To Whom Should You Entrust Your Business Telephone System?

 Imagine suddenly discovering your clients and customers are dialing your company’s primary telephone number and are hearing a recording that states, “the number you have reached has been disconnected.” You feel your heart pounding wildly as beads of sweat roll down your face. You’re thinking, ‘there must be some kind of mistake,’ because you know you’ve paid your phone bill on time. You dial the number yourself and sure enough that dreadful recording is proclaiming your business phone has been disconnected. It suddenly hits you that your company’s telephone lines are no longer in service and there is no mistake about it since the recording just repeated your company’s telephone number verbatim.

You realize your customers and clients are now assuming the worst about you and your business. Adding to your stress, it dawns on you that your television and radio commercials are airing across the country and are directing hundreds of potential customers to a phone number that is no longer in service. Just at that moment your cell phone rings and it’s your advertising agency apprising you of the fact that they’re getting telephone calls from the television and radio stations asking what is going on with your phone lines. Your customers are now calling the TV station to confirm your company is out of business. How could this be happening to you despite the fact that you’ve work so hard to protect your company’s image, which includes paying all your invoices on time?

Unfortunately, this is a true story and the principals of this business did not get a second chance to make their case to the callers who were responding to their television and radio commercials; or to the clients who were trying to reach them while their telephones remained “accidentally” disconnected.

First impressions have a way of leaving permanent perceptions about you and your company. In today’s world, communication is the heart of any enterprise and remains the responsibility of the business owner to make sure the service provider of his or her choice is up to the task.

One such company that has maintained its hallmark of reliability is Verizon Communications, Inc. Whether you own a small business or a large corporation, Verizon specializes in communication for businesses of all sizes and complexity. While other companies are looking to break into the telecommunications field, business owners need to understand that their telephone system may be at risk when placed in the hands of a service provider whose core competency may be something other than telecommunications. Having your telephone system fail or having your phones accidentally disconnected is not the way to ascertain the strengths or weaknesses of your service provider. Do the research before you make a decision that could prove to be the most important business decision you may ever have to make.

As the winner of the American Brand Excellence Award, Verizon is ranked as the best telecommunications company to meet the telecommunications needs of small businesses. Verizon has achieved this level of excellence by consistently offering reliable services such as FiOS for Business.

Verizon FiOS has quickly become the standard for small business owners who are serious about taking their company to the next level. Fiber Optics is the future and is leveraged by Verizon through their bundled packages that include: Internet, Telephone and Television. In studies comparing FiOS to cable, FiOS consistently outperforms the competition. With 100% fiber optics, download and upload speeds are significantly faster and more reliable whereas cable companies generally charge more for slower speeds. With FiOS phone, Verizon offers affordable plans and Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, which has become a popular communication tool for small businesses. Verizon’s FiOS TV is more than just delivering a high quality television picture and sound so you can watch the latest sporting event; it’s providing reliable, super-fast uploading and downloading for critical online tasks such as video-conferencing; or interacting with employees who may work from home or from halfway across the world.

Verizon’s FiOS is the proven choice for many small- to medium-sized businesses. A recent Computerworld article states, “when it comes to connection reliability and speed, our survey shows that FiOS is a clear winner over cable…” The network allows companies to leverage high bandwidth applications while also providing critical voice communications. Pricing plans are affordable, starting as low as $19.99 a month.

Verizon has demonstrated over the years its commitment to providing quality and reliable service to small and medium-sized companies. They have an interest in seeing your company prosper, as evidenced by the Verizon Small Business Center, a professional networking site dedicated to helping business owners become more productive and better equipped to compete in today’s marketplace.

There are rarely any second chances when it comes to pitching your products or services. Whether you are hosting a teleconference or waiting for potential customers to call, the folks at Verizon understand you have other things to worry about than your telephone system failing you. They may not be able to make the pitch for you, but they’ll give you every opportunity to shine so that you can take your business to the next level.

This article was written by Omar Reed, a freelance business writer and financial analyst