A Virtual Phone System for New Entrepreneurs

A virtual phone system is one of the useful tools for the success of today’s entrepreneurs.  Owning and operating a small business in today’s global economy can be challenging. Entrepreneurs have to search for opportunities that exist outside their local community. Developing a customer base with the customers that exist throughout their neighborhood and adjoining areas is no longer enough. They now have to dig the niche market and offer specialty products and services that will appeal to customers both near and far. As a small business owner you must be prepared to travel and attend trade shows and conferences to meet your prospective customers.

Right Tool for Business Communication

You also should have a sound communication system that will help your customers and prospective customers reach you easily. This can be difficult for independent firm owners and entrepreneurs who usually work with tight budgets.  A virtual phone system is just perfect for owners and entrepreneurs like this. You should have the right tools necessary for your success. It is important that you stay connected with your customers and yet do not run up a big bill. Using a phone system is inevitable for maintaining a healthy communication system with the customers and in this case it is through a virtual phone system.

No Spending on Infrastructure

A virtual phone system needs no installation or complex hardware or software. It does not even need a dedicated telephone connection and can work with any phone line. This is a huge cost saving for the new business owners and entrepreneurs. This is a huge advantage for a business that operates in limited financial boundaries.

Automated Call Attendant

The auto attendant of the virtual phone system practically eliminates the need to hire a receptionist in your office.  It is a huge cost savings for a small business since you no longer need to pay for a receptionist. An auto attendant greets your customer and routes him to the right person or department he wants to speak to.  So your customer’s queries are answered by the right person without wasting much time. Since an auto attendant works 24×7 there’s no chance of your customer’s call going unattended.

No chance of Calls Going Unattended

In case you are busy for some reason and cannot answer your customer’s call then also there’s no way your customer can feel neglected. A virtual phone system has caller ID that captures all the information of the caller. It can also forward calls to personal phone, residential phone or office phone. Your customer can also leave a message in your virtual phone system voicemail box. So they can expect a call back from you. The voice messages can also be read in emails. This helps you to manage all your business communication from one place.

Gives Your Business Instant Credibility

Another incredible benefit for the new entrepreneurs for using the virtual phone system is the use of toll free number. A toll free number can bring instant credibility to a new business. Moreover, it makes your business look and feel big than what it is actually. A toll free number is easily accessible from across the country and since your customers do not pay for the call it is quite likely that you will get more queries from your customers.

A Virtual Phone System Should be in your 2013 Business Plan

If you are looking to save money on your communications system, provide even better customer service and make your business more productive all around, then a virtual phone system should be a part of your business plan for 2013. There is no better time to make your business a more profitable endeavor—and please your employees and customers alike.

Less Expensive

Saving money is likely at the top of your business agenda, so instead of cutting corners to save a few pennies here and there, getting a virtual phone system may be the best decision you could possibly make. There are no expensive telephone jacks to install nor is there any equipment to buy, and the monthly bills are likely only a fraction of the cost you are used to paying. With additional features such as the ability to send and receive fax online, you can also save precious money on office supplies like paper and toner. Access to toll free numbers as part of a virtual system is also cheaper and better for your business overall.

More Features

While the ability to make and receive telephone calls is imperative to the success of any business, a virtual phone system provides features that simply cannot be duplicated by any other means. These include auto attendants, the ability to forward calls in and out of the office, informational hotlines that provide a host of benefits to you and your customers, the ability to manage your entire system through a back office web interface and much, much more. These features make running a business much simpler and easier, and with a virtual system, they are all found in an affordably priced package.

Better Customer Service

With the use of features like auto attendants and informational hotlines, you can provide a customer service experience that goes above and beyond the expected. Auto attendant answer each and every call with a friendly and courteous tone, giving customers the ability to select the best employee or department to handle their question or issue. For those who simply want information, an informational hotline can be an invaluable tool. You can simply record information about the products and services you offer—or about your business in general—that consumers can access via telephone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This saves you time and allows your customers to get the information they want when they want it.

Even More Flexibility

With the ability to forward calls within the office or even outside of the office to mobile phones and landlines, you and your employees are never out of reach. Multiple extensions create the ability for each employee to enjoy his or her own extension, but with the ability to forward calls, they can be available even when they are out in the field, at home or otherwise on the go. Forwarding calls is simple thanks to the back office web interface that is part of a virtual phone system, and with a few clicks of the mouse, everything is easily set up.

