Businesses are switching to VoIP services for their scalability, cost-effectiveness and low upfront investment. But most in-house IT employees aren’t experts in this technology.
This creates a great opportunity for field service providers, according to an article on TMCnet.com. Delivering VoIP services boosts recurring revenue while also providing clients with a value-added service.
As a service provider, tracking monthly retainers is critical to preventing revenue from escaping the organization. There are software tools available in the market that allow companies to know exactly what services customers are entitled to from their prepaid service agreements.
These tools also can let the firms know how many hours or dollars are left on their service agreement at any given time. Each time a customer calls for services, both parties should know exactly what services are provided and what services cost extra. This will go a long way to help customers understand that you can consistently deliver superior services.
The article recommends that providers focus on offering VoIP services to businesses that have no more than 100 employees. Why? Because these companies need first-rate VoIP operability, but generally lack the IT staff necessary to manage VoIP-related network sources.
Mike Byrne, software director of MSP for Quest, says businesses that already sell to small- and medium-sized business have an advantage over larger providers.
“These emerging vendors are traditionally known for providing different types of technology, but have now added on VoIP capability,” Byrne says. “Many of them also have strong channel programs, presenting a sustainable business opportunity.”
As the TMCnet.com article explains, “instead of relying on VoIP equipment vendors and their service-level agreements for maintenance, SMBs can simply hand over VoIP management to a” field service provider.
Providers are able to offer several VoIP services, such as remote monitoring, alert systems and network traffic analysis.
“By monitoring traffic flow, [service providers] can deliver a value-added service by improving the speed and quality of the company’s VoIP system and gain extra revenue/further expand the relationship,” Byrne says.
Source: TMCnet.com, July 2012