Business today knows no international or virtual boundaries. Every major name you might have heard about in your own backyard has entered the global market and are making their fair share of profits. Companies compete against local and worldwide businesses as well. With such fierce competition, start-ups and small-medium businesses must use every resource in their disposal to survive and grow.

The global growth

With the passing time, competitors keep growing, so does the potential of maximizing profits by discovering better business opportunities internationally. Today, the new markets and new customer segments are more reachable than ever. Conducting international business is not a piece of cake. However, technological advancements have greatly supported start-ups take their business global by using virtual phone systems.

Virtual phone number — Definition

A virtual phone number is like any other phone number; the difference is, it gets hosted on VoIP. In simple language, it’s like a local number of any country around the world but hosted over the cloud. While using a virtual phone number that is hosted over the cloud you can make and receive international calls from any part of the world.

For instance, you are receiving an incoming call from the UK. You can easily forward the call to your American line. This comes in handy for businesses that want to make their presence felt in multiple countries without the cost of setting up international offices.

Advantages of a Virtual Phone Number

The primary benefit behind getting a virtual phone number is that you can buy virtual local and toll-free numbers for USA, UK, Australia and other major countries and customers willingly make calls since the phone number is local for them.

For instance, you are a UK-based start-up that now wants to go global. You select to set up a virtual office in the USA. You get a USA virtual phone number, which is an international number for you. However, it is a local number for the prospects in the USA.

A few more benefits of the virtual phone number:

Developing a relationship

Some startups may have their partners in international countries. Some of the start-ups might have hired individuals in multiple countries to be available on the call 24/7. By using virtual phone system such startups can stay in touch with their international business associates.

By distributing the virtual phones system amongst the international employees, they can stay in touch with their prospects and customers always. Such service helps build brand name and value.

Lower costs

There is no cost incurred for acquiring office space and new hardware. No monthly salary, just a subscription to your favorite virtual phone number of your desired country.

Local vs. toll-free

When it comes to acquiring virtual phone number, the debate is always about going for a local or toll-free number. The local number allows customers to call your virtual number at local call rates. These numbers are best for making outbound calls. Reaching out to customers using local number boosts confidence in them to answer your call and do business with you.

Toll-free numbers allow customers to make calls to you without paying anything. Depending on the startup’s goals, they can have a local number or portray themselves as big business with toll-free numbers. Virtual phone numbers have no geographical limitations. Startup owners can easily forward calls from their virtual number to their private or even business number.

Toll-free numbers cannot help businesses go global as they are country-specific. For this reason, we recommend businesses must have at least one local number.

The ability to register regular business numbers varies depending on the restrictions countries exercise. Many require a proof of address. This is why having a virtual phone number is an apt solution for startups.

The virtual phone system

Many virtual phone system vendors allow startups to stay in touch with their contacts using calls and texts. Uninterrupted communication is a critical part in a startups global success. With a virtual phone system, startup owners can easily forward, record, make or receive calls and access many other features which is not possible with traditional phone systems.

Startups can use the cloud-based phone system to call any person in a specific area code using the virtual phone number. Not just that, they can use their desktop, laptops or smartphones for making calls at reasonable call rates.

How can startups set up their virtual phone system?

Startups can begin their virtual phone system set up by getting the number of their desired country. They can select from local, toll-free and mobile numbers. If they choose multiple numbers, they can assign them to their sales reps. Even if they go for a single number, they have the option of distributing the calls between the reps, even in case the rep is working remotely.

The virtual phone system is an integral part of acquiring virtual phone numbers. These systems allow startup owners to see how many calls the rep has made, the total talk time and the outcome of the calls.

How can startups go global using virtual phone numbers?

Startups won’t jump to the decision of expansion. After achieving enough result locally, they will start looking for global business opportunities. There is no timeframe here as it depends on the business process these startups follow individually.

As we have seen above, virtual phone numbers are not associated with a traditional telephone line, so maintaining expensive devices and managing the mess cables create goes out of the window. Virtual phone numbers can forward incoming calls to any number of the client’s choice. No additional cost of setting up any telephone hardware system is another big advantage.

With a virtual phone number, establishing a local presence in an international market becomes easier for startups as they can portray themselves as a local professional company. A virtual phone number works like a channel for new customers of startups. This is a system where startups can reach out to their customers without incurring any additional charges.

Concluding thoughts

Acquiring a virtual phone number will not just help in building trust in future customers, it will also assure them that the business is based locally, even if you are a thousand miles away. Modern virtual phone systems allow startups to use their smart devices for making and receiving calls just like sending and receiving emails. With such an intelligent technology at their disposal at a great price, going global becomes all the more easier for startups.