Today’s business phone systems do more than answer calls from customers, partners and suppliers. Loaded with the right features, they’re strategic engines for improving customer experience and operational agility.
But which features deliver the highest value for business? Here are our top 10 picks to consider.
Today’s business phone systems do more than answer calls from customers, partners and suppliers. Loaded with the right features, they’re strategic engines for improving customer experience and operational agility.
But which features deliver the highest value for business? Here are our top 10 picks to consider.
- Interactive voice response
What it does: An auto attendant enables a faster response to inquiries by providing self-service options for call routing. A basic, single-tier IVR may be adequate for companies that tend to receive straightforward inquiries, but for most businesses the ability to provide drill-down options is critical. Beyond the number of drill downs, a thoughtfully designed IVR should include logical, user-friendly language that makes it easy for callers to navigate their options.
How it helps business: IVRs can increase customer satisfaction while potentially reducing employees’ workload. - AI-powered virtual agent
What it does: Similar to an IVR but so much smarter, an AI-powered virtual agent answers routine questions, summarizes and captures customers’ spoken responses and flags hot leads.
How it helps business: With an AI-powered virtual agent, your business can deliver 24/7 support while freeing up time for your team to focus on high-value conversations. - Voicemail-to-email transcription
What it does: Instant text versions of voice mail allow your team to triage messages at a glance, forward issues to the right person, and respond promptly to inquiries. Layering on AI adds extra intelligence to the triaging process.
How it helps business. Faster response and issue resolution translate into higher customer satisfaction and retention rates. - Real-time call analytics
What it does: Dashboards reveal data such as peak traffic, missed-call trends and agent talk times.
How it help business: This feature gives leaders the business intelligence they need to right-size staffing, measure campaigns and stop revenue leakage. - Built-in call recording
What it does: Built-in call recording typically kicks in as soon as a team member answers a call, capturing conversations and relevant data such as date and time of the call. However, it’s important to have the appropriate legal disclosures in place, including letting callers know all conversations are recorded.
How it helps business: Automatic, searchable recordings simplify compliance, slash dispute resolution time and provide gold-standard training material that can lift conversion rates. - App integrations
What it does: This useful feature gives businesses the ability to link their phone system to applications such as customer relationship management or inventory programs, enabling screen pop-ups that show information such as a customer’s history or how much of a requested product is in stock.
How it helps business: This allows companies to deliver hyper-personal service, generate faster upsells and capture data without duplicate data entry. - Business SMS and web chat
What it does: Enables text-based communications so customers and team members can connect immediately and create digital conversation threads.
How it helps business: Business SMS and web chat leads to faster resolution of issues and eases audits by providing a written trail. - Anywhere softphone.
What it does: Desktop and mobile apps turn any laptop or smartphone into a full office extension.
How it helps business: Anywhere softphones give hybrid teams seamless presence and reduce mobile phone reimbursements. - Mass notification broadcasting
What it does: One click reaches every employee, contractor or site with critical updates – from weather alerts and office closures to sales campaign kickoffs or new appointment announcements.
How it helps business. Net business benefits include improved communications and valuable time savings. - Intelligent call queuing and callbacks
What it does: Queue position announcements and automated callbacks give callers greater control of their time, lowering hang-ups and smoothing out demand spikes.
How it helps business: These related features ultimately lead to improved customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction, and greater efficiency with employee scheduling.
Ready to put these features to work for your business? Ask us how the Sunco team can design, deploy and support the perfect mix of phone system features for your company.
