How Business Can Generate Increasing Revenues with VoIP in COVID-19 Situation

Change comes from within. However, sometimes, external situations change and that makes you change. The current coronavirus pandemic is one such external situation that is an opportunity for businesses to take a fresh look at VoIP and how it can be used to generate revenues during Covid 19.

More channels of communication

Any business that still relies on PSTN is as good as cut off from employees, customers and vendors during the lockdown. Switch to VoIP and you can tie together all individual residence or personal phone numbers of employees to a single phone number for the business. VoIP offers much more than PSTN ever could. You have email, fax, SMS, voicemail, chat and conferencing neatly bundled into a solution that can be accessed by all employees wherever they may be located. Your operations continue unhindered by lockdown, orders flow in, cash flows in, employees are happy and customers stay delighted.

From being local you can go global and each out to more targets at lower costs. VoIP facilitates communications through softphones, tablets, laptops and mobile phones. That communication covers everything including voicemail, text, chat, conference and video and social media in an omnichannel VoIP package. Your reach extends and your costs reduce too.

Cost saving

Switching to VoIP saves tremendously on costs of communication and business costs. Small businesses, it has been found, can lower communication costs by 40 percent. Use a softphone and you could save over $ 1700 each month if majority of your calls are long distance and overseas calls. Further, as the Dell study shows, the company saved $ 39.5 million by transitioning its workforce to a remote model using VoIP as the base for communication and collaboration. Remote employees may agree to work at a lower wage since they save time and money they would otherwise spend on commuting.

Lead generations, campaigns, customer services

KIC, a consumer products company, knew that there would be virtually no buyers during the lockdown period so they decided to use the VoIP system for lead generation and customer engagement.

• Using call center software and CRM the agents (who, incidentally, worked from home) set up campaigns to create social awareness. Marketing rode piggy back. It is good to build a good image today so tomorrow you can capitalize on it.
• The campaign was mixed with offers across social media channels and SMS/voice broadcasts. The important thing was that this type of campaign created reinforcement for the presence of the business and its concern for customers.
• Customers were invited to chat, converse and engage and were offered reward points for participations in online programs.
• At the same time the company and its representatives remained accessible 24x7.
• Such multi-channel campaigns raised visibility and resulted in customer migration from competitors who, apparently, went to sleep during the lockdown.
• The call center VoIP software also allowed employees to work from home and carry out
• Team based collaborative work.

With a solid VoIP solution in place the company did not have to resort to using bits and pieces like Zoom for video conferencing, Skype, Gmail, individual mobile phones and other solutions.

Communications blended seamlessly into one system that resulted in enhanced efficiency and productivity. Today, it is not just about customer experience but also about employee facilitation. VoIP fits the bill. Statista reports indicate VoIP markets will be worth USD 145 billion by 2024 and the current crisis is bound to accelerate growth.

Service providers

Business is not just about buying and selling. It is also about services. Service providers, especially those in education and training, are stopped cold in their tracks by the rampant coronavirus. The simple workaround is to shift such services to videoconferencing and telepresence. Distancing is no barrier to business continuity and revenues keep flowing. In fact, they should increase as you reach out to more people, grow and yet cut costs.

VoIP is a perfect tool in today’s lockdown situation. It can continue to be a prized communication asset should situation return to normal in the future. Just get in touch with a VoIP solutions provider to know all that this technology can do for your business.