BEFORE RINGING IN YOUR NEW VOICE SERVICES, ANSWER THESE.

Four Questions to Ask When Choosing a Voice Services Provider

What's your main objective for wanting integrated voice services?

Simple enough question, but you'd be surprised at how many people don't zero in on the answer and end up choosing a provider based upon costs alone. Sure, cost issues are a key motive for small businesses considering changing providers. But beware that lower costs can mean lower value. Those misleading numbers can often translate into lower service, minimal features and zero room for growth.

So, before you can know which provider is right for you, you first have to know yourself. Besides the obvious cost factor, what else are you looking for? Simplified administrative tasks? Features that enhance productivity, flexibility, and scalability? Make a list of priorities and then you can conduct your search in a focused manner.

Ask about the provider's customer retention ratio.

What better yardstick for a company's success than happy customers? Be sure to investigate all voice providers' customer retention rates to gauge satisfaction with service, quality and value. You might even ask to be referred to existing customers who can provide firsthand testimonials and references.

Advertised rates don't always add up. Ask about equipment and other investments.

We've already touched briefly on misleading costs, but let's delve further. Face it; there are bad apples in every industry. And not every provider has the financial strength CIMCO has to start you up investment-free.

Some voice services providers will promise you rates so extraordinary that they're hard to believe! Well don't believe anything until you read the fine print. Make sure you aren't signing for volume commitments or contracts with usage penalties.

How much equipment investment is required? Will you need to purchase new IP or can existing equipment do the job? Do you need to purchase or buy PBX equipment? What about the cost of installation and start up?

To make a decision that's cost-efficient, be sure to calculate the bottom line. Here's even better advice. Be sure to choose a provider with a long-standing reputation and strong retention rate.

Make sure that your provider's customer service is better than good enough.

You don't have to be a big company to demand quality attention and service. Your small business depends upon its communications as much as any other company does. Make sure the provider you select doesn't shuffle you around its auto-attendant phone tree, and that a live representative will always be on hand to answer your questions 24x7x365. You deserve it.