Are Custom Phone Numbers Worth It?

On January 4, 2022
1:32 pm
Filed under Learning, Tips and Tricks

There’s a reason custom phone numbers are all the rage even though businesses today have so many ways and avenues of communication. They’re easy to remember and provide a direct link between customers and companies. Even with all digital communication channels, more than half of customers surveyed feel that talking to a person over the phone is reassuring and boosts confidence while buying an item. If you still don’t have a memorable business number, now’s the time to get a custom phone number for your company. Of course, you can maintain responsive telephone communication within your business without incorporating custom

Running a small business is difficult, to say the least. Did you know that, according to Forbes, 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, and 30% fail in their second year of operation? Those are pretty significant numbers, and they’re hard to ignore. So how do you ensure you don’t become another failure statistic? There are, of course, myriad reasons why small businesses fail. Insufficient capital, unsuccessful marketing initiatives, an unclear business model – all things that are important to be aware of, of course. Businesses can also run into trouble once they hit their stride when communication

What Is VoIP in Phone Systems for Small Businesses? There are now many more channels on which companies’ employees, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders can communicate. Emerging technologies such as chat, text and social media make it possible to connect everyone with the internet in a convenient way. Despite this, there is no doubt phone calls are as vital as ever, and many organizations are wondering if a VoIP phone system for small business is the best option for them. Most companies find it challenging to eliminate phone calls. Phone calls are an essential customer service tool that can easily

What is a Softphone? Depending on the size and the industry of your business, you might be swimming in a sea of desk phones. As life becomes more mobile and digital, especially after the pandemic, the desk phone’s days are numbered. Companies, especially small- to mid-sized businesses, are ditching clunky telephones in favor of mobile communications. Here’s where the answer to “what is a softphone?” comes to save the day. Softphones are basically software-based phones. They connect calls via a computer or mobile phone, relying on Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. By using VoIP, you can place voice

Productivity Hack: What Is the “Do Not Disturb” Feature on Your Phone? The pandemic impacted everyone’s productivity, but a significant number of people relied on technology to keep their key performance indicators high. As an example, special features to disable mobile and office phones’ distracting rings and notifications became useful. You’re in the right place if you’re asking the question, “What is the ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature on my phone?” In a nutshell, the “Do Not Disturb” mode sends business calls directly to voicemail. Top providers can set up sophisticated virtual IP phone systems that forward the calls to

The end of the year is traditionally the perfect time to make plans for the coming year. The most popular New Year’s resolutions are health and fitness related, such as working out more, quitting smoking, eating healthier meals, taking up meditation, etc. Then there are some who have a different approach to New Year’s resolutions, making them not only about improving themselves, but their families (“being a better father”), their communities (“volunteering once a month”), or their work (“being a better manager”). Deciding to improve your performance at work can actually help you with all your other resolutions because any

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created in 1996 to modernize the flow of healthcare information. It stipulates how all personal data maintained by the healthcare and healthcare insurance industries should be protected from fraud and theft. It also addresses limitations on healthcare insurance coverage. All healthcare and healthcare insurance industries are required to comply with HIPAA guidelines and can expect to be audited by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), an organization within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). HIPAA compliance should be taken very seriously, as violations can carry civil or even

Is Your Business Prepared for a Remote Workforce? Today’s workforce looks vastly different from that of just a decade ago. More companies are not only allowing employees to work from home, but they are encouraging it. In a recent report by FlexJobs and Global Workplace Analytics, remote work was found to have increased by 44 percent over the last five years and 91 percent in the past decade. Today, 4.7 million people, 3.4 percent of the U.S. population, now work from home. A FlexJob survey discovered that 74 percent of respondents believe flexible working has “become the new normal.”

