What Services Can Be Put On My Phone Number?

A phone number is a very flexible thing, particularly if you run a business and you want to use it for more than just receiving calls and improving the visibility of your firm in a crowded marketplace.

There are plenty of additional services that can be added to your existing phone number, so here is an overview of a few which you might consider.

• IVR (interactive voice response)

IVR, or interactive voice response, is an automated service that can be added to your business phone, allowing you to manage inbound calls and handle as many as possible without necessarily relying on human call centre workers to complete all of the most tedious yet necessary parts of the process.

An IVR can allow those who call your number to interact either by speaker or by using their keypads so that they can navigate branching, multi-tiered menus and find out information relating to your company, details of products you may offer and which department or person they should contact.

An IVR will save you money as you will not need to invest in as many phone operators and it will also free up the time of those you do employ as many of your caller's queries can be dealt with automatically.

• Call Routing

A business phone number need not reach a single landline or even a set geographic location, because advanced call routing features can allow you to point inbound callers to whichever device or extension you desire.

You can route calls based on the time of day, for example, so that if you are no longer in the office they will be forwarded to your mobile phone or home landline without having to give out additional contact information to customers and clients.

Call routing is also a useful feature to harness on modern phone numbers so that your business is more resilient in the face of a disaster. If your base of operations cannot be used, you could route calls to other locations so that there is continuity and callers will not be aware of the issues.

• Fax to Email

While fax was a very useful technology in the past, it is no longer such a stalwart since paper-free digital communications became more common.However, it is often impractical for a company to completely remove its faxing facilities if some clients, customers or partners rely on this means of contact.

A good way to make faxes more manageable is to set up a phone number which operates as a fax-to-email service, which means any inbound messages it receives will be converted to a digital file and then passed on to your inbox. This makes them easier to catalogue and store and also gives you the option of printing out a physical copy should it be required.

• Non-Geographic Numbers

Businesses which choose a non-geographic number (NGN) will be putting themselves at an advantage because as well as being able to harness all of the aforementioned services, they will be able to present themselves as being a national company rather than one which is tied to a specific area. Consumers will be more likely to give you a ring if they are outside of your traditional target region if you have an NGN and this will help your business to grow and develop.

Of course, if you do want to present your business as being local, you can pick numbers based on common area codes, linking them all back to a single call center if needs be, because appearance is very important when it comes to winning clients.

Inbound Numbers is one of many ways daisy connects you with your customers or gets you new customers

Faizan Ahmad

About the Author:

This article is posted by Faizan who is the Author and Founder of TechSenser. He is a Professional Blogger from India and a passionate writer about Technology, Gadgets, How-to-Guides, etc. You can connect him on Google+.