10 Business Phone Features You Should Be Aware Of

In the rapidly evolving business world, the distinction between success and failure can be as simple as your telephone system. 

As businesses grow, they require more feature-rich telephony to interact efficiently with their customers. So, it is essential for businesses to choose a phone system that provides advanced business phone features as their need. 

These phone systems with advanced business phone features can enhance telephony efficiency, improve customer service, and support scalability and growth. However, before you choose one, you must ensure that it aligns with your business goals and can scale as your needs change.

In this blog, you’ll learn about various business phone features and how these features help you choose the best phone system to enhance your business capabilities. Let’s get started 👇

Things To Ask Before Getting A Business Phone System

When you have multiple business phone systems to choose from, it is really important to ask the right questions to ensure that the phone system you get fits with your company’s plans and can adapt as your business changes.

So, ask these questions before getting a business phone system.

• The first thing you can ask is what the subscription length is and if it is flexible. This way, you can focus on finding service providers with short-duration contracts and flexible agreements rather than those that require long-term commitments.

• You can also ask what the total cost is, including hidden fees or charges. This enables you to understand every charge beforehand, including installation and administrative charges and penalties for canceling the deal.

• Another question you can ask is about the features available and the type of plans that come with them. Understanding what the system can do for you helps satisfy different requirements of an organization or personal business goals.

• Another question one might ask is which platforms the business phone system can run on. Determine whether you need a conventional telephone network, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service, or a virtual telephony system that can merge with other application programs.

• Also, ask how long it will take to have the system running. Find providers who can quickly provide you with a setup without requiring too much time for hardware installation or waiting on phone line transfers.

• The final question you can ask is what level of support and reliability the proposed system will provide. Look for features like call quality, connectivity, and collaboration tools.

By asking these key questions, you can ensure you choose the right business phone system to meet your current and future needs.

10 Business Phone Features You Should Be Aware Of

Asking these questions is not enough. You must also be aware of business phone features. By understanding these features, you can wisely decide on a business phone system that supports your team in enhancing customer experience and positions your organization for continuous success. 

Here are 10 business phone features you should be aware of that can significantly enhance your company’s telephony capabilities and operational efficiency:

1. Auto Attendant

One really useful business phone system feature is the auto attendant. This is like a digital receptionist who answers incoming calls and tells the caller which department to press a button to reach the right person. This can help keep your customers happy by ensuring they get to the right person quickly without needing an actual human receptionist.

This feature helps route the call to the right person or team right away, so the customer doesn’t have to wait on hold or get transferred around. It provides a smooth, efficient experience for the customer, which can improve their satisfaction with your business. 

This feature is ideal for? 

• Companies aiming to improve customer experience
• Businesses with high call volumes
• Companies with multiple departments or locations
• Businesses operating 24/7

2. Custom Caller ID

Customer caller ID is a business phone feature that allows companies to display a specific phone number or name when making outbound calls, rather than using the default company number. It is useful for those businesses that have several departments or locations because  this feature allows companies to use the same number despite having different departments or locations.

By doing so, businesses can create a more personalized and trustworthy impression with customers, making them more likely to answer the call. Not only that, businesses can easily display the company name or a specific department in the caller ID, which helps to improve business’s brand name and identity during customer interactions.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Enhancing professionalism and brand recognition
• Improving call answer rates
• Maintaining consistent branding
• Enabling flexible call routing

3. Call Notes

The business phone feature called “call notes“ lets employees write down important information after they finish a phone call with a customer. These call notes can then be easily shared with other people in the company so that everyone has the same details about that customer’s interactions.

Having these call notes is really helpful when the customer calls back. The next employee who speaks with them can quickly review the notes and get up to speed on the customer’s history and any key details. This allows the conversation to continue smoothly without the customer repeating themselves.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Enhancing team collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Improving record-keeping
• Streamlining workflow and increasing efficiency
• Improving customer service and personalization

4. Call Forwarding

One really cool business phone system feature is call forwarding. This feature automatically sends calls made to your old phone number to your new device without the caller even knowing. It also lets you use your old number to make calls from your new device.

