When you’re looking for a new partner for your business phone system, you have a lot of options to choose from. You might be tempted to go with the first one you come across just to avoid the headache of trying to weigh all the options and optimize your choice as much as possible. Or you might see a big, national provider and choose on name recognition alone. Instead, give it a little more thought — here, we’re going to discuss the good things about hiring local VoIP providers in St. Louis like Mastor.
VoIP stands for voice over internet protocol, and it’s a more modern way to go about connecting your business with your customers or your employees with each other. Instead of using traditional phone lines, a VoIP phone service provider in St. Louis (or anywhere else) connects to the internet. This technology opens up a whole host of new opportunities for business communications.
It’s probably too technical to get into the details of how it all works here. Basically, the audio input is carried over the internet and lets you make or take calls from essentially any device that accesses the internet — phones, tablets, computers, etc. All you really need to know is that VoIP has become an increasingly popular choice for replacing traditional phone lines. In fact, because of its efficiency, traditional carriers are slowly discontinuing traditional copper phone lines and making users change to VoIP.
Armed with a little bit of background knowledge about VoIP, you’re ready to dive into the specifics of what makes VoIP providers in St. Louis like Mastor such a great option.
Local
One of the great things about VoIP technology is that it can be cloud-based and therefore not location locked. Much of the ongoing maintenance can be done remotely saving costly service calls for moves, adds and changes. However, choosing local can still be a great way to go.
Get to know the team that does your phone service and go local. There may be a need to troubleshoot an issue that just can’t be done over the phone. VoIP providers in St. Louis like Mastor are aware of what companies in our area really need. They can steer you in the right direction if you’re feeling overwhelmed or lost. In fact Mastor and other VoIP providers in St. Louis know their business well and can definitely give you advice if you need a little extra guidance.
Also consider how much help you’re going to need to install any hardware you require. Some small businesses don’t need professional installation services to help get their VoIP phones in St. Louis up and running. But others will need technicians to come out and do some setup. Especially if they do not have their own IT staff.
Like we said earlier, VoIP systems allow you to receive as well as make phone calls from all sorts of devices, so you might decide having traditional office phones isn’t necessary for your business. And if your workforce is dispersed remotely, it may be worth it to explore calling options on laptops, PC’s, tablets, and cell phones instead of a traditional desk phone.
This is definitely something you can discuss with different providers as you’re trying to make your decision. As a rule of thumb, though, going local can be a great way to get more of that personal touch especially when it comes to training. You’re more likely to get better, more personalized service when you go with VoIP providers in St. Louis rather than a national brand selling over the internet.
Flexible
Mastor has been in business for more than 30 years. And like the best VoIP providers in St. Louis, will work with you to create the solution that fits your specific needs. These are far from one-size-fits-all systems, so if you think your VoIP phone system requirements are unique in the St. Louis market, we’ve probably dealt with a customer that has similar needs.
VoIP phone systems offer amazing flexibility to serve your business’s shifting needs over time. When you build a relationship with either Mastor or another one of the VoIP providers in St. Louis, they’ll be able to help you add new lines and features as your company grows, changes, or new features are developed that could be a good fit for your needs.
Good VoIP providers in St. Louis make it easy to keep your phone system up-to-date. And when you have a good relationship with your local VoIP company, you’ll be in a great spot for a long time to come.
The bottom line is that VoIP technology is super flexible and can bend to meet a wide variety of needs. There are many options for VoIP providers in St. Louis. Vetting them for their customer service and ongoing support model is as important as the actual system you will be choosing.
Portable
Over the past few years, remote work has exploded in popularity. Lots of workers are no longer chained to the office. Whether that’s in a completely remote situation or a hybrid work from home and office combination, workers need a phone system that moves with them and meets them where they’re at.
VoIP providers in St. Louis can make that happen. With traditional phone lines, you have to be at your desk to answer a call. With VoIP systems, however, you can pick up a call to your office phone number from pretty much anywhere. This opens up a lot of possibilities for your business and your employees.
You can have a unified business communication system for all your different employees if they’re scattered far and wide, or you can give them the ability to take calls in the office, from home, or on the go anywhere in between. There’s so much more to these systems than just a VoIP phone sitting on a desk in St. Louis. Something as simple as downloading a smartphone app can make all of this portability and flexibility possible. Or, almost all VoIP providers in St. Louis offer either a web-based softphone or a software download to put your phone on your laptop, PC, or tablet.
One feature that goes along with the portability and the flexibility of a VoIP phone in St. Louis is texting. You can set it up so that clients, customers, and employees alike can text your business number. Many members of the younger generations can’t fathom having to talk to a real-life person over the phone, so opening up a text option for them can be nicely accommodating. That’s something you definitely can’t do with traditional phone lines.
