Virtual numbers come with many perks for small businesses, ranging from professional features to the convenience of on-the-go communications and cost savings. But what if you’re a solo entrepreneur — any reason to use virtual numbers for a business of one?  Yes. Virtual numbers can offer a slew of ways to overcome logistical and financial obstacles, which were once impossible and impractical for solo business owners to tackle.  Want a “VIP” line or a department directory? You can easily do it all yourself by employing a virtual number strategy. Here are six handy ways to use virtual numbers to enhance your business communications:

SAN DIEGO – April 11, 2017 – Voxox^®, innovator in cloud communication solutions for businesses with the most comprehensive unified communications Platform as a Service, today announced that it has added Mexico calling within its bundled subscription plans for Cloud Phone, the cloud-based virtual phone system for entrepreneurs and very small businesses. The bundled subscription plans, which range from 1,000 to 5,000 monthly minutes to unlimited calling, previously included United States and Canada calling. All bundled plans now also include Mexico calling (outbound as well as inbound) in the minutes pool.

The inclusion of Mexico outbound calling in bundled minute plans is not typical for virtual PBX service providers. While landlines in Mexico tend to be affordable to package into bundled plans, Mexican mobile numbers can be on the high end for most providers. Voxox has established strong relationships with global carrier partners to bring costs down for customers. Furthermore, the company’s sophisticated cloud technology built entirely in-house enables Voxox to bypass expensive licensing fees that competitors have to pay, allowing Voxox to give customers more price breaks with some of the most competitive rates in the industry.

“In adding Mexico calling within our standard bundled subscription plans, we hope to make communications more cost-effective for entrepreneurs who regularly have business dealings with colleagues in Mexico,” said Bryan Hertz, CEO and co-founder of Voxox. “We’ve prioritized securing incredible calling rates to advance entrepreneurship, not just in Mexico but all around the world.”

Cloud Phone enables “micro-businesses” (businesses that operate on a very small scale), as well as individuals and small organizations seeking a business-grade telephone presence, to easily obtain local and toll free numbers that support unlimited extensions and advanced call routing capabilities. With Cloud Phone, users can place and receive calls, manage call activity, access features such as voicemail transcription, call recording, device transfer, faxing, and much more — all within a sleek, elegant design. No special equipment or advanced skills are necessary to use Cloud Phone. Once a Do It Yourself (DIY) set-up is completed online, all that a user needs is a calling device (e.g., mobile or landline phone) to which calls can be routed. The effortless user experience and set-up process, which can be completed in less than a minute, along with highly competitive global calling rates and exceptional call quality, are key differentiators as compared to alternative solutions.

Cloud Phone comes with a complementary mobile app for iOS and Android. The Cloud Phone mobile app leverages Voxox’s new breakthrough VoIP codec, a technology used to encode and compress voice signals into digital form for transmission. This is particularly significant for small businesses with a disbursed or traveling workforce, as the codec dramatically improves voice quality in poor bandwidth settings, such as hotels, convention centers, rural locations, etc. To hear the dramatic difference visit, www.voxox.com/codecdemo.

To view subscription plan pricing and/or to sign up for Cloud Phone, please visit www.cloudphone.com.

About Voxox

Voxox is an innovator in unified cloud communication solutions for businesses. The foundation of the company’s offerings is its award-winning unified communications Platform as a Service, which enables the company and its customers to build powerful, scalable applications and services. For end-users, Voxox provides an extensive suite of carrier-grade business phone solutions, including its flagship business app, Cloud Phone, as well as SIP trunking, hosted PBX, and a wide array of wholesale services, such as high volume SMS. For service provider partners, Voxox delivers cutting-edge mobile and desktop applications that integrate voice, video, messaging, fax, media sharing and more. Voxox is headquartered in San Diego. For more information, please visit http://www.voxox.com.

So what exactly do your customers expect from your business with regards to phone communications and how can you provide it?  Here are three expectations that customers have and how to address them…

1. Customers Expect Businesses to Answer Promptly

• 3 out of 4 people think that calling is the most effective way to get a quick response – NewVoice
• 85 percent of people whose calls aren’t answered will not call back – message-direct.co.uk

Solution: Rather than relying on traditional business phones that require special equipment, professional setup, and a wall jack, switch to a virtual PBX service. Virtual PBX services (like Cloud Phone) enable you to get a dedicated business phone number online and route it to your mobile device. With some services, you can do this in just a few minutes. Virtual PBX features allow you to be responsive to your clients anytime, anywhere – giving them the service they crave.

