Is It Time For A New Phone System?

Customers often ask the staff of LANstar if they should replace their business phone system. Typically we tell them that there are two reasons to replace your system... if it is unreliable or if it doesn't do what you want it to do.

It's important to remember that however much we like our PDA's and our text messaging, phone calls remain the most common form of customer contact. A downed phone system means lost business, it's as simple as that.

Business Phone SystemThe good news is that unlike computers, which have a functional life span of three to four years, phone systems will typically last about ten years. Most phone systems have few (if any) moving parts

and require little maintenance and not too much in the way of climate control. Now for the bad news. Since most phone systems will function properly for many years, by the time your system does break its parts may be

obsolete and finding a technician to provide the necessary services may be difficult. If your phone system is less than ten years old, replacing it with refurbished parts may be the most cost effective and viable solution.

While reliability may be the most obvious reason to upgrade, efficiency is often overlooked but is no less important. Most businesses think of their phone system as sufficient if it rings when customers call and has a dial tone

when they pick up the headset. However, in a world of increasing competition and constantly shrinking margins, the subtle details of the customer experience can be the difference between making a sale and losing a

customer. Take the case of an executive who is frequently out of the office yet gets constant calls on his/her office voicemail. While most of the calls may not be urgent, by failing to respond immediately those customers may

be lost forever. By replacing his phone system, the executive could take advantage of a newer feature which allows voicemail messages to be converted to .wav files and e-mailed to his Blackberry for immediate retrieval.

Instantly, without even calling his voicemail, he could listen to the message and decide whether urgent action was required. With hundreds of dollars at stake in each potential sale, the system will have a return on investment

within months. And with several other new, innovative ideas that can also help improve business efficiency in terms of working form home, consolidation of voicemail and e-mail, intelligent queuing of inbound calls and find

me/follow me call routing options, the sky is the limit.

If you are thinking about a new phone system, consider this. Your phone system should cost very little money to operate and maintain, but should be one of the most important tools in helping you generate revenue. If it isn't,

it may be time for a change.