The world of business today is heavily driven by customer feedback – they have the ability to leave reviews, write blog posts, and share stories through social media. So connecting with these customers and supporting their needs has a huge effect on client satisfaction and business success. Customer service has also been growing and evolving with new technology. But talking to customers on the phone remains one of the most important practices for a customer support team. So how can customer support teams improve their phone interactions to ensure client happiness? Keep reading for our customer support best practices for answering the

Having reliable communication is a very important part of running a business. Customers and business partners need to be able to contact you. So what’s the best type of phone to get to make sure you’re always reachable? This will depend on the specific needs of your business. Keep reading to check out the pros and cons of the best small business phone systems. Types of Phone Systems There are several phone systems to choose from, depending on the needs of your business. We will discuss all the advantages and drawbacks of a few different options to find out what

Only one third of businesses use some form of texting to communicate with their customers today. This is a hugely untapped business advantage. Here are ten tips on how Phone.com helps you use text messaging (SMS) in your business: 1. Text messaging is included for free with all Phone.com plans. 2. All Phone.com phone numbers (toll free and local) are textable and can start sending and receiving text messages today. 3. Try my.phone.com – this new web-based user interface allows you and your staff to easily send and

To menu or not to menu? That is the question. But not really. If you’re a business with a business phone number, you’ll want to make sure your VoIP menu is set up for success. What’s great about the phone menu is it’s completely customizable, so you control how much or how little options you give customers when they call into your company. It all depends on your customer base or potential new business, so do your due diligence and get that research done prior. In the

The holidays are here. And so is the stress. As a small business owner, you shouldn’t have to worry about a phone that’s ringing off the hook. So what’s an easy solution to reduce the business cortisol levels? A call handling feature from your VoIP phone service. Just remember: you’re not the only one stressed. Customers calling into companies are sometimes frustrated before they even pick up the phone. And if they’re experiencing long wait times, poor call quality, or complex menus that lead to

We’re all distracted. I’m distracted even writing this. With Slack messages and email, baby pictures, Instagram, laundry, and the unending news cycle. Plus a whole lot more. A CareerBuilder survey back in 2016 found that after questioning just over 3,000 employees, 66% said they check or use their phone several times a day at work and 65% said they spend at work time for non-work personal messaging. The point is: it’s hard to carve out productivity on some days as opposed to others, especially for those of us who primarily work on our phones or absolutely need to

These days, the cold call is becoming risky business. With new apps for call blocking and the iOS update to silence unknown callers, it can make the life of a salesperson difficult. According to a Hubspot statistic, it can take up to 18 calls to land a single buyer! If you have a personal connection, you’re 4.2 times more likely to get that appointment. That means both that you should make personal connections as often as possible and that salespeople are generally quite used to rejection. The missed calls, the unread messages, and voicemail boxes chock full

Voicemails can feel a bit archaic. We hardly spend time on the phone as is these days, but there’s something especially clunky and old fashioned about listening from start to finish to a voice message. Without voicemail transcription, you’re stuck in a certain format and unable to scan through the message like you would a text or Slack message, or even email. Sometimes, even, your caller’s connection isn’t so great, so you’re stuck listening to a garbled indecipherable message. That leads to you listening over and over to a voice message with a pen and paper like you’re

Work is busy. And as a small business owner, work is everything. But is your business phone system working for you? Your work phone may not be something you stop to think about often. But if you’re using a voice-only legacy phone system, chances are you’re not only losing money, you’re losing out on a slew of features that could make your life, and the life of your employees, a whole lot easier. You’ve probably heard of VoIP—voice over internet protocol (phone service over the internet)—but you may not be familiar with what it is and how it

For a small business, figuring out your marketing strategy early on is imperative to success. While it’s can be great visibility to get your ads into print magazines or on the subway, not everyone has that kind of budget. In this mobile day and age, it’s an easy and generally low cost option to widen your reach with video marketing. It’s become almost an inexplicably essential tool for mobile-oriented businesses, or any businesses for that matter, to use video. So here are five reasons why you should be using video in your marketing strategy. Reach far and wide Just