2. Create a Professional Phone Presence

• 25 percent of customers feel they’re kept on hold too often – NewVoice
• More than half of callers get irritated if they don’t speak to the right contact immediately – NewVoice

Solution: Consider virtual numbers. Say you have several Etsy shops — you can easily sign up for multiple virtual numbers and assign them to the different shops or product lines. Virtual numbers can be routed to the most relevant colleagues for each designated area of your business, even if they just have a mobile phone as their sole calling device. Virtual numbers are also very useful for geographically disbursed businesses. The seamless call routing, regardless of location, makes your business look ultra professional.

3. Provide Excellent Customer Service

• 66 percent of customers will switch companies because of poor customer service – Accenture
• 40 percent of customers will look to purchase from a competitor because of their reputation for great customer service – Zendesk

Solution: While we don’t know the answers to all of your customers’ questions, we do know that in many fields and types of business, providing a clear and simple way to reach you via phone is essential to having a strong reputation for customer service. Some questions are too complex to look up online, so customers prefer to call. Some customers like to sound out their questions and/or confirm they are getting the right information by calling. For the simpler inquiries, features like custom voicemail messages can be very useful as they allow you to share important information upfront, which, at times, takes care of the question right

4. Solve Problems Fast

• 62 percent of customers have to repeatedly contact a company to resolve an issue – Harvard Business Review
• 86 percent of people are happy to pay up to 25 percent more if they get the right customer experience – RightNow

Solution: Use features like “reach me” call forwarding, which dials multiple numbers on your list to reach you, as well as voicemail transcription with email and SMS notifications so that you are on top of the calls and voicemail messages you are receiving from customers. Take advantage of modern telephony conveniences to be instantly made aware of any major issues that your customers are experiencing and calling you about. With all these ways to stay in touch, there’s no reason to let a call go unanswered.

Phone etiquette is vital to the overall health of your small business. It does not take a lot of effort (nor money!) to provide effective, fast customer service, and the benefits will surprise you. Do you have any tips on effective voice strategies? Comment here or visit our social pages!

If you work from home, the idea of phone extensions for your business line may not have crossed your mind. Maybe you’re a solo-preneur, or perhaps you have a few other colleagues dispersed across the country working from their own home offices or coffee shops. So, why would you need extensions if you don’t have a traditional business phone system, or even a traditional business office?  While this may be the case, cloud technology has made it easy for businesses of all kinds to set up two or three digit extensions that route business calls directly to mobile phones of your team members through a virtual business phone system.  There are so many ways to use phone extensions to provide your clients with stellar customer service—no matter how big, small or distributed you are. Here are three scenarios to consider:

One Person Business

You’re running the show. You have no one to answer to. So, why would you possibly need multiple phone extensions? Because even though you’re a business of one, you still have different “departments”—ie: billing, customer service, scheduling, etc. By setting up phone extensions for these different aspects of your business, you’ll create a big business feel, and give your clients the security they get when working with an established company.

Here’s a scenario: You own a jewelry store that is open by appointment only, but you also have an online retail site. To manage both all on your own, you have a virtual phone number with separate extensions for store hours and information, online purchases, appointment scheduling and customer support. By sharing general info like “store hours” you can let your clients know they’ll need to schedule an appointment (which they can also do via phone) or you can direct them to your retail site—all without ever having to pick up the phone. When you’re a one person business, you’ll need all the time you can get to focus on other aspects of your company.

Small Dispersed Team

Phone extensions are a great option for virtual small businesses with team members who live in different areas. Rather than providing a slew of phone numbers to clients and making them track down the right person, extensions can do the hard work for them. Whether you choose to have the extension route directly to a person or department, your callers will thank you.

