Answering business calls from your personal phone number can really affect your privacy.
Not to mention the tiresome feeling of not keeping things in professional order. This is why businesses are turning to use virtual phone numbers for business inquiries, and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t as well.
A virtual number is a telephone number without directly being connected to a telephone line. You can access and use it from as many devices you want, including laptops and mobile phones. It lets you receive calls, text messages, and even share the same number across different employees.
Though we have other means of communication as well, like live chat support and email, nothing beats the effectiveness of speaking on the phone for solving customers’ problems. Recent studies show that 41% of customers prefer talking over the phone in case of doubts/problems.
You don’t need to have any groundbreaking technical skills to get a virtual phone number. All you have to do is, use any of the solutions mentioned in this article, and you’re good to go.
Before I go on to list some of the best service to get the virtual phone number, here’s a little more about using virtual phone numbers.
Cuts down cost
Unlike traditional numbers, a virtual number can be routed through toll-free internet links. As a result, any incoming calls from customers may look like they’re calling a local number; but in fact, it’s answered on the other side of the world at absolutely no extra cost to the organization.
This becomes a cost-effective solution for your business.
Makes customers feel more personal
Most of the customers around the world prefer picking up the phone and dialing up the local support number instead of trying to contact international numbers. The reason being, it saves money and is easier to reach. Virtual numbers help you provide local telephonic service, which in turn makes customers feel more personal.
Come across more professional
If a customer lands on your “contact” page and sees only one universal number to reach out, chances are they’ll already assume that it’s tough to get an answer. On the other hand, if they see multiple virtual numbers dedicated to separate departments, they’ll know your business is large and professional enough to provide several support number.
Not to forget, it also increases their probability of getting an answer.
Now, let’s see what options we have.
Grasshopper
A wonder service for small businesses, Grasshopper, provides you a virtual number along with all the functionalities of your phone. You can manage your personal, as well as a virtual number from one single device and easily differentiate between them.
For every business-related incoming call, you can set custom indications like greetings/extensions, so you’re prepared beforehand. With the help of their desktop and mobile app, you can also receive calls and texts from any devices. Not only that, if you’d like to pick up multiple calls simultaneously on different devices, you can do that too.
I’d recommend making use of their free trial to get a taste of what you’ll be getting. One thing to note here is that Grasshopper offers its service only to US users.
Mightycall
With the ability to use on an unlimited number of devices, Mightycall is fast and super-easy to set up. You can get toll-free and as well as local numbers and keep your personal numbers private for the best reasons.
There is no need for the installation of any additional hardware. Just sign up and start using it within a quick time. Mightycall is currently only available in North America, but you can make international calls all over the world.
CallHippo
Covering more than 50 countries, CallHippo is another impressive virtual number provider. You can get your own virtual number instantly and add multiple users to it. With the numbers, you can receive and make as many calls as you want for your business.
Here are some other features:
- Call transfer to select team members
- Queue calls to be picked up instantly after the current one
- Hold call conferences
- Ability to ring multiple members at once
- Record calls
- Get detailed analytics for your calls
There’s a lot more to it, and you can sign up for free to try it out yourself.
Aircall
You can create and employ members from multiple departments and start assigning different numbers. Aircall covers over 100 countries, so you can be sure you’ll be getting a wider reach for your business. This solution is very flexible and adapts to almost any team size. You can adjust your settings now and tweak them as the requirement increases.
For better tracking and data processing, you can integrate all your call details into your CRM or helpdesk, from which you can keep track of recordings, history, status, and much more.
I recommend scheduling a demo and trying all of the features out.
Circleloop
With over 250,000 virtual numbers to choose from, Circleloop is available in more than 60 countries. Any number you choose will be available for use instantly, which means there will be no frustrating waiting times.
The setup process is quite easy, after which you can start assigning numbers to specific team members. Not only that, but you can also get special and memorable numbers by paying a little extra than usual.
You can start your free trial today!
VirtualPhone
VirtualPhone allows you to get started by paying no set-up fees at all. You can choose from their library of toll-free numbers and start receiving/making calls within minutes. All of the numbers come with the following capabilities:
- Call forwarding
- Call recording
- Call schedule
- SMS
- Softphone calling system
- Live voice chat
- Voicemail and fax
- IVR
This service is available in more than 120 countries, which is pretty vast.
Avoxi
With no minimum contracts and set up fees, Avoxi allows you to get numbers from 2,500 different locations. It has over 20 VoIP business features, and call forwarding to any location is of them. You can opt for numbers for several purposes, like:
- Toll-free
- Virtual local number
- Universal freephone number
You can straightaway go to their website, select your country, number type, and choose from the numbers available.
Knowlarity
No matter if you’re a startup, small business, or an enterprise, Knowlarity is suitable for all of that. You can opt for one single number and use it on as many departments you like, making the task easier for you and your customers.
It has:
- In-depth analytics
- Smart call routing
- Integration to any CRM
- Ability to handle multiple calls at once
- Supports both local and international calls
There are a lot more features that you can try out with their 7-day free trial.
Exotel
Good for almost any business size, Exotel offers a wide range of exciting features along with your virtual number. You get the option to choose from local and toll-free numbers, and both of them allow you to:
- Record calls
- Get real-time call reporting
- Redirect customer calls
- Queue calls to be picked up right after the current one
- Enable parallel ringing across all users and devices
- Forward calls
- Identify personal and business calls
Be sure to try out their 15-day free trial.
Phone.com
Starting at just $9.99/month, Phone has some really inexpensive virtual numbers for your business. You can instantly get started by signing up, picking up a suitable number, and enjoy worldwide coverage. With Phone, you’ll get these amazing features:
- HD voice quality
- Call conferencing
- Call recording
- Group communication
- Seamless fax sending/receiving
- Receive text messages
This solution works with literally any device, be it mobile phones, laptops, computers, or traditional analog phones.
GBPN
GBPN has a universal plan that includes every single of its features, and it costs just $20/month. You can use your existing phone to get started, and there is no need for additional hardware. On the homepage, you’ll see handpicked toll-free numbers selected for you. You can either pick them or select one of your choices.
Some notable features include:
- Unlimited call duration
- Call forwarding
- Voicemail
- Set time-based call routing for uninterrupted lifestyle
- Assign numbers to team members or leave custom voice messages when you’re asleep
- Access call history to look back on important data
Since there is only one plan, you don’t get a free trial here. However, the plan is well worth the shot and price.
Conclusion
There are a few more solutions that aren’t mentioned in this list, but you can be sure the above ones are handpicked with quality in mind. I hope you can get your own virtual number today.
