CloudPhone Blog

As a small business owner keeping a close eye on your company’s fiscal health is a fact of life. With a limited budget, your ability to turn a profit rests heavily upon how well you allocate your resources.

With the advent of cloud communications, small business owners are increasingly turning away from legacy PBX systems to realize major savings. A cloud-based phone system provides big business features like an auto attendant, voicemail transcription, virtual extensions and voicemail-to-email notification through a web-based service—all without breaking the bank.

Here are a few of the primary ways you can save your company some hard-earned cash:

No Installation Fees

Deploying a traditional wire-based system typically requires an on-site visit from a technician. By the time equipment and labor costs are totaled, phone service installations tend to get costly. With cloud communications, however, there is no hardware involved. Without hardware there is no technician visit and without the visit, there is no hefty bill.

Third-party maintenance

In much the same way that cloud communications help you avoid installation fees, the lack of on-premises equipment also wipes out upkeep costs. The vendor takes care of maintaining the system so you can worry about growing your critical business processes.

One small monthly bill

Legacy phone systems can be rife with hidden charges and add-ons. But with a best-in-class cloud communications application you get one bill each month for your service with no surprises or tricks. In other words, you can stop opening your phone bill with fear in your heart. 

Running a small business is never easy, but throwing away money on expensive legacy phone systems makes it harder than it has to be. So take a closer look at cloud communications begin your journey towards major savings right away!

Every June, sons and daughters present their fathers with cards, ties, sweaters and various other presents to show their appreciation for their dads. But whether you are a father or not, if you own a small business, this Father’s Day is as good a time as any to give yourself the gift of cloud communications.

Cloud communications can help your company cut expenses and boost productivity by offering big business functionality at a reasonable price. A cloud-based phone service, for example, is maintained by a third-party over the web, meaning you can invest in this gift without paying for a complicated installation or any hardware upkeep. Additionally, the phone system’s settings are also accessible through the web which allows you to make changes on the fly.

The vast array of features you can leverage with a cloud-based system lets you project a big business image even if you are a sole proprietor. For instance, top-shelf products offer:

• A toll free business-specific phone number to give to customers and contacts
• Reach Me Anywhere technology that connects your incoming business calls anywhere you choose on any device
• An auto attendant that greets callers professionally and presents them with menu options
• Voicemail transcription that lets you read your voicemails when you can’t listen
• Business-class voicemail to email that ensures you never lose an important old messag 
• Instant conference calling that facilitates collaboration among your employees

So even if your schedule is full this Father’s Day, find some time—maybe between breakfast in bed and dinner on the town—to investigate cloud communications. Because although Father’s Day comes only once per year, your company needs best-in-class business tools the other 364 as well.    

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.

Growing small businesses often struggle with phone services that are difficult to set up and costly to scale to their ever-changing needs. So, if you’re like most small businesses, your phone service is a major pain point and sometimes even causes more communications blunders than it solves. With all the options on the market, it can be difficult for small business owners to find the right phone service to fit their needs, but with a cloud-based phone service all those stress-inducing thoughts can become a thing of the past.

Photo courtesy of Sebastiaan ter Burg

There's a number of cloud phone service options that are specially designed to provide full service telephone capabilities to the small business owner without costly equipment or difficult installation. In fact, by utilizing the reliable technology and feature-rich functionality of the right cloud phone solution, small businesses can unlock the potential benefits hidden within the phones they already have.

Here’s how a cloud-based phone service will change your small business for good…

Eliminate Hardware Costs         

A cloud phone service can give your business the professional image you're looking for without requiring any special on-site hardware for you or a technical person to manage. Incoming calls placed to your business phone number, which is nestled in the cloud, can be forwarded to your employees' existing cells through simple extensions for each employee or department. This type of web-based phone solution not only makes things easy for you to manage, but it also gives the perception of a bigger business.

Convenient Calling Features

With a cloud phone service, you get all the amenities you love from a sophisticated phone system – a single business number, a customizable professional greeting and extensions that can reach employees worldwide -- without all the things you don’t, like upfront fees, bulky hardware and costly maintenance. Plus, with all calls routing from a single business phone number, a cloud-based phone service removes the necessity for you and your team to use personal cell phone numbers for business communications.

Connect From Anywhere

If missed calls, lost messages and tracking down employees have dented your bottom-line, a cloud-based phone solution could be the answer to your communication problems. The ideal cloud-based communication service connects everyone in the company on any device through a single business phone number. Not only does it save a ton of money on long-distance and international calls, but it’s also a great solution for mobile employees and companies that don’t have a traditional office setting. 

The truth is, there isn’t a business phone service available that is easier to set up and manage than a cloud-based phone service. Owning a business can be overwhelming, but Voxox Cloud Phone can help take the complexity out the equation and simplify your life, so you can focus on more important things, like running your business!

Does your company use a cloud-based phone service to stay in touch? Or, do you have questions on how to get started? Join the conversation by posting in the comments below or connecting with us on social media – Facebook, Twitter. 

We are excited to announce that Cloud Phone now includes free business texting for all of its calling plan subscribers. This is particularly awesome because many popular virtual PBX services do not offer two-way texting for free within their monthly calling plans. We are including between 1,000 and 5,000 monthly text messages at no additional charge for Cloud Phone customers because we want to provide the best business value. 

Check out our full press release below:

Voxox Cloud Phone Adds Free Two-Way Business Texting Across U.S. and Canada for Customers with Paid Monthly Calling Plans
Two-way SMS is typically not included without additional cost with popular virtual PBX services, differentiating Cloud Phone for its business value
SAN DIEGO – October 5, 2016 – Voxox®, innovator in cloud communication solutions for businesses with the most comprehensive Unified Communications Platform as a Service, today announced that it has included two-way texting at no additional cost for all customers subscribed to Cloud Phone, the cloud-based virtual phone system for entrepreneurs and very small businesses. The paid subscription plans, which range from 1,000 to 5,000 minutes per month, will now also include between 1,000 to 5,000 free text messages per month, depending on the plan. Popular virtual PBX services typically do not include two-way texting within their monthly calling plans without extra charges or fees. The inclusion of free SMS for Cloud Phone customers is in line with Voxox's strategy to differentiate its services by providing the best business value. 
"Two-way SMS has been our most requested feature for Cloud Phone with 60 percent of customers indicating in surveys their desire to add business texting to their accounts," said Bryan Hertz, CEO and co-founder of Voxox. "Not only did we add the feature but we also included it for free with all Cloud Phone calling plans, which is unorthodox in our space. Our goal with Cloud Phone is to disrupt the marketplace with innovative features and unique offers that empower micro-businesses."                                                                                                                                            
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 up to 25 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.
Apart from two-way business texting available through Cloud Phone, Voxox also offers wholesale SMS services for text-enabling business communications through a web service API. More information available at http://www.voxox.com/business/sms.
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.