Here’s a scenario: You and your friends from your last agency job all got together and started your own consultancy. But since coming together, you’ve found yourself living in different cities. By setting up phone extensions, your clients are able to call your central business phone number and be directed to the correct person, all with the touch of a button. Your clients will never be the wiser that Jon, your tech guy, is working from his beach chair in Florida, or that your social media pro Sam is phoning in from Alaska.

Unlimited Extensions

With only a few departments and a handful of employees, the idea of having access to an unlimited number of extensions might seem unnecessary. But if you get creative, extensions can allow you to give your customers top notch service. Think VIP extensions, hidden extensions, experimental marketing and product line extensions. You can find a few more unique ideas here.

Here’s a scenario: You’re a web development firm with some high-end clients. You know they want VIP treatment, so why not give them a hidden VIP extension? By creating their own private extension, you’ll always know who is calling and they’ll feel like Top Dog. This same idea also works for marketing. By creating custom extensions and placing them on different marketing materials – your website, flyers, Facebook, etc. — you’ll know where your referrals are coming from. Ultimately helping you to better generate leads and improve your bottom line.

Phone extensions are an easy way to improve your phone communications, and with unlimited extensions offered from Voxox Cloud Phone, there’s no limit on how creative you can get. To get started, you’ll need a virtual number—if you don’t already have one—but set-up is simple and you get a free trial too. Are you already using phone extensions for your small business? We’d love to hear about your experience. Share with us in the comments below or on social media –Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Entrepreneurs are busy people. Early meetings, long days and late nights make for success– but come summertime everyone wants to get out and enjoy the sunshine. While many might think they can’t take a break without putting a hold on business matters, the truth is cloud technologies like virtual PBX allow entrepreneurs to keep tabs on their business while globetrotting.

Here are a few convenient ways you can use a virtual PBX service to stay in touch with colleagues and clients while abroad:

1. Keep your same number, even abroad.

Making clients pay to call you (aka international fees) is never a “feel good” moment. Plus, clients can get confused by the international area codes, so you might miss important calls and business opportunities, etc.. With a virtual PBX service, you can keep your same number no matter where you are. Say you’re traveling in Mexico, but your virtual number (from your virtual PBX service) has a U.S. area code. All your U.S. contacts can reach you via your dedicated U.S. business number, regardless of your actual location, and you can pick and choose which business calls to take and which ones to send to voicemail.

2. Manage your phone system from anywhere.

Having complete control of your business phone system is important and saves a lot of headaches. Managing bills and settings with a virtual PBX system is easy. Since virtual PBXs are web-based services you can change your settings from anywhere around the world. Add a line, remove a line, read notifications, etc. No matter what you need to do, it can be done from your app or browser. Make sure you select a virtual PBX provider with a simple user experience yet robust features and functionality.

3. Transfer calls on the fly.

Have you ever been on an important phone call, only to have to hang up because of a dead cell battery? It happens more than you might want, and slows down business. That’s where call transfer comes in handy. When your business phone number is through a virtual PBX system, it’s possible to transfer calls on the fly from one device to another wherever you are in the world. Say your mobile that you’ve been using on WiFi has a low battery. Just switch over to your hotel room phone while it charges. Not all virtual PBX services offer this feature, so ask before you buy because it’s very handy for travel!

4. Call recording.

Say you want to take advantage of your new time zone for a quick call with an international business contact who has the opposite work time schedule with you when you’re at home. Record your call and send it over to your team back at home and delegate some action items!  When you select your virtual PBX service provider, take a look at the feature list and make sure you see the call recording feature on there. Super convenient.

5. View faxes anywhere.

Faxes may be on the way out as far as popular business communications go. But when you need to read them, you need to read them. Say you need to review a time-sensitive contract for your colleagues back home to sign off on. Rather than bottlenecking their progress until you’re back in the office, have them fax you the contract. Take a look and shoot them a call, text or email approval. It’s that easy, and your clients (and staffers!) will appreciate your attention.

With a virtual PBX phone system and a little know-how, it’s possible for entrepreneurs to take a break without completely shutting their doors for business. Before you head out on your getaway, be sure to find the perfect virtual PBX system for your needs (we can help!) and don’t forget to check back for Part 2 of this post, which highlights a few ways you can avoid roaming charges while abroad.

