Why are business franchises moving to Cloud phone systems?

As a franchise owner, do you ever feel the pressure of maintaining national brand consistency with local market needs? You aren’t alone! Cloud phone systems bridge the gap and ensure a consistent brand experience for callers in all locations, while leaving room for personalising approaches to specific local markets.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a Cloud-based telephony solution that is often deployed on a predictable month-by-month subscription basis. It provides calls to your business hosted over the internet, and some advanced models will also provide other communications solutions such as messaging or video. It is generally much more accessible than traditional analogue phone systems, and it suits scaling businesses as it is easy to add and remove lines and users - perfect for your franchise chain!

What makes franchises unique?

Franchises have a very specific set of needs, because of your widespread geographical nature and unique structure which may fluctuate in numbers. Some of these include:

• Distributed locations and workforces
• A need for standardisation and brand consistency
• Centralised management
• Multiple locations, potentially globally
• Scalability key as business expands
• Compliance with industry specific regulations

This means that you need a business phone system that is flexible and scalable, and is able to operate regardless of geographical location factors. 

Let’s take a look at some of the key reasons that business franchises are moving to Cloud business phone systems:

Cost-effectiveness and predictable budgeting

While traditional analogue phone lines come with large upfront investments and ongoing maintenance costs, Cloud phone systems reside on managed Cloud servers, requiring minimal onsite hardware on your part. With an as-a-service model, you only pay for the amount you use, which is cost-effective and flexible (key for franchises!). This ultimately simplifies budgeting for your communications solution, and can be easily scaled depending on the number of user extensions and lines that you need, regardless of their location.

Typically, these will be hosted by large companies such as Amazon or Google, so your franchise is also getting the best threat defence and stability for their business phone system.

Scaling your business phone system

This brings us to scalability, which we know is a key factor of consideration for you as a franchise owner. Cloud based phone systems adapt seamlessly to any fluctuations in size, and you can increase or decrease the number of seats (phone lines) as needed. Studies show that switching to Cloud solutions can save your franchise up to 50% compared to traditional business phone systems, freeing up capital for expansion and new business ventures.

Brand consistency across franchise chains

Creating a consistent customer experience across all your franchise chains is crucial, and you can do this within your business phone system. You can standardise greetings, music, and messaging and manage it in our centralised, user friendly Yay.com dashboard. You are able to reinforce your franchise values and policies even when serving customers virtually over the phone.

Remote working and remote management

Many types of businesses, including franchises, have employees who work remotely. As a manager, you are also able to open new phone locations by leveraging the combined benefits of scalability and remote working tools that VoIP provides. You can manage your franchise phone system, including users and regional phone numbers, from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. 

Nearly 70% of businesses in the United States currently offer some form of remote work options. Cloud based telephony empowers you to embrace this growing global trend and build a more flexible and agile franchise operation.

Local and non-geographic phone numbers

Imagine you run a pizza delivery franchise and have chains in a number of towns. With Cloud phone services, you are able to acquire a local phone number for each location, which allows your customers to call their local store directly. Additionally, you could utilise a nationwide 0330 number for general inquiries, or you could use this number to then route calls to the appropriate chain. 

With the option to purchase non-geographic and local numbers, you have options to best suit your business and your customers’ needs, while projecting a professional and organised brand image (all while saving money compared to traditional phone lines!).

Enhanced customer service

Did you know that 96% of customers consider exceptional customer service a major factor in their brand loyalty (Microsoft)? Cloud business phone solutions can empower you to deliver that kind of service.

Here’s how:

Professional auto-attendants - You can utilise professional auto-attendants to greet callers professionally and personally, and route them quickly to the appropriate person, department, or location.

Seamless call routing - Ensuring that calls quickly reach the right destination and reducing wait times improves your customer’s satisfaction.

Improved call resolution by utilising recording tools - You can utilise Cloud phone system features such as recording to coach staff and improve customer satisfaction rates, and these features can integrate seamlessly into your business phone system.

Boost Your Business Franchise With a Cloud Phone System

Cloud phone systems offer your franchise compelling advantages. Franchises benefit particularly from utilising VoIP services because they are distributed in nature and call for scalability at pace, standardisation of services, and remote management of multiple lines and locations. By implementing this technology, you can unlock your franchise’s full potential, streamline communication both internally and with your customers, and deliver better service.

 

Try our VoIP phone system for free and find out how it can help with the expansion of your growing franchise.