Startup Branding: E-mail, check! Website, check! …Phone number?
Often startups can struggle to get customers because:
1) They’re not well known. If your customer hasn’t heard of you, it’s a given you’re going to have a tiny bit of trouble selling to them.
2) Customers want to know their service isn’t going to disappear suddenly. Established companies give customers the feeling that since they’ve been around for such a long time, they’ll continue doing just that. Meanwhile, 3 out of 4 startups fail.
The likelihood of failure doesn’t mean that a startup has to present itself this way. Giving your customer the appearance of a professional business (that’s going to be around more than a few weeks from now!) is very important. With that in mind, a single phone number for your business goes a long way, especially when the only thing your customer has seen of you so far is your website. After all, would a customer rather hear “let me give you Bethany in sales’ phone number” or “let me transfer you to Bethany in sales”?
And of course (speaking of sales!), if your startup is at the stage when sales are growing and you’re in need of a sales or customer service team, cell phones fall off the list of viable options.
This is when a hosted VoIP phone system becomes the most attractive option. Hosted VoIP systems are far cheaper than other options; in fact, our customers save an average of 30% when they switch from analog systems to us. In addition, VoIP systems are far simpler. All you have to do is use your existing internet connection to plug in your IP phone; no need for the extra network and no need for an IT guy whose only job is taking care of your phone system.
VoIP also offers a number of features that are extremely useful for startups; for example, it offers unprecedented scalability. As the number of employees you have grows or shrinks, the number of extensions you have with a VoIP system can be changed immediately. And if your business involves telecommuting or you have to change its location, you can do so while retaining a single phone number for your business.
So if you’re a young business and want to better your business perception as well as associate your company with a single number, VoIP is the solution for you.