This is handy if you’re moving your office or working from somewhere else because you don’t have to worry about all your contacts having to update your phone number.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Ensuring calls are always answered
• Enabling remote and mobile employees
• Offering flexibility and customization
• Enhancing productivity and efficiency

5. Call Analytics

The Business phone system has advanced call analytics that delivers real-time insights into call activities. These tools allow you to monitor key metrics essential for optimizing sales performance. For example, you can easily identify which salesperson manages the highest call volume and assess their effectiveness in handling customer inquiries. Moreover, the system enables you to identify the most promising leads by analyzing call durations, frequencies, and outcomes.

This information enables managers to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation. They can redistribute calls from overloaded salespeople to those with more availability which improves operational efficiency. 

This feature is ideal for? 

• Measuring performance and improving efficiency
• Tracking marketing effectiveness
• Monitoring agent performance
• Gaining competitive advantage

6. Voicemail to Email

The business phone system offers a “voicemail to email“ capability that automatically sends voicemail messages to the recipient’s email inbox. This allows users to access and listen to their voicemails remotely without calling into a separate voicemail system.

This business phone feature saves time and improves responsiveness, as users can easily check their voicemails on any device with email access. It also ensures important messages don’t get missed since the voicemails are delivered directly to the user’s email rather than having to log into a separate voicemail account.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Improving responsiveness and customer service
• Reducing missed calls and lost opportunities
• Improving organization and record-keeping
• Enhancing accessibility and flexibility

7. Call Recording

The business phone system has the ability to record calls and store audio recordings securely in the cloud. This call recording feature is very valuable for training new employees. The recordings provide real-world examples of actual customer interactions that can be used to teach effective strategies for handling difficult situations and resolving customer issues quickly.

Additionally, supervisors can use the call recordings to give employees feedback and coach them on improving their interaction skills and customer service techniques. This proactive approach to training and development not only enhances the skills of individual employees but also promotes a culture of continuous improvement. 

This feature is ideal for? 

• Enhancing employee training and performance
• Ensuring compliance and dispute resolution
• Extracting valuable business insights
• Improving customer service and quality assurance

8. Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

IVR is a business phone feature that lets callers interact with a company’s computer system just by using their voice or pressing numbers on their phone keypad. The IVR system plays pre-recorded audio messages and menus that guide the callers through different options, like checking account details, making payments, or getting transferred to the right department or employee.

IVR technology is beneficial for businesses because it allows them to efficiently handle a large volume of incoming calls. Callers can get the information they need or complete tasks without having to wait on hold to speak to a live person. It also helps reduce a company’s operating costs by automating certain tasks instead of requiring staff to handle every call.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Improving call handling efficiency
• Reducing operational costs
• Providing 24/7 availability
• Offering multilingual support

9. Call Logs

The software that comes with the business phone system keeps track of important details about each call, like the date, time, who called, how long the call lasted, and whether the call went to voicemail or was answered. This call log information can be really useful for dealing with customer questions and looking at your sales activity.

For example, if a customer calls back asking about something, you can check the call log to see who they originally talked to about it. This helps you get them the information they need more easily.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Tracking and analyzing business telephony
• Informing strategic decision-making
• Enhancing customer service and dispute resolution
• Ensuring compliance and record-keeping

10. CRM Integrations

These days, great technology is not just about having a single, standalone product but also about its ability to integrate seamlessly with other apps and services. While you can have a bunch of different apps open on your computer, constantly switching between them, by doing that, you can easily forget important tasks.

Through CRM integration, you can access your essential business tools in a single, unified interface instead of juggling multiple apps. This helps you stay organized and focused on important tasks and customer interactions. That means the best technology today is about making your work life easier by bringing everything together.

This feature is ideal for? 

• Centralizing customer data 
• Improving reporting and analytics
• Enabling advanced call routing and management
• Scaling businesses

🤩 You’ll learn more in: Most Useful Cloud Telephony Features for Small Businesses

Go For KrispCall When You Need A Feature-Rich Business Phone System

There are a variety of phone systems available in today’s market, each offering specific business phone features and benefits that are different from other phone systems. Due to this reason, it is crucial for you to choose a phone system that best fits your business needs.

Therefore, if you need a feature-rich business phone system, the best option for you is KrispCall. With KrispCall, you can enjoy all the business phone features discussed above, such as Global Calling, call analytics, call recording, CRM integrations, and many more to efficiently enhance your company’s telephony capabilities and operations.

Get started with KrispCall’s cloud telephony services today to access business phone features.