Seasonal stresses: How technology can help SMEs

Holiday season means that seasonal businesses are undoubtedly getting ready for a busy period of tasks, sales, and correspondence. And with the impending switch-off of traditional phone lines (known as PSTN and ISDN phone lines), many businesses are looking to begin the move to VoIP solutions.

A growing number of small firms are using business VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology to advance customer communication, boost sales, and improve customer satisfaction. Traditional phone services are frequently expensive and inefficient for modern working practises, such as flexible or home working.

All businesses require scalability, but some more than others. Due to the structure of their industry or how they ar­­­e positioned in the market, it is more significant for some organisations. Seasonal companies that require various levels of phone system assistance throughout the year without wanting to foot an expensive bill look towards other communication solutions.

This issue can be resolved thanks to a cloud phone system’s flexibility, which makes it simple to add more lines at busy times. This kind of seasonal flexibility enables organisations to efficiently handle additional calls and transactions.

The beauty of VoIP is that it enables seasonal businesses to expand their line count during seasons of high demand and then switch back to regular service during the off-season. Only what you use and need is paid for. Compare this to traditional phone lines, where you have to rent a set number of lines, often for a year or more at a time, which may go unused in seasonal business for much of the year.

Paul Roscoe, Director of Operations at Enreach, says: “Customers don’t want to have to jump through hoops to access good customer service, especially in busy periods. Being able to simply upgrade and downgrade to suit your needs as and when they change makes customer experience a whole lot smoother.”

With VoIP, you can video call colleagues from anywhere. As a result, you may work together in real-time despite the location. For SMEs attempting to compete with multinational corporations, the ability to connect with talent anywhere in the world levels the playing field.

VoIP allows you to leverage cutting-edge contact centre services that were previously only available to telemarketing companies and huge corporate customer service desks. By automating the repetitious parts of incoming and outbound contact, you can free up your staff to handle more clients and place more sales calls, especially in busy periods.

Duncan Ward, Chief Executive Officer at Enreach, added: “We are doing everything we can to support SME businesses with converged contact communication solutions that elevate their business. With our £100,000 fund, we are looking to support businesses with 24 months of free broadband to help make the switch to VoIP and other cloud communications.

“This fund gives all types of businesses the chance to improve their communications, and to really understand the importance of having fast, secure, and productive cloud telephony services.”

Enreach supports SME businesses across the UK offering converged contact solutions. With cloud-hosted VoIP, employees get to keep their preferred devices. Enreach VoIP service handles the technology and support to make this transition.

VoIP services are helping SMEs adapt to seasonal peaks and the shift to remote work and flexible schedules.