With 8x8’s all-in-one voice, video, and chat capabilities, Sporting Smiles gained a feature-rich communications platform that would fit their needs now and into the future.
“Right when I started my company, we chose 8x8 for our communications needs,” McCarthy recalls. “It provided the flexibility to work from home or the office, which was especially important to me as a small business owner.”
8x8 Work enables businesses like Sporting Smiles to collaborate through voice, video, and chat on a unified communications platform. Users can manage calls flexibly and chat with contacts, as well as schedule and conduct productive meetings within their companies or with external participants.
“When we moved into our new building, there were some rooms that didn’t have fixed hard internet lines,” McCarthy says. “Being able to put an adaptor in the back of the phones and have them be wireless instantly saved us hiring an electrician to run network cords. That was a huge feature because it got us up and running quickly and saved a ton of money.”
Installation was quick and easy, which helped the young business avoid costly infrastructure and staffing costs.
“I had no experience with any phone system whatsoever,” McCarthy recalls. “I set up our call groups, our ring groups. It’s really simple.”
And when McCarthy and his team do require extra assistance, the 8x8 support team stands ready to assist.
“I have a direct 8x8 support manager,” McCarthy says. “I send him an email and usually get an answer in a few hours, so it works out really well.”
Seth Newman, Head of Marketing at Sporting Smiles, also recognizes the importance of having a reliable communications system in place.
“Because we’re 100% online, we get a ton of calls every day regarding how the impression kits work, how the impressions look, order updates, etc.,” Newman reflects. “Our communications skills are very important, and 8x8 has really met that with their phone system. Voice quality is excellent. It’s crystal clear communication.”
McCarthy discovered that 8x8’s system included features that he could leverage in marketing his business.
“It was nice having an auto-attendant where you could call up and ’press 1 for this, press 2 for this’,” McCarthy says. “Now we have people answering in each one of those departments, but at the time, it all rang to the same spot, so it made us look bigger.”
Newman considers the 8x8 system advantageous to his marketing outreach, as Sporting Smiles delivers phone-exclusive promotional offers when customers are placed on hold.
“I asked myself: ‘How can I use the phone and communication system to market to our customers while they’re on the phone with us?’ After about a half hour of going through the 8x8 website and the system, I felt like I was an expert in 8x8. I had a new hold message, a new greeting, and a new voicemail message. It’s been great using 8x8, especially the ease of customization.”
Newman likes that the 8x8 system allows users to record messages offline.
“I was able to outsource some voice talent, put it together in Adobe Audition, make it sound great, and then upload it to 8x8,” Newman says. “It wasn’t intimidating to change how the phone system works.”
Sporting Smiles uses 8x8 chat to enable customers to share images of their impressions for verification and quality assurance purposes.
And with 8x8 delivering robust and reliable business communications, McCarthy can stay laser focused on delivering cutting edge dental products at the best possible price—and that’s a prescription that keeps customers grinning from ear-to-ear.
