One of the greatest trends in telecommunication for the 21st century has been virtual phone numbers. If your business is wondering what virtual phone numbers are and how they can be used to grow your business, this article is for you!
What is a Virtual Phone Number?
Virtual phone numbers are phone numbers that, when called, instantly route a call to another phone number (called the “destination phone number”). Powered by advances in cloud computing and VoIP (“Voice over Internet Protocol”), virtual phone numbers can be purchased in nearly every country/region in the world, which can instantly bring your business to a new market. Virtual phone numbers are identical to phone numbers in both functionality and look, so they are more readily accepted in new markets.
An Example of Using Virtual Phone Numbers for Business
Suppose your business wants to expand internationally to the United Arab Emirates. You may have looked into setting up a physical presence in one of the country’s “free zones,” but may have balked at the costs associated with leasing property, hiring staff, following government regulations, and so forth — all before earning any profit.
Instead, with virtual phone numbers, you can subscribe to a plan and advertise your phone number directly to customers. This means that you can circumvent the barriers to expansion from the get-go, and get in contact with customers as soon as you pay for a subscription and make potential customers aware of your business.
Benefits of Virtual Phone Numbers
Let’s take a look at some of the many benefits of virtual phone numbers:
No Brick & Mortar Presence Necessary
As mentioned in the example, virtual phone numbers remove the necessity of establishing a physical presence in a country by offering a way for customers to get in contact with your business. With the rise of “virtual offices” and “virtual locations” in business, the traditional methods of business expansion have become replaced with the instant communication and more cost-effective benefits of virtual phone numbers.
Localization
If your business wants to be accepted in a new country or region, virtual phone numbers can help match the local customs and ways of doing business that can lead to greater success. This is due in part to virtual phone numbers having the same digits and number scheme, as well as matching the functionality of “normal” phone numbers tied to a specific area. Because there’s no delay (something that plagued earlier forms of Internet-based communications), customers may be unaware that your business isn’t located in their country.
Accommodate Broader Audiences
The truth of the global marketplace is that not every country offers ways for customers to dial outside of their country without incurring long-distance fees — or international calls can be blocked outright. With virtual phone numbers, you can bridge the gap and help customers comply with their service providers when they choose to get in touch with you (something international customers appreciate).
Professional Appearance
Virtual phone numbers can bring a professional appearance to your business. By advertising numbers that can accommodate local and international customers, your business automatically joins the ranks of large-scale organizations that want to be accepted as a global force. Because virtual phone numbers are available as toll free numbers, you can further this professionalism by making sure customers aren’t charged for the “privilege” of contacting your business.
Added Functionality
Because virtual phone numbers are powered by the Internet, there are a number of add-ons and features that can enhance your business beyond what you may have expected from “normal” phone numbers.
This includes:
- Time of day routing
- Simultaneous ringing
- Call recording
- Unlimited extensions
- Enterprise API
- Voicemail to email
- Failover forwarding
- Sequential forwarding
- Black & white lists
If you’re planning on using a trusted service provider for your virtual phone number needs, consider visiting United World Telecom’s website at https://www.unitedworldtelecom.com. There you can explore how virtual phone numbers can aid your business and expand its functionality.
by Tom Senkus