Efficient
We’ve already written extensively about what kinds of features you can find from the various VoIP providers of VoIP in St. Louis, including Mastor. But, here’s a brief list of just some of the best features they can bring to your company:
- Ad-Hoc Video Conferencing
- Call Parking
- Custom Sounds
- Voicemail to Email
- Call Recording
- Faxing & Efax
- Analytics & reporting
- Call Queuing & Hunt groups
- Auto Attendants
- Find Me/Follow Me
- Softphone Capabilities
- Texting
These barely scratch the surface of what the various VoIP phone providers in St. Louis can do. All of these features (plus the others we don’t have time to mention) create opportunities to streamline your workflows. These advanced capabilities add lots of new functionality compared to traditional phone systems.
When you’re able to automate more of your work and truly get the most out of the tools at your disposal, like a VoIP system, that can lead to huge productivity gains and higher profits. Even if it doesn’t seem like it at first, even minor upgrades to your processes can make a big difference.
With an efficient VoIP phone system from one of the many providers in St. Louis, optimized for your specific needs, you can end up saving money while enhancing productivity. Helping increase your bottom line is the goal.
Cost-Effective
Completely overhauling your phone systems can seem like a daunting process. Some companies worry that it’s too expensive to upgrade with VoIP providers in St. Louis. Odds are, though, that you’ll be able to find one of these flexible solutions to fit your budget. And fix your ongoing maintenance costs at a much lower rate than systems of the past.
The exact cost of a new system may vary slightly between the different VoIP providers in St. Louis as they do around the country. Most VoIP companies typically design service packages with different mixes of features to fit different individual users needs based on job functions.
One of the biggest savings a VoIP provider in St. Louis offers over a traditional phone line is the elimination of long distance charges for calls in the USA and Canada. There typically is no charge for those types of calls with VoIP due to utilization of the internet (think Skype). Some companies do place a limit on total minutes used (local and LD) , but the vast majority of customers never come close to exceeding these limits. International Long distance is not included, but the rates offered by various Voip providers in St. Louis are comparable to existing long distance providers.
Also keep in mind that you might not have to purchase physical phones. More and more customers are opting to use the apps (mobile and desktop) for calling. This often just requires a headset if you need privacy. And if you’re interested in features like an auto-attendant, it is part of the solution and no longer requires additional hardware to maintain. Plus, when you cut down on the amount of hardware you purchase up front, you’re lessening the amount of maintenance you’ll have to do (and pay for) if that hardware fails.
Reliable
There’s a pervasive myth that VoIP is not nearly as reliable as traditional telephone service. The key to reliability of VoIP service is the stability and capacity of the customer’s internet connection. VoIP providers in St. Louis will advise and, if needed, let you know if an upgrade to your service is required. Many times the existing internet is sufficient to carry the voice traffic. A consultative VoIP provider like Mastor and others in St. Louis will even be able to give you a quote for upgraded internet service if required.
The traditional phone infrastructure is aging and is getting more and more expensive to keep up. With that in mind, VoIP can be considered even more reliable than your old landline. You don’t have to worry about the internet going the way of the dinosaurs, though, unlike traditional phone lines. Many carriers have announced plans to phase out traditional copper phone lines leaving customers with no choice but to upgrade. If you are in that situation, it is time to shop around. Don’t just accept their offered alternative.
As with anything that relies on the internet, though, you might be worried about cybersecurity when it comes to VoIP providers in St. Louis. It’s true that systems can be compromised, but this is rare. VoIP providers in St. Louis know how to prevent that from happening and can put your mind at ease. Most platforms (including those offered by Mastor) have very robust security protocols in place that protect you from harm.
The only thing you really have to worry about in terms of reliability is an internet outage. Even if that happens, you have some options. Consider getting a backup power source instead of an outage, or you can always use your mobile LTE connection if that’s available. Often this is where the mobile application comes in very handy.
So, yes, you are likely to experience an occasional internet outage. But with a VoIP phone system in St. Louis the impact can be very minimal on your voice communications. VoIP technology is largely reliable and the clear choice for the future of voice communications.
Find the right VoIP providers in St. Louis.
Now that we’ve laid out the case for VoIP providers in St. Louis, you should be ready to select the right company and plan for your organization. You’re now aware that VoIP plans add a lot to your workplace in terms of flexibility, reliability, and functionality.
If you’re looking for VoIP providers in St. Louis, start right here with Mastor. We’ve been providing the St. Louis area with telecom equipment since 1991. Over those 30+ years, the industry has changed a whole lot, but we’ve been able to provide quality service throughout it all.
We’re located in the Westport area, and we service clients within 100 miles of the St. Louis Arch. We can expand that radius, though, with an installing dealer network, meaning our clients span across the USA. We’re very proud to be a St. Louis company, and we emphasize treating our community of employees, clients, and potential clients with respect.
You can check out our different options on our website. Our services far exceed basic VoIP packages — video surveillance systems, cloud PBX, SIP trunking, on-premise phone systems, and voice and data cabling are all part of our offerings. If you’d like to have a conversation about how any of that might fit your needs, don’t hesitate to reach out! We look forward to hearing from you.