Last week we wrote about the convenience of having a virtual PBX service in your pocket when you travel. From on-the-go account management to call recording and much more, most virtual PBX services have a slew of travel-friendly features for entrepreneurs. This week we are talking about travel features that help keep costs down– specifically: avoiding those pesky international roaming charges on your mobile phone.

Traditional business phone systems are not so easy to manage once you leave the confines of your office and roaming charges on mobile can rack up in no time. A virtual PBX service provides several ways to stay in touch without extra charges or being tied to a landline—despite the fact it works directly through your mobile phone.

Here are a few creative ways to use your virtual PBX service to keep in touch with business contacts while enjoying a little R&R and keeping costs low:

1. Forward business calls to your hotel room number

While on vacation, why not take a little vacation from your cell? You can set up your virtual number to forward calls to your hotel room phone. If you’re expecting a business call, it’s a great way to eliminate any chance of roaming charges, especially if you don’t have WiFi or your connection is down. Setting up call forwarding to your room’s landline is a sure way to keep your entrepreneurial ventures uninterrupted while also being able to enjoy all that this world has to offer when you’re off the clock. This can also work with extensions for your work colleagues when they are traveling!

2. Check voicemail without roaming charges

Not only is visual voicemail convenient for those who don’t want to (or simply don’t have time to) listen to multiple voicemails, it’s also available to view over WiFi—which means if you can pick up a WiFi signal you can read it for free through an app, assuming the virtual PBX service provider offers this feature (Cloud Phone does!). An added bonus is that visual voicemail lets you reference the call’s information without having to go back and sift through your old messages.

3. Voicemail transcription

Similar to the perk above, you can connect to WiFi and retrieve your transcribed voicemails via email or you can also get texts with voicemail transcriptions, if you so choose. Best part: you can then forward the voicemail transcriptions to your business partners or colleagues back home! After all, you can’t be expected to take care of everything.

4. Conference calling via WiFi

Sometimes meetings just can’t wait, even if you’re in the middle of enjoying a pina colada. That’s where conference calling comes in. Find a quiet space (away from the tiki bar), connect to WiFi and dial in the gang —it’s that easy! Make sure your virtual PBX service provider has a solid conference calling feature. Voxox Cloud Phone, for example, will let you conference in 5 people through the Cloud Phone app.

5. Professional greeting 

Say you forgot to record an out-of-office voicemail greeting before you went abroad. With a virtual PBX service, you can easily swap your greeting anywhere you are via mobile app — no need to call your business number and incur roaming charges. You can change your greeting as many times as you need based on your fluctuating travel schedule and availability, all without roaming!

Leaving soon? No problem! If you already use a virtual PBX service, then just make sure you have the service’s mobile app on your smartphone and you’re all set. When you get to your destination you can manage your settings, forward calls to your hotel number, etc. If you haven’t signed up yet, check out Cloud Phone! There’s a 30 day free trial, so all the more savings. Some texting is included for free with your bundled plan, so savings there too. After a few easy steps, you’ll be ready to hit the beach – or wherever you choose to go – all with your business contacts in the palm of your hand.

Typically, virtual business phone systems offer both toll free numbers and local phone numbers so you can accommodate both local and widespread markets. Your clients will be able to easily reach you (aka to track you down for some lunch!) and they’ll never need to know where your company originated –unless that’s part of your marketing, of course. Maine lobster rolls, anyone?

To get started, you just sign up for a virtual phone service (for example, Voxox Cloud Phone!). From there you can choose what you want –local number(s), toll free number(s), or both. What’s even better is that all these numbers ring directly to your cell phone, or any phone you choose.

Here are a few ways to use a combination of both local phone numbers and toll free numbers to bring your growing food truck business to the next level.

Local Phone Number

Numbers with local area codes are a great way to establish yourself in markets where a recognized local presence is needed to reach customers. With Voxox Cloud Phone, for example, there is no limit on the quantity of virtual numbers you can add to your account, and you receive between 1 to 25 local or toll free numbers at no additional cost with your monthly subscription, depending on your plan.

Below are some useful features for mobile businesses, like food trucks.

