VoIP phones offers a plethora of key business benefits over traditional phone networks, including those deriving from having a virtual phone number for your business telephone. The best news is that all of these VoIP assets are delivered at a fraction of the cost of what you’ll pay more for and get less with when you’re using a traditional network.
Some businesses may be a little confused about how virtual numbers work and just how many benefits having such an asset can bring to their long and short-term business objectives. Let’s explore.
What Are Virtual Business Numbers?
Virtual numbers don’t have a direct association to a telephone line, meaning the numbers can be assigned to any device of your choosing – mobile phone apps, hardware desk IP phone, or a desktop softphone app. Multiple numbers can be assigned to a phone line.
VoIP isn’t the only source for virtual numbers, but it does provide the added benefit of IP connections. VoIP doesn’t rely upon PTSN copper lines, making all VoIP phone numbers virtual by nature.
Let’s use Google Voice, one of the leading free virtual number service providers, as an example:
- It’s free.
- You get a number to use across all your devices, whether that be a number provided by Google Voice or ported-in from a cellphone carrier.
- Integrate other Google services – text, voice, video.
- Free calls throughout the U.S. and Canada and relatively inexpensive international calling.
In a nutshell, you’re using your Google account to create a virtual phone line. The website’s softphone line, the mobile app, or PC can be used for dialing and receiving.
Benefits Of Virtual Numbers for an Organisation
Granted, not every business phone needs a virtual phone number, but whether small or large and no matter the niche, almost any business can find multiple benefits from utilizing the service.
Let’s say you’re a new small business owner with suppliers and vendors outside your calling area. A virtual number removes the burden of costly national and international calling. So, if you need to call phone systems Dublin to routinely order from a vendor, you’re not faced with adding unnecessary expenses to your business’s bottom line in a phone bill.
Contact centers are another example of how virtual numbers can be invaluable. Remote agents have the power to adopt local numbers, which adds a personalization to the call for receptivity and lowers the operational costs. The same number can allow callers to ring multiple call centers at one time, ensuring calls don’t go unanswered because one center or agent is unavailable.
Of course, each niche or business can find a multitude of ways to utilize virtual numbers for their individualized needs, but there are also three universal virtual phone number benefits that almost any business can utilize to their advantage:
1. Local Presence
Like the call center example, a specific line can house multiple phone numbers and be local numbers specific to the target area(s) of business. Most companies don’t just conduct business within their own geographical areas. Customers and leads can be located across the country from you, even internationally.
Establishing a local presence through a local number encourages the target to be more inclined to answer and more receptive to the caller. It also enables callers anywhere to reach you without incurring long-distance charges.
Local area code virtual numbers are particularly important for businesses with an international presence. Clients and customers using phone systems Dublin aren’t going to be so receptive or engaged to call you if they have to do so at the cost of an international call. Read more about benefits of voIP system for sales team.
2. Professionalism
A professional image is a must, and sadly, when it comes to telephone calls, that professional image has traditionally been locked behind expensive equipment.
Now, virtual numbers allow businesses to establish as many phone numbers as they need without such equipment. Each service area, department, resource, employee can have their own unique number.
Individual vanity numbers can add an image and customer service boost, or consistency can be added by sticking with a uniform number across the board.
3. Flexibility
Because virtual numbers can be linked across all and any devices, they enable you to conduct business under a professional image no matter where you’re at through smart devices and PCs.
Employees can also enjoy this flexibility, which is particularly beneficial to remote employees, contract personnel, and remote teams needing to ensure they’re not missing calls.
Virtual numbers allow one device to be used for both personal and business use. This is great if you’re on the go. It’s fantastic if you’re office space doesn’t allow for a landline. And, it can be a budget saver for new small businesses needing one or more lines at the most cost-efficient rate.
As you can see, the applications and possibilities related to VoIP is endless. It’s really a matter of which virtual number application best serves your unique business telephone needs.