Choosing a Voice Mail System

Download eBooks and Software

Satellitedirect - Highest Converting Tv To PC Product
Don't Have A Website? Create A Money Making Website In Just Minutes For Free With Our Brand New Tool: Http://professionalcash.com/webtool

The World's #1 Lottery System For Lotto.
Ken Silver's Multi-million Silver Lotto System! 1 Minute Setup, Winning 9 Out Of Every 10 Games Since 1991. Affiliate Commission Now 75%! Earn Up To $243/sale. Low Refunds. Visit: www.lottoaffiliatecenter.com

Forex Trading Software Plug-in Averages 500 Pips A Month
Forex Plug-in Software Averaging 500 Pips A Month Since Oct. 2010. Ideal For Newbies, Simple Instructions W/6 Training Modules. Killer Conversion, Super Low Returns, Total Impulse Buy. Affiliates, Visit: Http://netpicks.com/odstaffiliate For More Info!

Surveyspaid.com
New Design Is Getting *insane* Conversions (4%+)! If You Promote Surveys, You Need To Give Our Site A Try- We Promise You Will Be Happy! We Use Geotargeting And Downsells. Converts Great With International Traffic. Email Followups With Your CB Id!

Proflightsimulator #1 Flight Sim Game ($66.50 Per Month! +$7 Bonus
We Are The #1 Flight Simulator Game On CB For A Reason! Insane Conversions Of 14.6% + *recurring* Monthly Comms Of $66.50 Per Order + $97 Upsell. We *crush* Our Competitors! Get Your Tools At: Http://www.proflightsimulator.com/aff

Articles Index >> Communication

Choosing a Voice Mail System

by Jason Morris

Voice Mail put simply
In its simplest form a voice mail system is essentially just another phone answering system. They store their messages on a computer disk. Each user is assigned a mailbox where they only have access to his or her messages. They are also password protected so only the assigned user can access the messages in their mailbox. Voice mail systems also allow each user to create their own greeting message. This enables the user to pass on instructions or important messages without taking the call.

Voice mail systems can allow companies to redirect callers to other company employees. A voice mail system can answer calls rather than a member of staff; provide them with a common greeting, then guide the caller to an appropriate department through a selection process. This is more commonly known as the voice mail systems Auto Attendant feature.

Voice mail systems can merge fax, e-mail and voice messages into just one screen of a users PC. Some voice mail systems even offer voice recognition technology. A caller’s voice is recognised by the voice mail system and the system acts accordingly to pre-defined instructions. This is known as Interactive Voice Response.

What to look for in a voice mail system
Voice mails systems are usually additional features of existing in house phone systems. When deciding which voice mail system to purchase you need to look at two key aspects of each one: the number of user ports and the hours of memory that is allocated to messages.

A good voice mail system will have enough ports to handle incoming calls without delay. If all the ports are full, then any new callers will be delayed in the system until a port becomes available. If a voice mail system has too many ports then its capacity is wasted. The trick is to balance the number of ports with the estimated number of potential customers.

The capacity of a voice mail system depends on the hours of memory it has available. A system with a large number of ports and traffic may need a large number of hours, where as a system with low traffic will need fewer hours. The term hours of memory refers to capacity of a voice mail system to store any messages.

Selecting a voice mail system, check list

1. How do you use your voice mail?
This depends on how heavily your staff will be using the voice mail system. A port is in use whenever the voice mail system picks up a call, someone leaves, someone is transferred, or whenever a message is picked up by a user. All these factors need to be taken into account when looking at suitable voice mail systems.

2. Many older phone systems may not support a modern voice mail system.
Unfortunately many business phone systems that are above five years old will not be able to fully support a fully featured voice mail system. The only solution would be to replace your phone system with a more modern one.

3. Adequate memory.
Most voice mail systems have an adequate amount of memory, usually more than you will ever need. When selecting an appropriate voice mail system it is important that you enquire about the systems memory capacity, because some suppliers now provide relatively inexpensive voice mail systems that do not have a hard disk for message storage. All the messages and greetings are stored on chips, which seriously affects the amount of memory available. These small inexpensive voice mail systems are only really suitable to companies or offices with only two or three phone extensions and not recommended for a growing company requiring a fully featured voice mail system.

4. Expansion and how much it will cost.
When choosing a voice mail system, you need to make sure that any quotes gathered from systems suppliers include a cost for expansion. If you decide upon a voice mail system that is only sufficient for your current requirements, then consider what will happen if and when your office/company expands, and the need for more voice mail capacity outstrips that of your current system. You will also need to ask any prospective supplier how long they will honour their quotation for the expansion of your voice mail system.

