The Key to Communications for Small Business

Don’t just survive… Thrive

It is widely acknowledged that small business is the engine of job creation and economic health today. With a sophisticated, mobile workforce and limited resources for dedicated phone answering staff, small business needs advanced phone systems as much as its larger counterparts do. The availability of sophisticated technology that was previously only affordable in a corporate environment has leveled the playing field between big and small firms. The telephone is absolutely vital to the running of most every business. Your business is truly unique if you really believe that it could survive without this tool for staying in contact with your customers, suppliers, and the rest of the world.

Almost every business today faces the mounting pressure to sustain and even grow revenue. Enabling greater productivity across your business without adding people or substantially increasing costs – is an imperative every small business must embrace to stay ahead of competitors and in front of its customers. Productivity improvements help keep businesses lean, while driving greater customer service and in turn, more revenue. One solution has helped over one million small businesses do all that and more is the Avaya PARTNER® Advanced Communications System. The Partner ACS is a small business phone system that provides the reliability and simplicity of traditional telephony with the advanced functionality of IP telephony. We know that the right solution for your business is one that helps you increase profitability, improve productivity and gain competitive advantages

Buying a phone system is one of the most important purchases any business will ever make. The selection of a phone system can either bring a business closer to its customers and clients or, cause confusion and chaos amongst all that use or interact with it. It is important that when buying a new office phone system, that you know your requirements in advance. When considering buying a new telephone system for your business, there are two major factors that determine the size of the system you require:

• Lines. These are sometimes called trunks. The number of lines a system has denotes the number of outside lines being used by a company.
• Extensions. Most extensions will be made up of handsets, though any equipment that requires a phone line is classed as an extension. This includes fax machines, modems, and credit card equipment etc.

The Partner ACS supports five incoming lines and nine extensions with a maximum configuration of 21 lines and 44 extensions, or 31 lines and eight extensions. Partner ACS offers options that include Caller ID, Distinctive Ringing, Send All Calls, Speed Dialing, and five-party conferencing. In addition to these productivity tools, the system also has a wide range of cost-control features.  Connect PARTNER ACS to analog lines, a T1, or newer IP-based technologies such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) trunking, which can provide cost savings.

  

• Keep everyone in touch – Calls to your desk phone can ring simultaneously on your cell or home phone. Waiting for an important client call, but you’re in transit? With Partner ACS, you are virtually in the office. Customers will appreciate your accessibility and responsiveness, and you will be more productive. Can your competitors do that?  Down the hall or out in the warehouse? Grab a Partner wireless phone and roam far and wide with the confidence you’ll be there for customers and colleagues alike. Make faster decisions. Delight your customers. Build your business. 

 

• Messaging – PARTNER ACS offers two messaging options: (1) PARTNER Voice Messaging (PVM) card, available through a plug-in PC card, provides basic voicemail and attendant capabilities. The configuration consists of two voice channels (ports) and up to 12 mailboxes. (2) The PARTNER Messaging module, PARTNER Messaging R7, is designed for customers who require moderate to advanced voice messaging capabilities and provides two, four, or six voice channels and up to 200 mailboxes.Automatically receive notification and listen to voice messages when out of the office, or listen to your voice messages right from your email inbox. 

 

• Automated Attendant – Built-in automated attendants let you deliver information to customers (especially repetitive questions such as directions and store hours) and make sure calls get where they need to be fast. Day and night attendant settings help ensure every call is handled professionally. Answers calls with a custom-recorded greeting and presents callers with a menu of destination options (routes) to guide them to the right person, department, or voice mailbox. Talk about first impressions; telephone greetings are critical. A pleasant phone greeting is essential to a successful call because it sets the stage emotionally.

 

• Music/Message On-hold – A strategically written, professionally produced on-hold message reduces hang-ups, but can do so much more. Give callers the information you want them to have. Utilizing a high quality digital playback system with your Partner ACS can help you transform a wasted advertising opportunity into a positive experience for the caller. We can customize a message that projects the image you want for your business. We’ll coordinate the right information, voice and music in a way that benefits your business every time a call is placed on hold.

  
The Avaya Partner ACS is a converged small business phone system that is designed to help meet the complex business needs facing small enterprises today. The system is highly modular: adding lines or stations means increasing system capacity with plug-in cards, and simply plugging in the new lines and stations. Partner ACS is the No. 1 selling key system worldwide. Businesses everywhere have been using it for the past 10 years. There are nearly 1 million Partner systems installed around the world -with over 700,000 installed in the United States alone.

A great phone system does more than just keep you connected to each other and your customers. It helps your busi­ness operate like a well-oiled machine, it keeps customers coming back for more and ultimately, helps grow revenue in ways you may never have imagined.

Jamie Wood, Avatel EVP

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