A virtual phone system is affordable, provides a host of benefits, and just makes things easier for you and your employees. If success is your 2013 resolution, look no further than a virtual system to make it a real possibility.

What is a Virtual Phone System?

A virtual phone system is the most effective, affordable and professional way for all your business communication. If you need business class phone system sans the hassle of installing phone lines and other expensive phone equipments, then virtual phone system is your perfect solution.

In reality, a virtual phone system is simply a business phone system that does not physically exist in a closet of your office suite; rather it’s hosted at a service provider’s physical location. Your service provider hosts all the hardware and software from his location; all you need is a web interface to manage your account. You can use your business phone number and even your mobile number to set up the virtual phone system.  But this in no way diminishes its benefits. Rather it helps small and mid-size businesses function like a big one without any extra cost and expenditure.

When a customer dials your business phone number or your toll free number, it is automatically received by your service provider. Your customer is greeted by an auto generated greetings of your choice and is routed according to your system configuration. The electronic receptionist not only replaces the physical receptionist but also helps you save money. The present day phone systems have integrated fax abilities as well. So they can easily identify if the caller is human or a machine and directs the call accordingly.

In a normal phone system, each extension is assigned to a desk phone and you need someone to receive and answer your customers’ and clients’ queries. But now there’s no need to tie your employee to their desk waiting for a call! They can easily work from any other location and the calls with be professionally routed and answered so that no important calls are missed.

The virtual phone system helps you assign an extension to any phone anywhere in the world. You can also assign an extension to a set of numbers that will cascade through until answered and then if answered to a voice mail box. There are systems that convert voice mails to emails so that you can easily manage all your communications from one location.

This adds an extra edge to your business and especially to a small business.  It allows your business to have employees and offices located across geographies and yet easily available for your customers and clients through a single phone system. With the virtual phone system, you can also transfer calls between extensions even when the extensions are half way across the world.

Long distance fees or confusing dialing codes can no longer restrict your customers from connecting you. Just set up a toll free number with your virtual phone system and you will receive queries from across the world. Smart communication is the hallmark of business credibility and foresight and a virtual phone system makes your communication system easy, flexible and robust. It makes your presence felt across the world-virtually.

Let 2013 Be the Year You Get a Virtual Phone System

If you need an affordable phone system that allows you to have multiple extensions that can be forwarded to existing mobile or landline numbers, then a virtual phone system is the perfect solution. It is perfectly mobile and highly affordable, making it a great choice for helping your business realize success in 2013.

Always Available

The primary difference between a virtual phone number and a standard phone number is that virtual numbers are highly mobile and can be forwarded to any terminating number you choose. The best part of this is that the caller will not know their call is being forwarded, so you can maintain a certain level of professionalism at all times. While you are in the office, the number can ring through to you there. If you need to spend a day at home or on the go, however, the number is easily transferred to your mobile phone or landline so that you can stay available to your customers—or even to your employees – all easily configured on the phone or online.

Affordable

Depending upon the number of lines and the features you currently use, you may find that your monthly telephone bill is in excess of $100. Thankfully, this does not have to be the case. A virtual phone system, complete with multiple lines and a toll free number, costs as little as $30 per month and can be used with one or more existing telephone lines. This helps you save money on your communications needs without compromising on the features to which you have access. With the ability to send and receive fax online, you can also save money on things like toner and paper; these can add up over the course of a year.

Better Customer Service

With the use of a feature called an auto attendant that is included in most virtual phone system packages, you can reduce the incidence of disconnected calls and misdirected transfers, ensuring that your customers have a better experience each and every time they call. They will always be greeted by a friendly and courteous voice, and they will never have to be concerned with their calls being inadvertently transferred to the wrong department as a result of human error. Since calls are easily forwarded, they will rest assured in the knowledge that someone will always be available to take their calls.

Scalability

Another great benefit to making a virtual phone system part of your 2013 business plan is the scalability that these systems provide. Should your business grow, your phone system can grow right along with it—without the hassle of adding additional jacks, lines and equipment. If at any time you need additional extensions, you can simply add them to your account. On top of this, each employee is able to customize his or her own voicemail, call forwarding and other settings in order to provide the best experience possible to your customers.

It is evident that a virtual phone system can provide a host of benefits to a business of any size. It promotes better customer service, makes the working environment more productive, and is designed to grow and expand right alongside your business.