5. Remote maintenance costs.
Before purchasing a suitable voice mail system from any supplier, you need to find out what their costs are for remote maintenance. All voice mail systems will at some time require a little care and feeding, which more often than not can only be provided by the system supplier.

6. Voice mail system training.
It is important that all users attend the training sessions of any new voice mail system. Though voice mail systems are not usually difficult to use, some staff may require one to one or even extra tuition. When evaluating the training cost section of any proposed voice mail system suppliers quotation, it is important to ascertain that a low price does not mean a low standard of system training.

7. Additional training.
It is advisable that you acquire a cost for any future additional training sessions that may be required from time to time, as staff come and go and for the re-training of existing staff.

8. Should I purchase a larger voice mail system?
There are two main questions you need to ask yourself in order to determine whether or not you should purchase a larger voice mail system.

Thanks for reading my article

Jason

About the Author

Jason Morris is co-author, search engine optimization and marketing consultant of http://www.businessphonesystemsdirect.co.uk">Business Phone Systems Direct. Specialists in the supply and installation of business phone systems and accessories

News on Internet Marketing

Cyberset Distinguishes Itself from Other Internet Marketing Companies with Its Dedication to Personalized Service
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Â As the private sector aims to further exploit the many benefits of e-commerce, more businesses are seeking high-quality Internet marketing services. For comprehensive ...

Internet Marketing Company Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?"
Internet Marketing Company (http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz) Reveals Results of the Poll, "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?"Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 04, 2012 Internet Marketing Company, a search engine marketing company, announced today the results of the poll , "Which Link Building Strategy Works Best For You?" on the FacebookÂ® platform. ...

Internet Marketing Expert Cheryl Heppard Teaches Strategies to Attract Clients and Increase Profits
Host of Get Busy With Clients to lead monthly group coaching call for members on how to implement a strategic marketing plan that attracts clients and increases revenue.West Bloomfield, MI (PRWEB) February 08, 2012 Cheryl Heppard, business and marketing coach, will be leading a group coaching call for holistic practitioners, healing professionals, coaches and solopreneurs for members of her Get ...

People Polled on "What is the Best Link Building Strategy to Get a High Page Rank Website?"
Internet Marketing Company ( http://www.internetmarketingcompany.biz ) Reveals Results of the Poll, "In Your Opinion, What is the Best Link Building Strategy to Get a High Page Rank Website?" on the FacebookÂ® Platform (PRWeb February 07, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/seoservices/internetmarketingconsult/prweb9175836.htm

SearchMarketMe, Internet Marketing Agency Owner Network Embrace "Tipping Point" as Internet Marketing Expenditures ...
SearchMarketMe and its network of 100+ independent Internet Marketing Agency Owners celebrated news this week that internet marketing expenditures have reached the "tipping point" versus print media, as total internet marketing services expenditures are expected to eclipse print media spending by several billion dollars in the USA, in 2012. Internet marketing expenditures will now trail only ...

An Internet Marketing Company With a Big Heart
Web Marketing Pros is Donating Internet Marketing Services to Outreach International(PRWEB) February 02, 2012 Jacksonville Beach, Florida based Web Marketing Pros is donating Internet marketing services to Outreach International, an organization which provides long-term investments to generate growth in marginalized regions and countries.â€œWe will be giving Outreach International free Internet ...

Audience Management and Internet Marketing
From March 22 to 23, 2012, the annual eTarget conference is taking place in Moscow. It is the premier event in Russia where businesses interested in online marketing and brand management can meet brand marketers and proven practitioners, learn and get inspired from detailed case studies.

PLR Internet Marketing Invites Bloggers To Contribute
Warren Wooden from PLR Internet Marketing is opening his online doors to fellow bloggers, and online marketers in the form of guest post submissions. Guest posting has long been seen as one of the more powerful forms of link building, and traffic generation techniques available to the part-time, and professional blogger alike, and yet are still being underused by both groups. ...

SearchMarketMe Providing Free Class From Its Online Training Portal for Prospective Internet Marketing Business Agency ...
During the month of February, SearchMarketMe is providing free access for investigators of its internet marketing business opportunity to the first class in the Agency Owner Training Portal. The first class, "MGMT 101: The Money U," describes the proper application of the unique business model, The Money U, which helps SMM Agency Owners to succeed where other single operator businesses may fail ...

Paton Internet Marketing Recognized by Constant Contactâ€™s Corporate Office
As a Pillar Trustee and a proven leader in the community, Todd Paton and Constant Contact have brought highly successful outcomes to Paton Marketing Clients. Paton Marketing was recently recognized by Constant Contact as an exemplary business partner. Paton Internet Marketing is a progressive leader in the field of Search Engine Optimization, Website Development, and [...]