Expanding Internationally with Virtual Phone Numbers

Expanding a business is always important, though depending on the state of the economy, it can be difficult to justify the expense. Many customers prefer to work with people who are local, regardless of the industry it pertains to, as this gives them the reassurance that they aren’t being ripped off by a huge conglomerate or that they are actually being listened to by someone nearby.

Reach Local Customers with Virtual Numbers

However, there is a way to connect to “local” customers without actually being local. A great way to make it look like a business is thriving and expanding is by using virtual phone numbers to expand internationally. One of the best ways to do this through a company like Global Call Forwarding. The virtual call forwarding concept is really as simple as it sounds, it gives a business or service provider the ability to tap into a market that they wouldn’t normally be able to exist in. Almost like online shopping, this allows businesses to insert themselves into the customers’ locales and create a close customer support base instantly.

A virtual phone number is a regular number, tailored to resemble the area in which the business is being dealt. The most convenient aspect is that dozens of numbers can be forwarded back to the one base business number without it getting complicated. These individual numbers all pool back to the original and they can come from anywhere in the world. The virtual phone number makes it easy to jump into the expanding market without having all of the expenses of an actual office or physical presence and no travel costs.

Expand Internationally with Ease

One example is to consider a business in the United States that wants to work with a customer base in India. The person in charge of the department for sales and communication can go to a site that offers virtual phone numbers and search for an office number for communicating with a prospective market. They would then pick where they want the number to be routed back to. In this scenario, the business number looks the same as any other local number, and all the calls will get routed to the same number(s), allowing the business to handle the influx of calls from their targeted location in a very simple, easy manner. In minutes, a presence in a specific international location can be established.

Having a virtual numbers service is also a great way for businesses to keep track of different countries or regional clients. This can go hand in hand with actual traveling, too. Having a local number and seeing a friendly face seals the deal for those that are tired of dealing with the complications of distance. Another great aspect of call forwarding or call diverting is that it is toll free and can be used in more than eighty countries.

Virtual phone numbers can also be used despite time zone and time differences, with multiple answering options that allow someone to always be available, no matter what the time really is at the main office or call center.

Failover Forwarding

Failover forwarding option is great for a company that has a lot of employees and their hours are different than the country they are doing business with. The failover system allows numbers to be programmed as receivers in a tier-leveled safety net scenario. If one person can not pick up the call, the next person on the register can receive the call, and so on.

Additionally, incoming calls can be connected to more than one origin line, so there is a better chance that the call will be taken. This is a huge benefit to many companies, as it allows for better handling of customer service needs. If you have sporadic jumps in call volume, you can have a number of forwarding lines connected to ensure all calls get answered.

When considering expanding internationally, it is important to know that you will be afforded many tools to support your caller’s’ needs. There are plenty of beneficial features, such as call recording advanced IVR/ PBX, enterprise API, failover forwarding, voicemail to email, fax to email, SMS forwarding, and black and white list numbers to enable your company to have a handle of all of your customer service needs.

Just like a physical business, different call recording options allow a supervisor to monitor calls, which helps with quality control and liability issues. One of these is IVR; otherwise known as interactive voice response. Many businesses use this to organize calls and send them to their proper extensions. The API or Application Programming Interface makes work organization a lot easier. The API gathers all of the data and information that the business needs to launch its international business prospects into other countries. It checks regions for available local phone numbers, allows the uploading of documents, manages emails, tabulates call records, and can purchase toll free numbers if needed.

Voicemail and email forwarding are standard in regular life, but using virtual phone numbers allows even more control over numbers that call. They offer black and white lists, which filter calls into two categories: acceptable and rejectable calls. It allows the business to block whole area codes or countries to prevent spam or getting business between different factions confused. It also helps with handling/ receiving unwanted calls from areas where the company does not want to do business.

How to Get Virtual Phone Numbers to Expand Internationally

Setting up is generally simple and if you are interested, you can use a free trial to test the system out. With Global Call Forwarding, you can purchase international virtual phone numbers with very competitive rates. International call forwarding hubs are generally very upfront with fees and overall, their services are very reasonably priced. Using this method is by far a much better alternative to relocating or establishing a branch thousands of miles away from a company’s main office; especially if funding for such endeavors is low. However, there are options that maximize your efficiency, allowing you to expand internationally without a large investment in time, money, or space. With international call forwarding, you can grow a business by expanding it to multiple countries while establishing a great reputation easily without the risk.