magazine
36
Nine Telecoms Mistakes to
AvoidWhen Starting a Business
Around 500,000 new businesses
start up each year and far too
many of them make mistakes
with their telecoms – mistakes
that cost money and result in
lost business. Here, Dave Millett
of independent telecoms
brokerage Equinox explains nine
of the most common, easily
avoidable mistakes that new
business owners make time and
time again.
Business Telephony
About the author
Dave Millett has over 35 years’ experience
in the telecoms industry. He has worked
in European Director roles for several
global companies and now runs Equinox
Communications, a leading independent
brokerage and consultancy firm. He works
with many companies, charities and other
organisations and has helped them achieve
savings of up to 80%. He also regularly
advises telecoms suppliers on improving
their products and propositions.
For micro businesses, a simple inbound geographic
number can be set up for circa £7 a month. For
a little extra, it can have voicemail and a whisper
facility to tell you that it is a business call. This
can help you utilise a single device for business
and leisure. For those worried about presenting a
mobile number when dialling out, it’s possible to
have a landline on your mobile as an app.
Beyond that, for businesses wanting a little
more sophistication or for larger start-ups, the
choice is VOIP or traditional telecoms solutions.
As a guide, the more sites you have and the
greater the likelihood of an increase in staffing
levels, the more likely it is that VOIP, with its
flexibility and scalability, will be the best solution.
If you are looking for more sophisticated features
and are communications-intensive, a PBX may
be a better solution.
The guides here may help:
.
equinoxcomms.co.uk/is-the-pbx-making-
a-comeback-or-have-hosted-companies-
lost-the-marketing-plot/
and
.
equinoxcomms.co.uk/things-to-consider-
before-choosing-a-voip-supplier/
Overall, our advice to any new business
owner is to be careful. Think about the nature
and needs of your business, not just now, but
in the future too. Look at the points above and
ask potential providers the relevant questions,
and ensure your telecoms align with your plans
for the business. If in doubt, an independent
telecoms broker can help.
So what are the best options for start-ups?
Only having a mobile number.
Research shows that over 30% of people don’t
trust, and therefore will not contact, mobile
numbers. Plus, you’ll have a single voicemail
for personal and business calls. A mobile
number can create the wrong impression.
084 numbers
Using inbound numbers such as 0800, 0844
or 0845 creates two problems. First, the rules
on using 0845 for post-sales service changed
on June 14th 2014 when they become illegal
(see:
use-0800-0844-0845-or-0870-numbers-
if-so-you-may-need-to-change-them/
).
Second, if most of your customers call you
from their mobile then, until next year, they’ll
get a warning telling them it will cost a lot of
money, at which point 40% will hang up. From
next year, calls will be free for the caller but
more expensive for the owner of the number.
Not reading the small print
Check contract lengths, notice periods and
penalty clauses, and ensure your supplier
is signed up to the Telecoms Ombudsman.
A list of participating companies can be
found at
/
memberlists/communications/.
Planning for the future
How might your business develop in the first
two to three years? Are the telecoms in place
on day one flexible and scalable should you
expand? If you are working from home, is the
number portable should you move into offices?
Skype
Skype certainly offers some useful features but
not everyone in business uses Skype, particularly
larger businesses. Also, Skype phone numbers
are not portable, so when you have outgrown
Skype you’ll lose the use of that number.
Call Answering Services
The key question is what do you want them to
do? If it is just to take a message you need to
ask yourself what value that is adding. However,
if they can handle certain queries, then that can
enhance your offering.
Serviced office provided numbers
This can be very expensive compared to
organising your own telecoms and they may
not release the number should you move out.
Some business centres offer to forward calls
but this can be costly. Always ask if you can
bring your own number and, if not, are the
numbers portable if you leave.
Using your home number
How will you know if it’s your mother calling
or an important new customer? Also, you
can’t turn your business off in the evening
and at weekends; there is limited functionality
for handling a second call and personalising
voicemails; and you might not be able to take
the number with you if you move.
Long term contracts
It’s tempting to accept offers of free installation
if you sign three- or five-year contracts, but if
you expand and/or move the business, you could
face penalties for cancelling the contract. And
you are locking yourself into prices at a time
when prices are generally going down.
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