Why the telephone system is a factor for success #

Telephony is more than just a contact channel—it is often the first direct touchpoint between potential customers and companies. Especially in marketing and sales, a professionally conducted call determines whether a prospect becomes a lead and ultimately a customer.

However, many companies still rely on outdated, non-cloud-enabled, or analog systems that run in isolation, do not provide data, and are difficult to integrate into modern marketing and sales stacks. In addition, there is often no way to ensure voice quality across locations or to centrally manage different end devices.

The problem: #

• Lack of transparency regarding call sources
• No integration with CRM and analytics
• No tracking – no insights – no optimization
• High maintenance costs and lack of scalability

The solution: #

A modern, cloud-based telephone system that can be scaled flexibly, requires little maintenance, and covers key requirements such as lead management, performance measurement, and integration into existing systems.

What makes the best telephone systems? #

The best telephone systems for businesses not only offer voice connections, but also come with features that simplify processes, ensure voice quality, and measurably improve results. Important criteria:

• Cloud-based architecture (vPBX): Can be used anywhere, is flexibly scalable, and requires no manual maintenance—ideal for efficiently managing multiple locations and home office models.
• Intelligent call control: Forwarding based on time, responsibility, or availability – so calls are automatically routed to the right person on the appropriate device.
• Integrated call tracking: Make success measurable – down to the campaign or keyword level, even with parallel use of analog extensions or traditional numbers.
• CRM integration: Automatic lead transfer in real time – no manual transfer, no lost contacts, but system-supported management of all leads.
• Real-time reporting & dashboards: For maximum transparency and informed optimizations – ideal for monitoring performance across channels and ensuring that no lead goes undetected.
• Call qualification: Via tagging, ratings, or automation – this allows you to determine during the call whether it is a qualified lead or, for example, a service case.
• GDPR compliance: Secure handling of sensitive data through hosting in Germany and encrypted processing – even for calls made on mobile devices.

Telephone systems compared #

1. NFON #

NFON is aimed at companies looking for a stable, classic cloud telephone system. The solution is particularly suitable for medium-sized organizations that need many extensions and a clear separation between support, sales, and administration. It is easy to use and the system is tried and tested – but when it comes to data-driven marketing, performance analysis, or automated lead processing, NFON quickly reaches its limits. It remains a pure telephone system – without tracking, reporting, or conversion allocation.

Typical target group:
Administration, support, or back office staff in medium-sized companies who are looking for reliable, but purely voice-based communication—without performance evaluation.

Use case:
A company with 50 customer service employees uses NFON for daily availability without evaluating inbound channels or qualifying leads.

Limitations:
As soon as marketing or sales are involved, things get tricky: no insight into caller sources, no possibility to evaluate or forward leads – no way to monitor the effectiveness of your own campaigns.

2. Placetel by Cisco #

Placetel is technically mature and offers many additional features, especially in the area of internal communication – from team chats to video calls. As part of the Cisco ecosystem, the platform is particularly interesting for companies that already rely on Cisco technology. However, the modular structure also has disadvantages: many important features cost extra, and price transparency suffers. Those who want to track leads, evaluate marketing campaigns, or automatically transfer calls to CRM have to work with external tools or manual workarounds. Placetel is therefore rather unsuitable for data-based decision-making.

Typical target group:
IT-savvy companies or agencies with a focus on internal communication and technical infrastructure. Designed more for collaboration than for marketing.

Use case:
An IT team uses Placetel to connect teams in Berlin, Munich, and Cologne. The telephone system is integrated into the Cisco setup—without any connection to marketing or lead management.

Limitations:
No option to link calls directly to digital campaigns or automatically transfer leads to CRM. No tracking, no database for optimization.

3. Aircall #

Aircall is a modern solution that is clearly aimed at fast-growing sales and support teams. The interface is simple and integration with common tools is excellent – for example, a call can be documented directly in HubSpot or Salesforce. What is missing, however, is the bridge to the marketing world: there is no native way to assign calls to campaigns, report conversions in Google Ads, or generate deeper insights. There is also no provision for automatic qualification or evaluation of calls. So if you rely on clear performance figures and cross-channel measurability, you will quickly reach Aircall’s limits.

Typical target group:
Startups and SaaS companies with a focus on sales teams that need fast and efficient processes but do not rely on cross-channel performance data.