A Virtual Phone System Gives a Small Business a Professional Image

The virtual phone system is the smartest way for SME (small to medium) businesses to sound and functions like a large one. It gives your business the edge it needs to compete with other big organizations. In a small enterprise customers’ perception is crucial. If you seem too small, your customer will flock to a larger, more-reliable sounding competitor.

From the beginning of telecommunication system, large businesses have enjoyed the benefits of internal switchboards. Receptionists of big businesses direct the calls to the respective departments ensuring that there’s no lost call. Surveys have shown that 75% of new customers do not leave a voicemail. When they call they expect to speak to someone. Big businesses know that answering calls is important for their productive engagement. At the beginning of most business, finding and connecting with customers are easy but as the business grows the call volumes increases and service level tends to fall.

Good news for the big guys but what about the small and middle entrepreneurs? Virtual phone system is the smartest way for the small businesses to use the most advanced state-of-the-art technology and stay ahead in business.  Small businesses are immensely benefitted by the virtual phone system because it allows a flexible work schedule and are far from being expensive.

In the past, small businesses who want a professional look had to purchase a small business phone service or ‘PBX’. ‘PBX’ is the acronym for private branch exchange that connects the internal telephones of a private organization with a public switched telephone network. It allows the organization to have extension for their employees, fax machines, etc. But purchasing and installing a PBX was expensive and complicated.

With the advent of the virtual PBX or virtual phone system businesses have become easy and incredibly cost effective. Another important factor that has attributed to the successes of this technology is its simplicity. It gets easily incorporated to the administrative system of your business with minimal investment on installation and maintenance. This is a huge cost cut to the overall running cost of any business establishment.

There is hardly any operational cost for the virtual phone system. It does not require huge expenditure or manpower.  Hence, small businesses can easily benefit from this high end technology while maintaining its strict budget. Moreover, you can add and customize greetings and welcome note for your callers along with other features like call divert and call transfer.

Because customers like to interact with people, virtual phone system allows small businesses to have the same professional set-up that is generally reserved for big businesses. With this technology in place, clients’ calls are answered more quickly without the usual phone tag. This makes the business exchange more effective as it helps to resolve customer queries and issues faster. A virtual phone system is a great asset to businesses of any size.  It can make a big difference to your small business.

A Virtual Phone System Keeps Your Budget Intact

Business owners who are looking for ways to save on their overhead costs may be surprised to learn how little a virtual phone system costs. With no expensive installation fees, no equipment to buy, plenty of features and a low monthly bill, this system can be a great way to meet communications needs on a budget.

No Installation Fees or Equipment to Buy

Businesses that need multiple telephone numbers or extensions will likely find that the installation of multiple lines and telephone jacks can quickly grow to staggering totals. Telephone jacks cost about $100 on average to install, and if additional telephone lines need to be run to other rooms, this cost can grow even more. On the same note, it is very expensive to purchase telephones and equipment that are designed to work with these lines. A virtual system can save money by eliminating the need for any additional phone lines or equipment installation. Similarly, this system will work with any existing telephone landline or cell phone.

Low Monthly Cost

A single standard landline with business features and unlimited long distance can cost between $60 and $80 on average, and while each additional line or extension that is added comes at a reduced cost, these totals can still be huge. A virtual phone system comes with a predetermined number of lines or extensions for a low monthly cost—usually around $30, depending on the features selected. In many cases, this also comes with a toll-free number. Business owners who truly want to save money and experience the best in communications will find a virtual system to be the best option available on the market today.

Auto attendants

Any small business owner knows that missed calls are missed opportunities, and for this reason, many will hire administrative assistants to ensure that each and every call is answered and properly routed. On average, the annual salary for an administrative assistant is between $30,000 and $45,000 per year, depending on the setting and geographic location. An auto attendant is a great piece of technology that can perform the same duties as an administrative assistant, but it is included in the monthly price of most virtual phone systems. Each call will be answered with a professional greeting before being routed to the proper recipient. This has the potential to provide business owners with a huge savings.

Money-Saving Features

There are plenty of other money-saving features that come with a virtual system. Some of these include the ability to forward calls to any number—mobile or hard-wired. Businesses will also have the ability to send and receive faxes via the internet, which not only improves productivity, but also helps business owners save money on fax machines and their supplies. Finally, the ability to choose a vanity number as part of a virtual system will help business owners better market their products and services while making their companies more memorable.

A virtual phone system is a great way for business owners to get all of the products and features they need at a price they can afford. This is one instance in which the less expensive option is also the best and most beneficial option.

