Voice for Small to Medium Businesses: Top Things to Consider

Jul 07, 2020

Is your ADSL not delivering the speed you need for VoIP (OMG) and can you even have VoIP because you heard you were on POTS or PSTN (IDK, TBH) and you’re not sure if you’ll require an SSL or 2FA (WTF?) for your website and should you go with VDSL (SMH) or UFB (IDC) but who’s the best ISP and WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ACRONYMNS AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN (IRL)???

Phew.

Running a business is hard enough without having to decipher technical jargon. Why should you need to know that stuff, anyway? All you want is fast internet, phones that work, and excellent support. Don’t worry – Voyager experts take the time to ask you about the things you understand, and translate your answers into a fit for purpose solution. And if you love this stuff and are totally techy – we speak that language, too!

Angela Hunter, Sales Manager SME at Voyager, has given us a rundown of some important questions you should consider right off the bat:

All about you
How technical are you? Do you want a partner that can speak business or can you talk telco? Have you bought a communication solution before or is this your first time? What do you like or dislike about your current provider? Are you expecting to scale the business up or down in the next 36 months? Are you making any other changes that might need to be considered today to future proof for tomorrow?

All about the internet
Think about how the internet helps your business. Are you downloading or uploading big files daily? How many people use the internet at the same time and what are they doing? Consider how staff uses the internet: are they streaming videos, holding virtual conference calls, using cloud-based business applications (like MYOB, Xero, Hubspot), or using social media? What would the impact be on your business if the internet was down for a day?

All about phone calls
How many calls do you make and receive each month? Are they made to local, national, international, or mobile numbers? Are your conversations long or short? Do you need to conference in with others? If so, is it frequently or ad-hoc? Do you like the latest and greatest in hardware or do you prefer a basic phone… or do you want a softphone solution instead? Do you have an 0800 number? How do you manage inbound calls to ensure you never miss a call and deliver an exceptional customer service experience? What would the impact be on your business if the phones were down for a day?

All about support
Do you have your own IT professional to help with installation or do you need this to be a part of the solution? How do you like to learn about new equipment (think: watching a video, reading a user guide, hands-on learning, etc.)? What are your business hours? Do you like to talk directly to people, fill in online request forms, or send emails? What does good service look like to you?

All about the money
What is the budget you have in mind for a solution? Is your preference for fixed monthly pricing or dynamic? Do you prefer to lease or buy hardware?

All about making it work – a real-life example Owner of The Core Electronics, Tana Turei, was happy for the quick response and translation skills of the Voyager sales team. After reading a positive review of Voyager online, Tana submitted an online request for information and received a phone call that same day. The following day, he met with Patrick from Voyager’s sales team.

“The speed at which Voyager responded to my inquiry was impressive,” said Tana. “Within a day, I was able to meet with Patrick to discuss my requirements. From there I met with both Angela and Patrick and they were able to break down the jargon and - in plain English - tell me what I actually needed for my business."

“Voyager made it all make sense. Thanks to them, we’re now set up with a solution that works just the way we need it to!”

If you’re not sure what the best solutions for you and your business are, ask the experts at Voyager!

GLOSSARY OF TERMS:

ADSL: Asymmetric digital subscriber line
VoIP: Voice over IP
POTS: Plain old telephone service
PTSN: Public Switched Telephone Network
SSL: Secure Sockets Layer
2FA: 2-factor authentication
VDSL: Very high-speed digital subscriber line
UFB: Ultra-fast broadband
ISP: Internet service provider
OMG: Oh my God
IDK: I don’t know
TBH: To be honest
SMH: Shaking my head
IDC: I don’t care
IRL: In real life
WTF: we think you can figure this one out 😉