Guest post by Nancy Mundy
Being reliable in your business is the key to consistent business. One way to make that easier is to invest in a virtual phone system or a cloud-based system on your smartphone. It’s easier now than ever before. You don’t even need to carry two different phones anymore. You simply need your personal phone and an app to download from a reliable company that provides multiple features and you’ll be able to keep in touch with family and friends, as well as customers all from the same mobile device.
Being in the know with your customers and colleagues when traveling is what keeps a business running smoothly. For example, companies such as Ninja Number, Grasshopper, and Ring Central all have smartphone apps for Apple and Android devices. They all have pretty much the same features such as call blasting, voicemail that can be transcribed, auto attendant, a separate phone line, text messaging, and more. Pretend you are traveling and you receive a couple incoming customer phone calls. A virtual phone system gives you the ability to send those calls to your business voicemail which can then be shared by you to the rest of the office. Or, if you decide to call them back, it will look like you are in the office when you are actually on the beaches of Barbados.
Another example of how it can improve your company brand is that you can share logins with your whole office, so there will always be someone to check messages and keep communication wide open at all times. The UI of the mobile apps on some of these virtual systems such as RingCentral also keeps track of analytics so that you can see just how many calls you get a day, messages, and voicemails. No more employees blowing off calls and messages when the boss is gone. Everything is easily checked through the phone app from around the globe. You can set up multiple business lines all with their own purpose that can easily be answered from abroad.
The best reason (in my opinion) these virtual phone systems are incredibly reliable is that there is no hardware to maintain at your physical office. No power outages to worry about. Everything is stored and operated on the cloud at secure, safe and reliable server stations hosted by these companies. So reliable, in fact, that most of all of these server storage facilities are tested to withstand earthquakes, power outages and more. All you need to worry about is taking and managing calls for your business. Being a reliable source for your customers who is always available and responsive is the difference between successful companies and struggling companies. Don’t let your competition pull ahead – invest in a virtual phone system as one tool to improve your company’s brand.
When you ask yourself, do I need a virtual phone and management system, go ahead and start researching different providers. Many of these companies offer a free trial. You’ll quickly see how easy, reliable, and fast these phone systems can be. It’s never too late to try new things out for your business to grow to the next level.