Your Guide to Understand the Working of a Virtual Phone System

More and more businesses and individuals are opting to use virtual phone system. But before you go for the big switchover, it is quite pertinent that you understand how it functions and how can it be an improvement to you, your organization and most importantly-your budget. Hence, there are a number of questions that you may have and this article will attempt to answer these questions.

But let’s begin by understanding how a virtual phone system works. The system itself is quite straight forward. You start by choosing your phone number. Some of the service providers may allow you to retain your existing number-but this is something that needs to be checked with your service provider. Depending on the structure of your organization, next you decide to whether to assign extension to employees or to the different departments in your office.

Next you create and record a greeting to your virtual phone system that will answer each of your telephone calls. This will allow the caller to choose the department or the person they are trying to reach, just by pressing certain buttons or speaking to the assigned number. Some of the modern systems are advance enough that you can actually speak to the system.

The machine then routes the call to the relevant extension. The receiver can then screen the call, which means you will have a choice to decide whether you want to answer the call or send it to the toll free voicemail. Voicemails can be received just by pressing few buttons, and some of the modern virtual phone system is smart enough that they send the voice mail via email. Many of the systems also have SMS function installed.

Though a virtual phone system is the perfect solution for mid size and small businesses, but larger organizations have also started reaping the benefits of this system. One of the main reasons for this is that: it’s affordable and is highly on the go, which is perfect for today’s day and age.

One question that has come back again and again is whether you get a real phone number with the virtual phone system. The answer is: yes, you will. You can select from a variety of phone numbers, including toll free numbers and numbers with geographical and non-geographical denotations. As the system is increasingly becoming popular, telephone numbers from any geography are now available. You may also have an option to continue your existing telephone number.

Another question that haunts many of the new users of virtual phone system is how someone will reach their extension. You assign telephone numbers and extensions to different people and departments in your organization and each of these extensions can receive and forward calls. The calls are forwarded to three different telephone numbers: home phone, mobile and office phone. This is particularly helpful for people who are working outside office. You also have an option to customize these extensions.

Is a Virtual Phone System the Best Solution for Your Home Business?

If you are considering a home-based business, you have probably already put some thought into the communications solution you will use. While many people may choose to add a second landline or even use their existing landline and mobile phone, this makes it difficult to organize and handle calls. A virtual phone system is the perfect solution.

Cost Effective

The first reason why you should consider a virtual phone system as your communications solution of choice has to do with its cost effectiveness. Adding a second landline can be incredibly expensive, especially if jacks and splitters need to be installed. This is not true with a virtual system; multiple telephone numbers can be used with a single landline and the cost is much less than that associated with a standard landline. While an additional landline with unlimited long distance and basic features may cost as much as $80 a month, a virtual system may cost as little as $20 a month, depending on the type selected and the included features.

Packed with Features                     

Another great thing about a virtual phone system is that it comes fully loaded with all of the features that can help to make your business a success. The auto attendant feature automatically answers all of your calls and provides your callers with options about how they would like their calls handled. If they simply want information, you might choose to set up an information hotline so that you are not required to repeat the same thing to each caller. If they would like to speak with you directly, they can either ring through to you or be put through to your voicemail. Some systems even come with toll-free numbers and vanity numbers that will make your business more professional and memorable.

Better Customer Service

A virtual phone system has everything that is necessary for you to provide your customers with the best customer service experience possible. Thanks to the myriad of features that are available, you can ensure that each and every customer contact is a pleasant one. The auto attendant feature always greets each caller with courtesy and routes calls perfectly each and every time. Essentially, your clients and customers will have plenty of options available to them to ensure that they get a first-rate experience each time they call. With call forwarding, you can easily take your business number with you wherever you go.

Better Organization

The ability to track and log your calls and manage everything from a back-office web interface makes organizing your communications system a breeze. Never again will you have to be concerned with forgetting to call customers back or losing important documents in a traditional fax machine. When you travel, you can use call forwarding to ensure that all of your calls reach you. Finally, you can easily distinguish between your personal calls and your business calls thanks to the technology that the virtual phone system provides.

Running a home business can be a time consuming and expensive endeavor—especially in the beginning. By electing to use a virtual phone system, you can save time and money and provide your customers with the best service possible.

How a Virtual Phone System Can Reduce Your Business Expenditures

Aside from being a feature-packed communications solution that is especially helpful for businesses, a virtual phone system can save business owners plenty of time and money. They are less expensive than other means of communication and they improve productivity, both of which can add up to some significant savings.

