6 Ways Virtual Phone Numbers Can Help Your Small Business
There are tons of virtual things today. Even virtual reality! But virtual phone numbers are a much more practical help for your business. Here’s how it works.
Landlines are so last year. Just because they’re outdated, however, doesn’t mean that we can all just ditch the traditional phones in our offices. We need alternatives that are just as effective, if not more, than our old landlines.
Of course, those alternatives already exist. And, no, we’re not talking about personal cell phones here.
We’re instead talking about virtual phone numbers. These are real phone numbers that aren’t attached to any devices in particular, which makes them ideal for many companies nowadays.
Want to know how these virtual numbers can benefit your business? Follow along as we give you some deets on just what virtual numbers are and why they’re such a boon to businesses.
What Are Virtual Phone Numbers?
Simply put, virtual phones numbers are numbers which aren’t connected to any particular devices. This is the exact opposite of the numbers associated with landlines. Landlines have a sort of “one phone, one number” thing going on.
Virtual phone numbers allow calls and messages to be forwarded to several different devices or voicemail boxes. Anyone who has permission to access these apps or voicemail boxes associated with them may check these calls and messages.
Calls are sometimes forwarded to certain employees via virtual extensions. These employees can use their mobile and home phones to receive these calls.
No Strict Dependency On Hardware
As we stated before, virtual numbers aren’t connected to any hardware or devices in particular. Consequently, they’re not entirely dependent on that hardware.
Just think about what used to happen when one of the office phones was malfunctioning. That phone couldn’t receive calls or messages, and workflow was negatively impacted as a result.
Companies that use virtual phone numbers don’t have this problem. This is because each employee uses his or her own device to take business calls. With technology like this around, it’s not hard to see why some companies are ditching landlines.
Conducting Business Remotely
More and more companies are hiring employees to work remotely these days. Some businesses have even set up virtual offices. We no doubt have several advancements in technology to thank for some of this shift towards more remote work.
Virtual numbers make remote work easier for both employers and employees. Whenever someone calls a business’s office, the call or message always gets to its intended target. That target could be in New York or Tokyo and would still get the call or message.
Not only do they receive messages that were intended for them, but they get them much quicker than they ordinarily would. Needless to say, this can have a positive effect on workflow and customer satisfaction.
No Long-Distance Charges
If you’ve ever tried to call a business which was located outside of your country, you know all about long-distance charges. They might small in the grand scheme of things, but prices can be hefty for a single phone call.
That said, do you really want someone to avoid calling your business number because he or she didn’t want to pay the fees associated with doing so?
We didn’t think so.
Fortunately for businesses who go virtual with their numbers, customers won’t be charged long-distance fees for dialing virtual phone numbers if they call from the virtual number’s calling area or even country. This means that clients and customers won’t ever hesitate to dial your number because of their location.
Establishing a More Global Presence
Remember when we said that virtual numbers aren’t attached to any hardware? We weren’t lying there. They are, though, associated with different area codes.
In other words, you have to purchase a separate virtual number for each area code you want to use one in.
That isn’t, however, so bad since your business doesn’t need to have a number for each location on the globe to make a large impression. It just needs to have a number in any city which is crucial to its marketing campaign or generally good for business. Doing so can help a business slowly develop a more global presence.
Privacy
Call us paranoid, but there is no reason to give clients and business associates you hardly know your personal information. This is essentially what happens when clients and associates call your cell number in order to do business with you. They do, after all, have your personal cell number, which they can abuse.
Though employees still use their cells to access virtual voicemails and messages, clients don’t actually call their personal numbers to leave those numbers. They use the company extensions which come with the virtual numbers. Or, each employee can be issued a new, company controlled phone number that forwards to their cell phone.
Keeping Your Circles Separate
If you’re not concerned about privacy, you should at least be concerned about keeping their circles separate. Work is work, and play is play. There is no need to mix the two.
And, yes, this goes for everything from social media to social gatherings.
That is to say, using the same number for work and leisure is not ideal. It might seem harmless, but what happens if a voicemail greeting is not professional and a client finds it unacceptable? Surely employees want to have fun with their friends and family, so it hardly seems fair to always be in business mode outside of the workplace.
Further still, what would happen if an employee answered his or her personal phone expecting to find a friend or family member on the other end? Maybe the employee wouldn’t be as formal as a client would prefer him or to be.
The beauty of virtual phone numbers is that there is no risk of this happening. Employees might use their cells, but there are two different numbers for their work and play.
Are Virtual Phone Numbers In Your Future?
So, after hearing about virtual numbers and their benefits, do you think that virtual numbers are in your future? You might be scared to toss your landline, but with time, we’re sure that you’ll warm up to the idea of going virtual.
Not quite ready to make the leap? That’s okay. Just take things one step at a time.
How about starting with our voicemail services? We provide free phone and fax numbers and affordable phone systems.
Sound like something you want? Contact us at 800.347.2861.