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Get free accessThe best business phone system for your Bristol company is one that helps you provide excellent customer service, sales, and support, efficiently—but it can be hard to know where to start.
Bristol has been a powerhouse of British industry for almost a millennium, from medieval maritime trade to the academia and aerospace sectors powering today’s knowledge economy—so standing out in the city thanks to top-quality customer experience is essential.
To do so you need a business phone system that can help assist customers and meet their own goals.
Why invest in a business phone system in Bristol?
A good business phone system can make work easier and more productive whether you’re based in Clifton, Temple Meads, or even working remotely. There are many reasons your Bristol-based business might need a business phone system. For instance, to:
Deliver consistent, high-quality customer support
Increase sales and lead-generation
Forge strong relationships with customers through voice calls
Enable customer teams to work flexibly or remotely
But choosing the right business phone system can be difficult, as there are many different options to choose from. Seeking a cloud-based VoIP provider in Bristol? After a more traditional PBX phone system?
From old-school copper phone systems to cloud-based VoIP set-ups, different solutions for voice calls have different benefits. Allow us to explain the pros and cons of each and find the right set-up for you.
How to choose the right business phone system for your Bristol company
Having a local business number is crucial no matter what sector or size your Bristol-based company is. Any call solution will provide this much, but before picking the best business phone system for you, also consider the following questions:
What do you need a business phone system for? Service? Sales? Support? All of the above?
How many callers do you anticipate, now and in the future?
What features do you value most?
How can you ensure that the system is flexible and suits your business needs?
How much can you spend?
The crucial decision to make, however, is between keeping your existing traditional telephone system–or switching to a new one.
Traditional phone systems versus cloud-based phone systems
You’ve almost certainly used an on-premise solution before at work or as a consumer, and they are still in use today.
Copper landlines can be upgraded–to a degree–but modern cloud-based phone systems offer many new features that can make your customer experience better, and which are simply not possible with an analogue or PBX phone system (Private Branch Exchange).
Cloud-based calling systems make voice calls using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology. They have several advantages for growing businesses in Bristol over older phone systems as you can:
Set up virtual call centres quickly and easily
Link calls with Slack channels or easily sync contacts from Microsoft Teams
Use local numbers, wherever your team may be, to build trust
Let team members use features whether at home or in the office
Use any device from a desktop PC to an iPhone or Android smartphone
Provide a better customer experience with features like ‘warm transfers’ enabling you to quickly talk to a colleague before passing over a call
Operate on a larger scale by quickly toggling between international phone numbers based on customer location
Deploy skill-based routing that helps you send calls to the right department faster, improving customer support
Increase sales and recruitment leads using tools such as a power dialer or integrations such as JobAdder or Bullhorn to manage applicants
One other critical factor Bristol businesses need to keep in mind is that the UK will shut down the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) in 2025. This means the old copper wires installed in the 1800s will no longer work; anyone using a PSTN-based service will have to upgrade, and a cloud-based phone system presents a future-proofed option that can grow as your business does.
Aircall is a leading cloud-based phone system and provides many time-saving, efficiency-driving features that traditional systems simply cannot.
VoIP in Bristol and Nearby Cities: Aircall has you covered.
Aircall's VoIP phone system is available in Bristol, and other cities in the UK, including:
Top features you need in a cloud-based business phone system
Thinking of making the jump to VoIP with your Bristol business? Some of the essential features that a new business phone system should have are:
Call Queuing
Customise the queuing experience for customers with personalised messages and hold music, or give them the option to request a callback, allowing them to go on with their day.
Call Recording
Easily evaluate your team’s performance and understand how to provide memorable customer experiences. Aircall’s call recording feature kicks in automatically for every call, and allows you to access your past calls at any time. This way, you always have a clear record to learn from.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
IVR enables your Bristol-based business to quickly classify callers based on their needs. Customers quickly direct themselves to the right team—sales or customer support, say—saving time for everyone.
Unlimited Concurrent Calls
Cutting time spent on hold is essential when providing great sales and support service. Making sure your business phone system offers unlimited concurrent calls will mean customers are less likely to wait for a response. Also, your staff will always be able to make simultaneous calls from the same number—even as you scale.
Click to Dial
Punching in numbers over and over wastes time when you’ve got calls to make. Click to dial enables your sales or support agents to dial a number with a single click regardless of format or medium (website, email signature, list), saving precious time every day.
CRM Integrations
Your business phone system is part of your tech stack and should communicate with your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) platform. By integrating your phone system and your CRM, you can easily pull up context during calls (making it easier to personalise them), automatically log calls, and more besides. Aircall’s cloud-based phone system integrates with top CRM and customer support tools including HubSpot, Salesforce, and Intercom to help drive sales.
Analytics
Easily monitor the performance of your agents with a dashboard that gives you instant access to your team’s call metrics and smash your KPIs. Aircall’s Call Center Analytics monitors outbound calls and missed call rates, with custom filters to suit your needs.
Find out more
Ready to ditch on-premise for a future-proofed phone system? Aircall is available to all businesses in Bristol; sign up to try Aircall and see what a modern phone system can do for your company.
