You’ve got yourself set up with a virtual phone number and have been exploring all the professional features that come with it. Voicemail transcription, auto attendant, business SMS and an easy to use online management portal, but you’re a little stumped on what to do with the call routing feature. What is call routing and why do you need it?
Call routing is a sophisticated call handling system for your business phone. It allows you to create rules to easily manage incoming calls. You can decide which calls to answer, which to send to voicemail, which calls you want to ring to multiple phone lines and which you want to send directly to colleagues. You can also update the routing rules at anytime through your online management portal.
Here are four ways that your business can benefit from call routing:
1. No More Missed Calls
As a small business owner, you're always on-the-go. From client meetings, to stopping in at your home office, to taking a quick weekend getaway—who knows where you will be when an important call comes in. Call routing allows you to create answering rules to forward incoming calls to any and all of your numbers, like mobile, home and office (or even hotel) so no matter where you are, or aren’t, you’ll always have the ability to answer important business calls. You can also choose to route calls sequentially or simultaneously. Simultaneous ring sends calls to all activated lines at once, while sequential ring contacts your activated numbers in a specific order—ringing until you answer.
2. Prioritize Calls
While we know all customers are valuable, that doesn’t mean you always need to interrupt your business meeting to answer the phone. Call routing allows you to create parameters so that you or your team can pick up calls when it's convenient for you. If you choose to send callers to voicemail, these callers will be well taken care of if you’ve set up your auto attendant. Learn more about that here.
3. Time Zones
Keeping up with international callers, or even those on a different coast, can be exhausting. Call routing can help forward callers to appropriately-located associates to save yourself from having to take a call in the middle of the night. You can also set up your auto attendant to explain extension options for different regions - e.g., for support in the U.S., dial 1, for support in the U.K., dial 2.
4. Balance
We all need a break sometimes. Even if that break is just a solid night’s sleep or an uninterrupted family dinner. With call routing, you can decide when you want to take calls and when you want them to be forwarded to a colleague or voicemail. No matter what route you choose, callers will always be handled professionally—and you’ll get to enjoy a brief break from work.
Can you think of any other ways to use call routing to better manage your inbound business phone calls? We can help you get started. Sign up for a virtual number here, or if you already have one, log into your online management portal and take control of your business calls.