Even though we are surrounded by technological advancements, the phone is still a key part of almost all business communications. How we use the phone is still the same basic principle: We get a call, we pick it up and we do business. However, today there are more options for the way we interact with our phone system.
A virtual phone system is a phone system that lives in the cloud, using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to send and receive calls. You get your phone number and have many different services associated with it, including:
- Text Messaging. Text messaging is the number one way people communicate. With businesses, it is no different. Virtual phone system companies such as Ninja Number give their business users a texting feature that allows you to manually or automatically send out a text message back to a potential or current customer. That means you’re not playing phone tag all day, you can connect to more people who prefer to text (especially the younger generation), and you can communicate with people who don’t like talking on the phone or have language barriers.
- Call Forwarding. Call forwarding isn’t anything new. However, how can use it now are expanding. For example, if you want to give your number to someone or list your number in a directory, you can have multiple phone numbers that can be used instead of your actual phone number. This is a great privacy feature and useful for separating business and personal calls. You can forward any calls to you or any of your employees who also use the same phone system anywhere in the world so you can always be easily reached. In the past, having multiple numbers and extensions would have been expensive and you may have needed more equipment. Since everything is virtual and on your cell phone, it’s much more cost-effective.
- Call Reporting. Since everything can be tracked via your virtual phone system on your phone, you can see all incoming and outgoing calls as well as the metrics you may want to know to help grow your business. For example, you can see what countries or states you get the most calls from. You can view what time of the day people call the most and how many calls you get each day, month, or year. Having access to this kind of reporting in the past would have taken way too long. These reports can be easily generated 24/7.
- Voicemail is also nothing new, but now you can easily customize voicemail messages with text-to-voice translation, or record your greeting using your cellphone. You can also have voicemails emailed to you as mp3 files in case you’re away from your phone but still have access to email.
- Phone App. Even though most virtual phone system companies do have a desktop version of their software, it’s no surprise that most people would rather use these powerful tools on the go with their cell phones. Many virtual phone systems have a phone app that can be as effective as the desktop version. You can, of course, make calls from the app using your unique phone number, send texts, listen to messages, view reports, and use other useful tools to run your business like a pro.
It’s not easy starting or running a business. If you’re a new business owner and looking to save money, a virtual phone system will be your best friend. It will save you money and save the hassle of having to keep track of numbers, and information, and give out your real phone number. At the end of the day, a virtual phone system is just another tool in your arsenal, but it will be one of the best tools you invest in.