1. Custom Voicemail

Don’t you cringe when you call a business and receive a generic voicemail? So do we. That’s why we think it’s so important for companies of all sizes to create a custom voicemail for their business line. Not only can you identify your business, but sharing useful information –like your weekly scheduled whereabouts or hints on where your clients can find you –will save you time from returning phone calls also keep your hungry suitors in the know. Here are a few more tips on crafting the perfect voicemail.

Pro Tip: You can also create a custom voicemail with a toll free number!

2. Business SMS

Texting isn’t just for friends anymore. Customers today expect text support and in the food truck business this can be a huge bonus! Texting your client list your whereabouts, or providing text clues is an impactful way to interact with your followers and a fun way to attract new ones.

Pro Tip: Toll free numbers can also support SMS!

3. Marketing Tool

If you’re marketing a product from a specific area, using an area code from that location could be to your advantage. Think a taco cart in San Diego and a lobster roll truck from Maine. Imagine if these two were switched –lobsters from San Diego and tacos from Maine. The hype may not be as well received. Use your phone number to your advantage!

Toll Free Number

Toll free numbers can be super handy for food trucks (and similar mobile businesses!) expanding their presence beyond select local markets.

1. National Presence

Toll free numbers are a great way to expand your business so you can reach new markets and instantly sound more established and credible. Whether you have a fleet of food trucks or are a one engine show, a toll free number will make give your clients the sense you’re a solid organization—and a central number to reach your team.

2. Memorable Number

Not all toll free numbers are created equally. A catchy or easy to remember sequence can be a lifesaver for clients who want to reach you fast.

3. Marketing Tool

Whether you’re using only a toll free number or a combo of toll free and local, displaying your toll free number on your marketing materials (truck, business cards, menus, etc.) is an easy way to stay relevant while you travel.

Putting the power of both a local phone number and a toll free number behind your food truck is a solid win for your business communications. Now go ahead and get started! If you need some more pointers, connect with us by commenting here or on our social channels — we’re happy to help!

Website

It should go without saying that these days every business should have a well thought out website, but you can save creating your ultimate vision until your business is up and running – but to start, consider a quick and dirty template-based website with free hosting. There are several companies that offer free websites for business including, AwardSpace and Infinity Free, each with DIY website builders and domain name registries. For now, all you need is a page that announces your business and gives people the ways to contact you – which brings us to hack two…

Business Phone Number and Answering Service

Three big reasons you want to get a service like Voxox Cloud Phone. First, you don’t want to give out your home/cell number as your business number for both privacy reasons and to help keep your sanity and work-life balance intact. Second, getting a local number in the area code of your choice (or toll-free) can help you create a successful image immediately – imagine having a consulting firm with a Manhattan or Washington DC area code. And finally having auto-attendant features such as automatic call answering, hold music and routing (“dial 1 to speak to sales”) immediately gives a professional image to a caller and makes it easy to add more lines as your business grows. Cloud Phone is the most affordable out there and comes with a 30 day free trial.

Google Local Listing

Now that you’ve got your website and business phone number you want to list your business with Google Local – this will make sure it gets found by people searching for your business or service. It’s easy and free to setup. Just head to Google’s My Business site to get started.

Facebook Business Page

You can worry about all the other social media avenues later, but just like a standard website, every business should at least have a Facebook page. Not only does this serve as an advertising opportunity, but it is one of the top ways people connect with the businesses they are interested in. For now you only need to have some basic information and some catchy photos to get started, but it’s important you get your business page name registered with Facebook as, like the highlander, there can be only one.

A Big List

At some point you will start to market to potential customers, but before you can market to them, you need to collect and organize their info. You may not be in the market for a Salesforce Enterprise plan yet, but a free HubSpot CRM account will go a long way in getting you started down the right path. You can even use their form plugins to start asking for email addresses when people visit your site or Facebook page, or even just do it the old fashioned way be asking people for their business card.

Did you have any other ideas, tips or questions? Share them with us via comment below or on the Voxox social channels.

You want to get a local phone number for your business, but you don’t want a landline and you don’t want to carry–or pay–for another cell phone plan. We don’t blame you. Local phone numbers can be invaluable for businesses looking to gain credibility in a local market, especially with businesses built and run out of a personal home. Getting a dedicated “virtual number” that routes to your mobile is a financially practical and convenient solution for your home-based business.