Choosing the best VOIP provider is hard. Perhaps that’s why so many businesses over-pay $10,000’s for VOIP services. Those fees might include: setup fees, activation fees, installation, hardware, or extra features. Whatever the reason, it never feels good to over-pay thousands of dollars that could otherwise go towards building your business.
In this post, we’re going to teach you how you can save $10,000+ on VOIP by intentionally and intelligently choosing the best VOIP provider.
What Makes the Best VOIP Provider the “Best”?
The Feature Set You Need at a Reasonable Price
When it comes to choosing a VOIP provider, most decision-makers look at two things:
- Price
- Feature set
These two elements are certainly important, especially in the interplay. See, it’s possible that your price can vary based on which features you choose to implement. That can be a problem. It encourages you to cut back on features that you might truly need, in order to keep costs down. And while that strategy may save you money initially, it’s going to cost you down the road by cutting into productivity, and possibly making your system more difficult to use.
However, you don’t have to make that compromise.
You can get the best of both worlds: the features that you need at a low price. Look for a provider that charges a low, per-user, flat-rate fee that remains consistent whether you use all features, or just a handful.
Reliability
It’s not just enough to get your VOIP system installed and configured. You need equipment, and a provider that’s in it for the “long haul”; something that you can easily scale with as your business grows.
Support and Implementation
Did you know that there are providers who, after the sale is made, just ship you the phones and leave you to fend for yourself? Maybe you’ve had that experience yourself. It’s frustrating and can leave you feeling like you got taken advantage of.
To avoid that, ask potential providers what that process looks like. Ask about their role and what they expect your business to handle.
Evaluating Your Options to Find the Best VOIP Provider For Your Business
After talking to several VOIP providers, you may find that there are a few of them that meet your needs. So how do you choose between equal options?
Usually the biggest differentiating factor will be: Support.
Talk to potential providers about their level of support, and ask questions like:
- Do they handle the equipment install or do you?
- Will they implement and configure new features, or will you?
- What is their average service response time?
- What is their average customer rating?
- Do they use “open” hardware? (With “open” hardware, you are not locked into a specific device or provider.)
- Ask for contact information for current clients, and then actually call and ask about the provider’s service.
- Scrutinize the contract, and make sure that there are no hidden fees; early cancellation fees, yearly renewal fees, etc.
By asking hard questions, you’ll be able to dig down and discover the truth about the provider and determine, for yourself, if they are the right fit for your business.
And when it comes to providers, remember: bigger isn’t always better.
What Makes AvidBit Different
At AvidBit, we take customer service to the next level. We don’t just ship the phones off and wish you luck. Instead, we provide you with the “white glove” experience. That means we setup your new phones for you and we follow up to make sure everyone is happy, and resolve any issues that may have arisen.
Our low, flat-rate pricing includes all the features, so you don’t have to worry about being charged extra to meet an unforeseen need.
At AvidBit, we don’t make you sign any lock-in contracts. All of our customers pay month-to-month. Our customers stay with us because of the service we provide, not because of a contract.
Choosing the best VOIP provider for your business is essential. Choosing the best provider can mean the difference between getting the features and service that you need, or being left out in the cold. And the right provider can save you $10,000’s over the lifetime of that relationship.
If you’re interested in talking more about your VOIP needs, reach out to us at 833-284-3248!
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