CloudPhone Blog

Summertime is here and that means it's time to get customers in the door (sometimes figuratively speaking) with your summer specials! One way to do that is by taking full advantage of virtual phone numbers.

Have you added any numbers in your business location with new area codes? How about any toll-free numbers? Or numbers that are easy to remember? Check out our tips below to see what makes sense for you and your summer marketing and sales deals:

1. Be Local

Businesses that have a local presence can get a local virtual number in their area code, or in an area they’re wanting to target, for a summer special. A flower shop, for instance, that travels to farmers markets in different cities, or states, can utilize several local numbers to show buyers and passerby’s they are a local supplier—a big plus for those following the shop local movement!

2. Look Big

Toll-free numbers are a fantastic option for companies with a nationwide footprint, or smaller businesses that want a corporate appearance. Creating a toll-free number that coincides with your summer deals lets callers know they have to act fast in order to reap the benefits! Be sure to showcase your virtual numbers on your advertisements, website, social sites, car wraps, etc. for maximum impact

3. Utilize Features

Virtual numbers often come with an auto-attendant, voicemail inbox, business SMS and custom menu options—don’t forget to coordinate your specials with mentions across these voice touchpoints! Not sure how to go about it? Check out this article on how to use your phone’s built-in features for marketing promotions.

4. Analyze Data

If you’re running multiple sales or placing in multiple locations, be sure to record which number corresponds with a specific sale or location. Keeping track of these details will show you the effectiveness of each campaign: Did the number on your Facebook ad receive more calls than the number of your car wrap? Did the number on the 10% discount code receive more calls than the refer a friend bonus ad? The proof is in the pudding!

Let's give those summer deals a special number! Do you have any other examples to share? Comment below...

One of the fantastic things about signing up for Cloud Phone is that in just about 2 minutes you have a fully functional, and ready-to-use, business phone system. The service simply works, and without the complicated configuration common in other solutions.

Not everyone has the same needs though, and not everyone wants the system to work the way it's automatically configured. In this post, I'll show you the two most common ways that customers configure their accounts and show you how to make the most of the Cloud Phone mobile app.

Need more help? Here are some other great resources:

• Quick Start Guide: Account Management Portal
• Support: Technical Assistance Center
• Video Tutorial: Account Management Portal

To get started let's talk about how we make sure your account is ready-to-use immediately after you sign up for an account.

Company Information

During sign up, the most important part of the process is the ability for you to pick your virtual phone number. You should think about this number as your company's main phone number. Today, you can choose a toll free number or a local number from the United States or Canada. Your Caller ID settings are configured automatically to use this number and our cloud based platform instantly configures the routing on our platform to ensure the number reaches you. (Coming soon! New interface for picking numbers and international numbers.)

The name and company fields aren't just used for profile settings. They get added to a company greeting template that is used when someone calls your business number. Calls are automatically routed to the pre-configured auto attendant which plays the greeting.

"Thank you for calling COMPANY. Please dial 1 for NAME, or 9 to leave a message."

To really make the service work immediately we take the mobile number you enter during signup and use that as the location where we route calls from your business number. We also send notifications for voicemails and faxes here.

All of these settings are configurable, but these are the default settings.

So to recap;

1. Picking your number starts the configuration on our platform.
2. Company and First Name are used to configure greetings.
3. Routing is configured based on your mobile number
4. Notifications are sent to email and mobile

Now, on to the 2 most common configurations...

Configuration #1: Small Business Is Big Business

I really like this setup because it provides significant benefit to our customers. Regardless of the size of a business, where they work from (office, home, coffee shop, the car, etc...), or how successful they are --- this is the plan that supports the dream of every business owner.

What does that mean? It means that no one gets into business to not be successful. Everyone starts with a dream, and hopefully they dream of making it big and their idea turns into a huge success --- but we all have to start somewhere, and often that somewhere is a business of just one person!

Here's a notable statistic; there are over 33 million MSME's in North America1. MSME stands for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and they are normally defined as a business with less than 10 employees.

When you are a business of just one, or just a few - you can't afford to appear less than professional or to miss out on opportunies. This configuration plays off these key features;

• Company Greeting & Main Menu - Setting up a professional greeting ensures that your company makes a great first impression. Main Menu options (Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Finance, Press 3 for Media Inquiries) can help create the perception of a larger company, even when all the options ring to one person.
• Toll Free Number - A toll free number can instantly create the perception of a more established and professional company.
• Call Management - Cloud Phone provides a sophisticated yet simple call routing feature set that includes call routing, call screening, and call transfer. The bottom line is you can stay connected to your business from anywhere in the world and connect team members regardless of their location.