Less Expensive than Landline Options

When a business needs multiple telephone numbers and extensions in order to maintain the best communications and customer service possible, a virtual phone system is always the least inexpensive route. These systems allow business owners to enjoy the perks of many different telephone numbers without having to worry about paying for numerous landlines every month. With landline service, individual telephone numbers often require additional jacks and splitters – these undertakings can be very expensive. A virtual system allows a business owner to add multiple lines instantaneously and make changes to them as he or she sees fit.

Auto-Attendant vs. Administrative Assistant

While the job requirements of an administrative assistant can never be appreciated enough, there is plenty of savings to be enjoyed thanks to the help of the auto attendant feature. Essentially, rather than hiring an individual who has the responsibility of answering phones, the auto attendant answers each and every call courteously and professionally before routing it to the proper destination. This feature is included in most virtual phone system packages and can save a business owner more than $40,000 a year if it is being used in the place of a human operator. The system will never drop calls, will ensure that each call is properly routed, and will even allow business owners to customize their hold music.

Increased Productivity

Every business owner knows that time is money, and if employees are able to get their jobs done in a shorter amount of time, they can be more productive throughout the workday. Features that allow individual employees to have their own extensions, send and receive faxes from their desks and even check their voicemail with ease can have a huge impact on their workloads. This means that they can work more efficiently, be more productive and save the business plenty of money in the long run.

Savings on Supplies

Another way in which a virtual phone system can reduce business expenditures has to do with the reduction in the cost of equipment maintenance and supplies. For instance, if employees are able to send and receive their faxes electronically, imagine the savings on toner and paper for a traditional fax machine. Similarly, if this machine is no longer in use, it reduces the need to have it serviced and maintained when something goes wrong. Along the same lines, a virtual system works perfectly with existing telephones, so there is no need to purchase any complicated equipment in order to enjoy all of the features and benefits it can bring.

Business owners who are concerned about reducing overhead costs and expenditures will certainly enjoy the savings that a virtual phone system can provide. Whether it is reducing the cost of office supplies or even preventing the need to hire another employee, there are plenty of benefits to be enjoyed.

Companies with Remote Workers Need a Virtual Phone System with Hosted PBX Extensions

Depending on a business’s type and industry, it may be more cost-effective and economical to allow some employees to work remotely. In this case, a virtual phone system with hosted PBX extensions can make communications simpler, easier and more cost effective overall.

Understanding Hosted PBX Extensions
In the same way that a virtual phone system provides businesses with a main telephone number, it can also provide businesses with multiple extensions that do not exist on-site, but are simply hosted on the service provider’s server. Essentially, these are virtual extensions that provide businesses with multiple ‘lines’ so that each department or employee can answer calls that are designated for them. This allows for better customer service in general, ensuring that callers are able to reach the person or department who can best handle their call with fewer transfers and lesser wait times.

Remote Workers and Extensions
Remote workers are the employees of a company who do not actually work within the physical confines of the business and typically work from home instead. While these workers may have landline telephone service or mobile phones, they will likely still need access to their direct extension in order to handle customer questions, participate in conference calls, and handle other business communications without providing their own personal telephone numbers. Since hosted PBX extensions only exist on the server of the provider, they can easily be forwarded to any telephone in the country—whether it is a landline, a mobile phone, or even a number hosted by VoIP service.

How it Works
When a business purchases a virtual phone system that is complete with hosted PBX extensions, each employee or department is assigned a ‘branch’ of the service that acts as their own. Thus, when a call comes through, the auto attendant who answers the call can forward it to the right location in order to provide the best customer service experience possible. If an employee is working remotely, the business owner can simply use the back office web interface to forward all of the calls going to that extension to the employee’s home telephone or mobile device. This way, although the employee may be across the country, they can communicate as if they are physically present.

The Benefits
There is a multitude of benefits associated with providing hosted PBX extensions to remote workers. First and foremost, they are able to communicate as a functioning part of the business without the need to provide their home or mobile telephone numbers—this protects their privacy. Second, it is much more cost effective to use these virtual extensions than to actually forward landline calls; many landline service providers charge by the minute for this service, and it can certainly add up quickly. Finally, remote workers who are connected to the business via their extensions are more readily available for conference calls and other business communications than those who use their private numbers.

It is easy to see why a virtual phone system and hosted PBX extensions can make a huge difference in the productivity of remote workers. They remain available to the business and its customers, and the cost effective nature of the service certainly speaks for itself.