Use case:
A 10-person SDR team uses Aircall for outbound sales. All calls are documented in the CRM—but the source of the lead (campaign, ad, search term) remains unknown.

Limitation:
Marketing and sales run separately. No insights into which measures generate leads, no Google Ads feedback, no prioritization of calls by relevance.

4. matelso platform #

Typical target group:
Marketing managers, CMOs, performance managers, sales managers – anyone who wants to gain real insights and generate revenue from customer communications.

Use case:
An e-commerce company runs Google Ads and Meta campaigns with phone numbers as CTAs. Thanks to matelso, calls are dynamically tracked, evaluated, automatically transferred to the CRM, and fed back into Google Ads as conversions. The marketing department knows exactly which ad triggered the call – including the conversion value.

Strengths:

• Clear separation of leads vs. support
• Performance-oriented decisions possible
• Complete customer journey including telephone visible

Limitations:
Not suitable if companies are not interested in tracking, analysis, or process automation and want to use telephony purely as a basic tool.

Why matelso is the best telephone system #

The matelso platform goes far beyond the functions of a traditional telephone system. It transforms every call—whether via mobile device, analog terminal, or modern VoIP solution—into a measurable, qualifiable, and automatically processable lead. This turns telephony from a pure means of communication into an active performance channel that intelligently connects sales and marketing.

Unlike many conventional systems, matelso not only provides high-quality voice connections, but also the data you need to optimize processes, manage campaigns, and efficiently pass on leads.

These features make the difference:

The matelso platform is a fully cloud-based communication solution that combines classic telephony with modern lead management, data analysis, and CRM integration. The platform is scalable, low-maintenance, and can be easily integrated into existing infrastructures – whether you work with 5 or 500 users.

1. vPBX (virtual private branch exchange)

• Fully cloud-based – no hardware required.
• Unlimited scaling for teams, locations, and home offices.
• Includes number management, call forwarding, voicemail, routing rules, and much more.

2. Call tracking & touchpoint assignment

• Each call is assigned to its source (campaign, medium, keyword) – via a dynamic number pool or fixed numbers.
• First touch and last touch can be evaluated – fully integrated into Google Analytics 4.
• Real business value per channel becomes visible: Which call came via Google Ads? Which via LinkedIn?

3. CRM connection & automatic lead forwarding

• Seamless integration into tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, or individual CRMs via webhook/API.
• Call data, ratings, and tags are automatically transmitted.
• No more manual transfer – leads go directly to the right contact person.

4. Lead qualification directly during the call

• Agents or systems can tag calls with labels such as “new customer,” “existing customer,” “spam,” or user-defined terms.
• Calls can be rated with 1–5 stars.
• Automation: Only genuine leads are processed—everything else is filtered out.

5. Analytics & performance measurement

• Native pushes to Google Analytics 4: All call data appears as events—including source, medium, conversion value, and rating.
• Google Ads integration: Track calls as conversions.
• Looker Studio Dashboard (optional): Custom reports at the touch of a button, e.g., by region, campaign, qualification, time.

6. Data protection & hosting

• 100% GDPR compliant.
• Server location: Germany.
• No routing via third-party providers, full data control.

How much does the matelso platform cost? #

The matelso platform is not only impressive in terms of functionality, but also offers a fair and flexible pricing model. Instead of rigid packages, you only pay for what you really need – and can adjust your plan at any time.

Starting at just €19.60 per user per month, you get access to all the relevant features of the platform:

• 250 conversations included – whether by phone, chat, or other channels
• 20 of these contacts can be handled by the matelso ServiceCenter – ideal when your team is unavailable
• Cancelable monthly – maximum flexibility, no long-term commitment
• Full transparency – no hidden additional costs

For companies with higher requirements, matelso offers scalable models and individual add-ons – from extended call quotas to deep system integrations.

Your advantage:
You don’t pay for unnecessary features or unused extensions, but for real added value in lead communication.

In short: More performance, more control, more ROI.

Conclusion: #

For companies that see telephony not only as a means of communication but also as a strategic performance tool, the matelso platform offers the most powerful solution on the market.

This is because the cloud-based telephone system becomes the central component of scalable lead and campaign management—with a clear database, automated qualification, and seamless integration into existing systems.

More visibility. More efficiency. More impact.