s a good chance it is time for an upgrade. On average, businesses are replacing their phone system every seven years. There are a number of reasons this happens at such a frequent interval, but, ultimately, it comes down to technology evolutions. If your competitors are using the latest and greatest technology - they can easily set up IVR that directs callers to where they need to be and can roll over calls to remote numbers to maintain brand standards even when employees are out of the office - you need to be doing so, too. The most advanced technology sets the stand for customer service and, chances are, your PBX phone system is no longer cutting it.
Has Your Provider Been Bought Out?
If you keep tabs on the telecommunications industry, you know that the number of unique providers out there is slowly shrinking. Over the last few decades, we’ve seen a few giants emerge, including Mitel and Cisco. The many companies who used to be major players like Nortel, AVST, and Shoretel are no longer. While some unified communications resellers, High Country included, can support your legacy PBX phone system, the best decision for your business moving forward may not include outdated systems from providers who are no longer in business.
Are Your Employees Happy?
If you’re not sure whether it’s time to upgrade your PBX phone system, you may consider asking the people who use your technology every day. Do your employees have the tools and infrastructure they need to do their jobs effectively? There are a wide variety of supplemental services and features that newer phones can offer your organization, including:
- Three-way and conference calling
- Automated attendants
- Roll-over to smartphones
- Web calls and messaging
- Video messaging
- Voicemail notifications to email or text
- CRM integrations
- Paging and intercom capabilities
- Real-time call reporting
- And more
We know the first instinct of any business owner looking at the breadth of features newer VoIP phone systems can offer is to panic about the price point. As we mentioned before, your business phone system is an investment in your company, not an expense. However, keeping that in mind, the newer technology available for business phones actually makes all of these features much more affordable than a PBX phone system in many cases. By upgrading, you can reduce your overhead costs while increasing the capabilities of your employees.
What Is The Customer Experience Like?
For those who might be really hesitant to take the next steps away from a PBX phone system, we implore you to test the experience as a customer. Call your own company to see what does and doesn’t work. If you’re not convinced, try calling a competitor, too. At the end of the day, everything we do as business owners is for the benefit of the customer. If you aren’t providing the same (or better) customer service as your competitors, you will lose customers time and time again. Your phone system is a key element in the customer relationship and should be treated as such.
Is It Time To Upgrade Your PBX Phone System?
Whether you’re working with a legacy system that you can no longer maintenance because the providers are out of business or you want to ensure your technology is supporting your bottom line, upgrading your PBX phone system is a good place to start. Contact our PBX and VoIP phone system experts at HCWT today to learn more about the business phone solutions available for businesses just like yours.