Here are the basic steps to setup this option;

1. If you have more than one employee, simply "Add an Extension". This button is located on the main page of the account management portal and let's you quickly add others.
2. Next, go to the "Greetings" tab of the main navigation to customize your greetings and setup your Main Menu options.
3. If you didn't select a toll-free number during sign up, go to the "Account" section and you can add a toll free number.
4. To configure your call management settings, simply click on the Extension Card on the main page of the portal for the extension you want to manage. (Coming Soon! Revisions to this page to simplify extension management)

Now your new business number is configured and ready to use.

Configuration #2: All Work No Play

One of the most common requests we get from customers is, "How do I get calls to just ring through to me?". When I think about this persona, I imagine the always on the go entrepreneur. Perhaps it's a busy real estate agent, an event planner, or an online seller - but it's someone who knows that connecting with their customer is critical to their business. These "go-getters" don't want to put their customers through a series of menu options or screen the calls, they want to connect as quickly as possible.

They need a dedicated business number that just forwards to them, wherever they are.

Here's how to set it up;

1. From the portal, head to the "Numbers" area of the "Account" section. Once there just select the gear icon and change the Call Behavior from Auto Attendant to "Connect to Phone".
2. Next, head over to the Extension card and the "Call Settings" area in order to disable Call Screening.

That's it! Now calls to your business number will bypass the Auto Attendant and ring directly to your phone. Callers won't be screened and you'll be able to connect to them quickly and efficiently.

Bonus Tip: Download the Mobile App

We recently released our mobile app which gives you full access to manage your virtual phone service and access additional features like call recording, conference calling, eavesdrop and flip.

Most importantly the app is the first product from Voxox to leverage our patent pending voice codec which greatly out performs other apps when it comes to call quality.

In conclusion, I hope your takeaway from this is that Cloud Phone is powerful, yet simple solution to simplify your business communications. Eliminate the expensive, hardware based solutions and join us in the cloud. 

As always, if you need any help with your Cloud Phone account you can always reach out to our amazing support team or message me directly.

It's often a bit awkward having to give out your personal cell phone number so that clients can send you text messages about business matters. Luckily with technologies like virtual PBX services, you can give out a "http://info.cloudphone.com/blog/5-clever-ways-to-use-phone-numbers-to-grow-your-business" target="_blank">business phone number and have both your business calls and texts instantly routed to your existing cell phone. You maintain a professional image and separate work/life identities via your dedicated business line, while also evading the extra cost and hassle of having to manage two devices. How often do business owners find themselves texting back and forth with their clients and employees?  It's so informal, right?  With 90 percent of people reading a text message within the first 3 minutes, according to MobileSQUARED, it's the fastest and most effective way to get in touch! 

Here are some uses of two-way business texting that can be highly impactful, while also not encroaching as much on your work life balance as handing out your personal cell number might.

1. VIP Customer Support

Providing great customer service is essential for keeping clients happy, but sometimes phone and email communications just won't cut it. That's where text messaging comes in. Giving your VIP client contacts -- the ones with the killer accounts -- access to text support through your business phone number (aka ability to reach you anywhere at anytime) is a sure way to keep them happy and coming back for your products or services.

2. Escalation

Texting with clients and colleagues is a fast and efficient way to escalate an urgent matter. Sometimes you have to explain a situation in depth, whether it's an email or a voicemail, but the person you're trying to reach is not in front of a computer or can't pick up the phone and listen to a message (in a meeting, perhaps). A text can be incredibly useful to notify someone about an urgent communication that you've sent them -- and also a quick way to receive a response. 

3. Company Announcements

With hundreds of emails coming in each day, it's inevitable we will overlook one here and there -- even if it's internal, and from the boss. Plus, with teams working remotely and with little time to spare for distracting and long group meetings, text announcements just make sense. So, next time you have a company announcement like a new initiative, sales incentive or social event, try SMS. You'll be able to communicate the details effectively without upsetting workflow. 

4. Subscribing to a Work-Specific SMS Marketing List

There are times when you need to subscribe to a work-related marketing list. But there's that fear of using your own personal cell phone number, in case you start getting unwanted communications, reminders, marketing offers, etc. If you have a virtual PBX service providing your SMS-enabled business phone number for your company, you can always add a temporary virtual number to your account for things like this. The cost is low and this additional virtual line can be canceled fast.

5. Take Orders

If you're buying something for business purposes, you might want your business-related texts to be captured separately from your personal texts -- another handy use of a virtual PBX service. Say you're ordering supplies, or even pizza for an office party...always good to have a separate record of your business expense-related communications.

SMS is an essential part of our everyday lives -- it's how many people connect these days and it's accessible to nearly everyone. SMS can be a very useful tool to keep in touch with clients and colleagues when phone and email just won't do -- but keeping your business identity separate from your personal identity is typically a good idea.