Breaking up is hard to do, but breaking up with your cloud PBX provider is necessary if you aren’t getting the level of service you deserve. How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye?
Here at Converged Technology Professionals, we’ve seen it all, and we know when a cloud solution isn’t quite up to snuff. Read on to discover if your current provider is living up to its potential and how to find the cloud communications platform that offers the most value for your investment.
Your PBX Has Limited Features & Functionality
The first step is to examine the functionality of your current system. Here is a list of critical features every modern cloud PBX solution should have:
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools make it easy for your staff to communicate with each other quickly. This will typically include UCaaS tools like team messaging, video conference capability and calling.
Omnichannel
Drive more sales and positive customer interactions with a true omnichannel cloud contact center solution. Customers want to connect with brands across multiple apps: Nine out of ten consumers want an omnichannel experience with seamless service between communication methods. Your provider should offer the following communication capabilities
- Inbound & Outbound Voice Call
- Messaging, including apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS Text, Apple Business Chat, etc.
- Social Media Networks
- Live Web Chat
- Email
- In-App Messaging
- Online Reviews
Analytics & Reporting
Your chosen provider should offer robust reporting and analytics tools to give insights into your team performance, customer satisfaction and business performance. Look for providers that offer omnichannel reporting so that you can get the most precise picture of your data.
Integrations
Your cloud solution should play nice with other apps. Look for a platform with an open API that can connect with your chosen CRM, marketing automation, business reporting and other tools.
Intelligent Routing & Automation
Streamline the sales and customer service process by adopting a cloud solution that automates crucial steps in the customer journey. Look for solutions that have AI and skill-based routing capabilities, chatbots, IVR and self-service options.
Management Tools
Give your supervisors the support they need to lead their team effectively. Your cloud solution should include tools like screen and call recording, real-time reporting, silent monitoring and coaching & learning tools.
If your in-house team or contact center doesn’t have all of these features at their disposal, they will not operate at maximum efficiency, which can hurt the customer experience and your bottom line.
Your PBX Needs a True Support System
Obviously, it’s essential to have a strong team supporting you and your cloud PBX system. But what does quality support look like?
Vendor Support
Your cloud communications vendor should have a flexible and powerful network of support to help you with any questions or hiccups you have. This goes beyond traditional phone support. Look for vendors who offer live web chat, social media support, multiple language options and longer hours.
Educational Support
Beyond plenty of live support options, you should look for companies that offer additional resources like a user community forum, free educational content and an extensive collection of knowledge base articles.
Partner Support
A trusted business communications partner will take the time to truly understand your company and find a solution that fits your needs. And a partner’s long-term interests align with yours, unlike master agents who ultimately want to sell whatever will yield them the highest profit.
Your PBX System Does Not Offer Reliability
Are your calls dropping? Does your PBX system go down multiple times a year due to unforeseen issues? These experiences might be signs that you should start shopping for a new communication solution. Make sure that you are investing in a dependable solution with minimal downtime or service disruption. The five-nine rating is ideal. Five-nine availability (99.999%) availability means 5 minutes, 15 seconds, or less of downtime in an entire year.
Platforms like RingCentral have helpful features to ensure business continuity in case of emergency or outages.
Fully Redundant Network
RingCentral guarantees global, uninterrupted business operation through its distributed network, fully redundant in every location.
Network Performance Monitoring
Find a platform that employs end-to-end continuous network monitoring to track performance and anticipate interruptions before they happen.
Real-Time System Reporting
You also want to find a provider that is fully transparent about the health of their system. RingCentral offers a self-service portal where customers can log in and check up on the system’s overall health in real-time.
Disaster Recovery Options
Your provider should be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If there is an emergency, platforms like RingCentral use SIP trunking to switch active services from one data center to another, which means that fax, voice, voicemail, and conferencing services can all continue to operate without interruption.
Your PBX Limits International Business Capability
You shouldn’t have to sacrifice your international business relationships because of your cloud provider’s limitations. If you’re experiencing difficulty getting local numbers and service on-net for global offices, then it might be time to switch your provider.
Look for a company that will unify your global operations, not complicate them. The best providers will offer local and toll-free numbers that customers can call and your team can answer from anywhere on any device. This feature makes it easy for your staff and your international customers to get in touch with you.
Get the Most Out of Your Cloud PBX With RingCentral
If your cloud system isn’t providing you all the value it should, it’s time to say goodbye. For more research into the best systems out there, check out Gartner’s 2020 Unified Communications Magic Quadrant report. Our partner RingCentral tops the list as the number one solution. And Gartner isn’t the only one to notice RingCentral’s stellar platform: Hubspot listed it in their top SaaS companies to watch in 2020.
Contact us if you’d like a RingCentral demo and a free cost analysis for your contact center.
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