Hang Up On Landlines, Get Virtual Phone Numbers

There was a time when every business owner had a landline with their phone numbers on display. Some of them still do and they get by, but the world has changed around us.

Today, many large corporations have adopted hybrid or remote working. As for small businesses, many have little more than a post office box for an address. Unfortunately, relying on your existing mobile phone number alone limits your branding options and operation capabilities when coping with dynamic working environments. The number is likely too personal or too generic – which are both not the best for you and for your customers.

Virtual phone numbers, on the other hand, allows you to choose a dedicated mobile, local or toll-free number for your business, even if it’s based entirely online. It allows you to test, build and grow your business wherever you see fit with its flexibility and ease of use. 

Here are seven reasons to choose a virtual phone number over a landline.

1. Save lots of costs

Virtual phone numbers don’t require the infrastructure that landlines do. With virtual phone numbers, you don’t have to worry about wiring or equipment; you just need a phone and a virtual number to be able to use it. There are also plenty of options when it comes to choosing what kind of number you want, so you can find one that has the right look and feel for your business. You can even get multiple virtual phone numbers for different countries and use them from the same mobile or fixed device.

2. Keep your ‘landline’ number, even if you move

When using a virtual phone number, you can keep this existing number when you move premises. Say no to changing numbers or having two lines running at the same time. Avoid these costs, not only in terms of dollars and cents but also in terms of potentially losing customers when they can’t get in touch with you.

On top of that, having the same number promotes continuity. It helps you maintain brand recognition without the need for costly rebranding and marketing efforts.

3. Take calls anywhere in the world

Virtual phone numbers enable businesses to take calls anywhere in the world without the need for additional phone hardware or expensive roaming plans. Hence, it is easily the most popular way to extend your business reach. It allows you to add numbers in new areas without having to change your existing infrastructure.

With virtual phone numbers, you can even add numbers from other countries without having to set up a physical presence there. Customers from any part of the world can call you on these numbers without paying long-distance charges. This is an advantage if you want to provide customer support without asking customers to pay for the call, decreasing the barriers for customers to reach you when they need to.

4. Gain insights on how callers interact with your business and optimise

All communications made through the virtual phone number can be tracked and analysed through an online account in real-time. These include but are not limited to call logs, SMS messages, voice recordings, etc.

More importantly, virtual phone numbers are great for tracking the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, because each individual campaign can be assigned its own number. When you run multiple campaigns concurrently, you can measure which ones perform best, and optimise your marketing budget accordingly.

5. Easily and seamlessly forward calls

Using virtual phone numbers is especially convenient for those who work remotely or travel frequently. Forwarding calls to your mobile device is easy and seamless. The ability to switch devices or allow calls to be answered by someone other than the account owner can be invaluable if you are often on the move.

Many call centres today have also incorporated the use of virtual phone numbers to provide business continuity. When a call centre experiences downtime, it can use virtual phone numbers to ensure that it can still take incoming calls from customers. This is particularly useful when a disaster recovery plan must be implemented quickly or when businesses are looking to deploy a cloud-based call centre.

6. Enjoy the flexibility and scalability as you grow your business

Virtual phone numbers provide the flexibility and scalability needed by SMBs that have a high rate of growth. They’re also great for large corporations needing greater bandwidth for marketing campaigns, seasonal promotions and other short-term programs. 

Easily add capacity to your existing team. Simply scale up or down as needed without any long-term contracts or commitments required. You can also rapidly deploy and test new markets with immediate access to a pool of virtual phone numbers.

To streamline operations and scale even further, virtual phone numbers are oftentimes paired with a cloud-based IVR system. Use this power duo to automate conversations and respond to customer enquiries more efficiently.

7. Automatically route your calls

Lastly, virtual phone numbers outshine landlines or your existing mobile number when it comes to call routing. 

Virtual phone numbers together with time-based routing allow you to direct calls to different answer points based on the time of day. For example, during business hours, the calls are routed to your office. After business hours, however, the calls will be routed to your customer support team that works remotely.

Alternatively, you can also set up location-based routing with your virtual phone numbers. This enables customers calling from certain countries or regions to be directed to the best-equipped team to handle the enquiry. Be it different languages or culture, having customer support teams that understand and relate well to your customers are crucial for all businesses as it helps to increase conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction.

Hang Up On Landlines And Get Virtual Phone Numbers For Your Business Today

In many ways, virtual phone numbers are an answer to the growing needs of businesses that want high-quality phone lines without the hassle and messiness of dealing with landlines. The best part is you can highly customize it according to your business needs. This gives you the flexibility you need to provide your customers with a seamless and clear communication experience.

Are you ready to hang up on landlines and get a virtual phone number instead? Reap the benefits of better call connections and higher customer retention rates. You might also just discover that this relatively simple change is worth it all on its own merits. Switch over today!