
Voice over IP technology (VoIP) is here to stay. Businesses worldwide are taking advantage of the many advantages VoIP offers. But does VoIP apply equally to all businesses? Or are some better suited to VoIP than others?
The UK’s leading VoIP providers believe every business can benefit from a VoIP telephony system. It is not a lie; it’s the truth.
Despite this, some business types are naturally better suited to it than others, and e-commerce businesses are one of them.
Hence, as the number of people prefers to buy online and the e-commerce sector is growing fast, it would be a good time to focus on those e-commerce businesses out there that could benefit massively from having a VoIP phone system.
In this article, we will describe the benefits of VoIP for the E-commerce industry.
Saves Money
Any business using an office telephone system will save money if they change to VoIP simply because the costs are much lower. E-commerce companies spend so much on telephones that moving to VoIP will not only save money but will slash their overhead costs.
Think about it; if most of your business is done online, you might as well transfer your calls there too – your internal calls will be free, your external calls much cheaper, and you’ll get many other features.
Better Customer Experience
One of the biggest paybacks of VoIP over the traditional telephone system is that you get so many additional features, all of which simply make the experience your customers receive much more efficient and constructive, making them happier in the short term and bringing in more customers.
It used to be that your e-commerce business only had one landline number; if it was busy, customers had to wait or leave a voicemail. Customers calling out-of-hours would have to wait until the next working day if you didn’t have round-the-clock people answering the phones. If your e-commerce business operates overseas, this isn’t great.
Thanks to features such as IVR (the system that routes customers to the correct operator to help solve their problem quickly and easily, such as “dial 2 to reach Finances,” etc.) and Voip voicemail access from anywhere (voicemails can be sent to any email address to listen to them away from your office), even the smallest e-commerce business can now compete with the big boys and provide world-class customer service.
Ensure Connectivity From Anywhere
We have already mentioned that one of the biggest benefits of being an e-commerce company is that you operate online, so you are an open shop 24 hours a day around the world. Ideally, if you are doing e-commerce well, anyone can purchase your products and services anytime. You are never closed.
If your e-commerce business only has a few employees, having someone on duty to answer the phone 24 hours a day is not practical. People need to sleep.
Additionally, people no longer work at one single office in one single location because of the way the world of work is changing. These days, more and more people are working from anywhere in the country or even around the world, so a single landline with a single voicemail is no longer appropriate.
Instead, e-commerce businesses require a flexible solution that allows staff to work from anywhere yet appear to work for one company in one place. E-commerce businesses can appear locally in any country with local phone number prefixes, and a variety of other features ensure your business is available everywhere.
Improve Customer Service
A business doesn’t want customer complaints, but they’re bound to happen – and e-commerce makes them even more likely. It’s the nature of e-commerce.
The major benefit of VoIP is that it can automatically record every call, which enables e-commerce companies to constantly improve their customer service by training new staff and learning from customer journeys.
The ability to provide a round-the-clock support desk can ensure complaints can be handled quickly and not left to fester, making customers happier, which in turn leads to more sales. read more for Home information
Enable Upselling
For any business, it’s important not to keep customers waiting around on the phone for ages – getting them on and off the phone as quickly as possible so they can get on with their day and solve their problems. If you have customers waiting on the phone for a short period, it’s an opportunity to upsell to them.
Listening to ‘hold music’ for any time will drive even the calmest person insane. However, if you remove the inane music and provide an on-brand message, you will likely retain your customers’ attention.
There’s no point in hard selling at this point – most people on the phone are not interested in hearing about a special offer they need to buy immediately (because they are on the phone, not on their laptop). Still, a subtle sales message or information slot can pique their interest in future purchases.
You can easily record an on-brand message over VoIP that will reach your customers at a receptive point, easing a situation and upselling your products or services simultaneously rather than alienating them for good.
Conclusion
VoIP technology offers several advantages for e-commerce businesses, including cost savings, improved customer experience, connectivity from anywhere, and improved customer service. These advantages can save e-commerce companies money on telephony costs and provide features such as IVR and voicemail access from anywhere that can enhance the customer experience. Additionally, e-commerce businesses can use VoIP to ensure they are always connected and available to customers, regardless of location or time. VoIP can also be used to record calls, which can help e-commerce businesses train staff and improve their customer service.