So you’re looking for a new phone system for your travel agency? Maybe because you’re facing one of these problems with your current phone system:
- You feel that frequent engaged tones may be leading to frustrated clients and a loss of revenue.
- You’d like a phone system that links to your booking software, such as OTRAMS, so you can greet clients by their name and save time.
- You feel that enquiries may not always be dealt with in the best way so you want to monitor and improve the way your staff interact with your clients.
If so, Yo Telecom is here to help you successfully overcome these challenges. In this short article, we will outline the differences between the phone systems available.
What is the Best Phone System for Travel Agents?
There are three main types of telephone systems available:
- Digital phone systems
- Internet (VOIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol) or cloud-based phone systems
- Hybrid phone systems (the best of both worlds)
I’ll briefly introduce each system and give you the low down on the pros and cons, to show you which system is the best for your travel agency.
Digital Phone Systems for Travel Agents
A digital phone system is a physical phone system that will be located somewhere in your travel agency. It is a small box that is usually mounted on a wall or placed in a cabinet. It connects to your phone lines and all the handsets you have in your office. The main advantage of a digital phone system is its reliability. However, as it is restricted to physical phone lines, it’s not that future proof.
Internet (VoIP) Phone Systems for Travel Agents
An internet phone system, also known as a VoIP or cloud-based phone system, is a virtual phone system so it will not be located in your travel agency. Instead, it will be located in a data centre somewhere in the world. This helps to save money on call charges. However, it’s the most unreliable type of phone system. If your internet cuts out, you won’t be able to make calls at all. Which is hardly ideal when you have clients trying to contact you.
Hybrid Phone Systems for Travel Agents
The hybrid system is a mixture of a digital phone system and an internet (VoIP) phone system. This system will be located in your travel agency and offers flexibility with your choice of cordless and fixed handsets. The best thing about hybrid phone systems is that if one type of phone line fails for you, it can automatically route calls in and out from a backup line. Meaning you can make calls at all times. Hybrid phone systems don’t really have any disadvantages, they really are the best of both worlds.
The Hybrid Phone is the Best Phone System for Travel Agents
As well as being the most reliable phone system you can buy, hybrid phone systems also offer a range of other useful features for estate agents. You can find these listed below:
+ Call Logging
Never let an unanswered call turn into a missed opportunity, bad impression or upset client again. You may miss calls when you’re on the phone, busy helping clients in-store or even when you’re closed. Call Logging works exactly like the call log on your mobile phone, alerting you when you have missed a call so that you can call back immediately and impress your clients.
+ On Hold Marketing (or Music)
Often, you will have to put clients on hold while you try to answer their questions. This feature will allow you to fill those awkward silences by playing marketing messages to your clients. This will help them get a better understanding of the service you are providing and you can even use this time to promote any special offers and deals you have on at the time. Alternatively, we’ll find the perfect piece of music to keep your clients entertained while they’re on hold, sometimes Madonna – Holiday is just too cliché.
+ Call Waiting
Rather than getting an engaged tone when you’re busy on the phone, your phone system will automatically greet clients and notify them that you’re busy on the line. While they are waiting, you can play your fancy new marketing messages to your clients. This will help to keep them amused and on the line, rather than hanging up and calling the next travel agent they find on Google.
+ Call Recording
Make calling your travel agents a nice experience, always, by monitoring and improving the way your staff speak to your clients. If a caller has a bad experience on the phone to you, it can be damaging to your reputation and clients may lose trust in you. With the Call Recording feature of the Yo Telecom phone system, you can listen to every call that has been made or received at your travel agency and use it to find your communication strengths and weaknesses. It also comes in handy if you need to re-listen to any information that is given to you over the phone.
+ Professional Voicemail
If you can’t answer your phone because you’re busy meeting with clients, or because you’re closed, it’s important that your voicemail is informative and helpful. If not, it might be causing your clients to go elsewhere. Yo Telecom’s professional voicemail messages are personalised and recorded specifically for your travel agency to help you achieve your goals.
+ Smart Inbound Call Routing
If you don’t answer a call quickly enough, instead of ending the call, this feature will send that call to another phone or group of phones. To ensure you don’t miss any calls. Say you finish a call with a client before your lunch break and she calls back while you’re away. Instead of this call going straight to voicemail, it will go through to one of your colleagues who can try and assist the caller or take a message for when you return to your desk.
3 Step Plan to Increase the Success of your Travel Agency
1. Book a Demo
Book in for a free demo of our phone systems by calling us on 02382 146115.
2. Sign up for the Option That Suits the Needs of Your Travel Agency
One of our specialist consultants will come to your agency to discuss all of your options until we have come up with the perfect solution.
3. Let us Take Care of a Hassle Free Installation & Training
Your delivery and installation date will be booked on a day that suits you. We’ll take care of the whole switch over and will train you to make the most of the features on your new phone system!
