Startup Guide: The Role and and Significance of Cloud Telephony

Cloud-based tools have of late become the ubiquitous business aid and are among the top technology trends that have the potential to re-shape businesses. One of the significant riders on the cloud wave is Cloud Telephony which is emerging as a crucial business tool for both startups as well as established businesses.

Startups face aggressive competition and in the quest to stay ahead, innovative tech tools and strategies are the go-to approaches. While the startups have to continuously strive to survive and grow, there are challenges, one of them being communication. This is where Cloud Telephony plays a key role. It assists a business’ communications by moving them to the cloud in addition to facilitating exciting features such as click-to-call, toll-free number and IVR.

How Cloud Telephony Benefits Startups?

Cloud Telephony is helping startups with a reliable source to safely store and access their data without spending a hefty amount on infrastructure. By moving their business communication to the cloud, businesses can manage their database as well as customers more efficiently and securely. There is a lot that is facilitated by cloud telephony solutions. Let's dig deep into it.

1. Data Storage and Automation

Cloud telephony software save a significant amount of hours by automating tasks that do not require human intervention. With cloud telephony solutions like speech recognition and automatic keyword spotting, most of the tasks are automated. The agents get a customizable dashboard with data insights that help to understand customer behaviour and make data-backed decisions. Further, it enables automated personalised messages with solutions like outbound calls or text-to-speech.

2. Cost-Effectiveness

In addition to growing business, judiciously using limited business funds is one of the key focus areas of any startup. Doing unnecessary expenses and taking financial risks is never a good idea in the initial stage of business especially when the business has low funding. By adopting cloud telephony, a startup can manage all its communication activities with just a smartphone. The investment is less and the results are great. Further, adopting cloud telephony saves significantly on the setup as well as maintenance cost.

This entirely internet-based system provides proactive upgraded hosting programs and data monitoring which automatically enhances productivity. Moreover, cloud telephony is a lifesaver for startups that do not want to invest in an office space and prefer working from a remote location.

3. Better Connectivity

Customer satisfaction is the top priority in every business and it is even more significant for startups. With cloud telephony, startups can connect with their customers or targeted audience seamlessly. They can make the customer experience much better through solutions like an inbound call centre. Various features include custom hold music, greeting callers on wait time with personalized regional greetings and skill-based routing basis a caller’s location and purchase history. Another extremely effective solution is IVR which ensures connection with customers as soon as they call.

Further, startups can tap on the virtual phone system to increase their customer reach. Plus, the same country code or area code helps to build customer faith in the company. For example, if the company or agent stays in the USA and has a potential customer base in India, it can own an Indian virtual phone number to ensure the company is local and trustworthy.

4. Builds a Positive Brand Image

Key functionalities of virtual phone system like voicemail, call queuing, call routing, call forwarding, & more help enhance the customer experience and thus build a positive brand image. If your call handling is highly efficient, it results in consistent healthy relationships with customers which adds value to a business' market image and is indispensable to a business’, especially startup’s success.

5. Call Analytics

Startups that use cloud telephony can monitor the performance of agents through call analytics. It gives a detailed overview of the number of calls attended by each agent and the number of calls left unattended in addition to recording calls for future reference. Cloud telephony also enables startups to route calls and track the time taken for each call. In this way, the company can also take suitable action against poorly performing agents.

6. Optimum Utilisation of Agents

With cloud telephony, if one agent is busy, the incoming call will automatically be diverted to another agent. This ensures optimum utilisation of the company's resources in addition to ensuring that no agent is overly burdened.

7. Increased Efficiency

The advanced features of cloud telephony ensure that a user's call is answered as soon as they dial a business number. Further, it reduces the number of repetitive tasks and frees up employees to make effective use of their skills. To summarise, cloud telephony reduces operational cost and ensures optimum utilisation of the company's resources. It also enhances efficiency as well as increases overall productivity.

Summing Up!

All enterprises, big or small, can enhance the spectrum of growth opportunities by adopting cloud communication services. For startups, opting for cloud telephony is an intelligent choice as it promises security, agility and flexibility at a reasonable price. These tools further help businesses focus more on business expansion by automating mundane tasks and securing their data.