Managing a startup is immensely exciting – and very tricky. As your business grows, its needs will constantly shift, and you’ll have to be on top of the changes to ensure you stay on the road to success.
In this busy environment, any technology that can take weight off your shoulders is a huge asset. While some business owners look to advanced technologies like AI to help them out, it’s important not to neglect a foundational technology that’s an important pillar of any business – its telecommunications.
A cutting-edge startup doesn’t need a traditional telecoms system like a PBX, complete with large physical phones with buttons for transferring calls and placing callers on hold. It needs a modern communications solution like VoIP.
What is VoIP, and why is it such a powerful tool to help startups succeed? Read on to discover four benefits of VoIP for startups.
What is VoIP?
VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. As its name suggests, it allows you to make phone calls using an internet connection rather than a phone landline. Just as other data is sent over the internet, VoIP transmits the audio data of a phone call over a broadband connection.
VoIP has been growing in popularity over recent years. However, it’s becoming ever more important as the UK’s copper landline system is ageing and being switched off. By 2027, landline phones and the traditional PBX systems that use them will no longer be an option, making VoIP essential.
In short, VoIP is becoming more important for all consumers. But it does have specific benefits that make VoIP for startups particularly advantageous.
1. Cost
One of the major challenges any startup faces is finance. A business needs investment to get going – but funds will be limited until you can start bringing in profit, which can take some time. Startup owners and entrepreneurs have to walk a fine line between spending money on crucial necessities and reaching the end of their funding too soon.
An externally managed VoIP system saves money significantly on several types of costs while also delivering all the telecoms support a startup needs.
Firstly, a VoIP system doesn’t require hardware or equipment like landlines or specific phone handsets. That’s a huge saving right off the bat.
Then, you get the benefit of not having to hire and train specialised IT staff to set up and manage your telecommunications. An externally managed VoIP system is just that – its tech aspects are taken care of by the VoIP provider. All you need to do is log in and go.
2. Administrative staff
When you think of necessities for a startup, admin staff might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But business owners know that good admin support can be absolutely crucial. Administrators keep the business running on a day-to-day basis and ensure that small details don’t slip through the cracks.
Yet admin colleagues are also a significant expense, especially for a new startup that’s just getting off the ground. How can you lighten the administrative burden on your company’s workers and budget?
Get a telecoms system that can do some of the admin work for you.
Answering phones can take up a lot of time. Yet having a phone and a professional person answering it can be an important indicator to your customers or clients that you are a real, legitimate business. How do you ensure your business phone number is answered smoothly without hiring someone who has to be present 9-to-5 to answer it?
VoIP for startups can do this for you with a virtual receptionist. It routes your incoming calls using a receptionist that’s always available and never away from their desk – and costs nothing extra.
Moreover, VoIP can also transcribe voice messages and email them to a relevant inbox. That not only saves administrative time, but also helps avoid situations where someone forgets to pass on a message.
3. Flexibility
Another well-known issue that arises for startups is the problem of scaling.
You may start small and find that your business rapidly booms in success. Demand rises for your products or services – and if you can’t adapt and scale fast, your business could falter as it fails to keep up with demand.
Yet owning a business often involves buying and renting assets that can’t easily be discarded when you scale up and down. For example, you can get tied down into year-long tech contracts that lock you into a service that no longer suits your needs. Similarly, if you rent office space, you might find it simply doesn’t fit the number of workers you now need.
VoIP for startups helps you avoid these roadblocks, keeping you flexible, whether you need to scale up or down.
Working from home is an increasingly popular approach that frees you from the rigidity of renting an office. If you add employees, there’s no issue at all, and you’re not stuck paying high rent for a large office if you need to downsize.
With VoIP, your employees have exactly the same access to telecommunications that they would in the office – as long as they have a strong broadband connection. They can work from a coffee shop, at home, in an office, or in a combination of locations, without worrying about missing phone calls because they’re not at their desk.
Similarly, VoIP doesn’t lock you into a year-long contract that doesn’t scale with your business. You pay each month, so if you need to increase or decrease the number of workers using the service, you can adjust on a monthly basis.
4. Strong infrastructure
When you’re establishing a startup, you’ll want to build good business infrastructure and ways of working. When your business is very small, it can be tempting to rely on cobbled-together approaches for talking to clients – perhaps even using your personal phone for your business. But that means you’ll have to undergo a painful switch to more professional telecoms while you’re busy managing the needs of a growing business.
With VoIP for startups, you have the professional infrastructure for making business calls and video chats established right from the start. It’s then easy to scale up as you bring more employees into the fold.
Get a great externally managed VoIP system from VS Group
At VS Group, we’re professionals in managing telecommunications for small and medium enterprises, including VoIP for start-ups – and we have the high rating on Trustpilot to prove it. So, if you’re interested in getting a great telecoms solution for your growing business, just give us a call on 0330 094 0170 or shoot us an email at customerservice@vsgcomms.com.
