VoIP systems: What are they are why does your salon need it?

Keeping up-to-date with, and choosing between, all the latest technological advancements for your salon – each and every one promising to make your business life easier – is not an easy task. Especially when there are so many fads out there, all claiming to be the next-big-thing one minute, and soon enough they’re outdated and non-operational the next.

 

Stick with me and I’ll help you through the jargon to find the technology updates that you should be taking note of for your salon. This time, we’re looking at VoIP systems and how they can help you to never miss another call.

VoIP systems

 

I hear you, what on earth is a VoIP system? Good question. It stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, another name you may hear it referred to as is ‘Cloud Phone’. It basically means calls are made over the internet rather than through a landline.

 

Cloud technology has been steadily growing and become more prominent in our everyday lives thanks to Apps such as WhatsApp or even ITunes asking us to save messages, music and more to ‘The Cloud’. It’s also ‘The Cloud’ that allows FaceTime or WhatsApp call users to speak with their nearest and dearest.

 

It’s furthermore thanks to the abilities of these Apps that house phones and landlines are being used less and less with most of our communication happening over the internet. In fact, by 2025, house phones and landlines are predicted to be completely obsolete.

 

BT is going to be switching entirely from the existing public switched telephone network (PSTN) to all calls being made via VoIP systems, meaning soon enough we will all need to be switching to VoIP. And doing it sooner rather than later will mean your business is at the forefront and running smoothly with cloud technology while others are still trying to understand what it all even means.

 

Your premises probably already has (and is paying for) an internet connection, the VoIP system simply uses this existing connection which means there’s no installation fees or hardware requirements, plus, call rates are significantly reduced compared to a traditional phone line.

 

VoIP offers all the features of a traditional phone line and more for less expense. Tailor features such as auto attendant, call forwarding, conference calling and more to your needs and add them to calls as and when you need them.

 

Never miss another call

 

Most salons don’t have the luxury of a full-time receptionist or front of house person to manage all the incoming phone calls that come in each day, and unsurprisingly in a hard-working salon, the odd call is missed what with relying on busy staff members to answer the phone as well as doing their job.

(Tip: Make sure all team members are trained in answering the phone using the same scripted dialogue for consistency.)

 

With a VoIP system, if a call is missed it’s not lost since you’ll receive an email notification with the telephone number and any messages, so you can call back as soon as possible!

 

One of the other benefits of a cloud-based VoIP system is that you can add marketing messages before you answer the phone or while callers are on hold. These messages can be changed in an instant or swapped depending on the time of day or season and when you are open or closed.

 

You get your own dashboard with the many features for your calls and can add as many as you like, allowing you to have the phone system that works for you the way you need it to.

 

I personally use the BT cloud phone system in my own salon, which was easy to set up. For more information on the BT phone systems click here   https://business.bt.com/products/business-phone-systems/voip/cloud-phone/

 

If you would like to learn more about cloud technology and VoIP systems or would like help with getting it set up, building a marketing strategy around it and best practices for using the system, then get in contact with BOOST today. We’ll lend you our knowledge to help you understand VoIP systems and how to use its full potential so you can grow your salon business and never miss another call.

 

HappyBIZness

 

Carey