Someone asked me recently, what is the point of having a virtual number. What good do they actually do?
My key point in response was this. If you live in London and are wanting to hire a company to do some work for you, or provide a service for you in some way, when looking for companies you are naturally going to be attracted to a London company for obvious reasons, mainly because they are local. But the company does not have to be from London, it is just a natural, inbuilt reaction that it should be.
Sorry Londoners, but London is ridiculously expensive. To rent or buy property there is unbelievable. The key benefit, using London as an example, of virtual London phone numbers, is that you can do business in London without being based in London.
Property costs are the biggest source of expenditure for a business. If we can reduce those, then there is more chance of a business not having to close and therefore of people keeping their jobs and not having to be unemployed. With the economy back in tough times, this is vital. So that is the point of virtual numbers.
Friday 26 August 2011
Friday 19 August 2011
What should you be looking for when buying a virtual number?
Right, lets go back to basics ...
What should you be looking for when choosing a company to provide you with a virtual phone number?
Firstly, they should have a wide range of different area codes to choose from. You would expect a decent provider to have a choice of around 500 different area codes - including 020 London numbers.
Secondly, they should not be VOIP numbers, as these are poor quality.
Thirdly, you shouldn't expect prices to be higher than 5p per minute to receive the call.
You should only expect to be charged for what you pay for - look out for pay per second billing.
Look out for companies that tie you in to contracts. You want companies that you only have to give a month's notice to. If they're locking you in for a year or two years then there might be something wrong with them and they think you're going to leave.
Finally, the company should reasonably be able to connect you the same day if you're calling within working hours.
What should you be looking for when choosing a company to provide you with a virtual phone number?
Firstly, they should have a wide range of different area codes to choose from. You would expect a decent provider to have a choice of around 500 different area codes - including 020 London numbers.
Secondly, they should not be VOIP numbers, as these are poor quality.
Thirdly, you shouldn't expect prices to be higher than 5p per minute to receive the call.
You should only expect to be charged for what you pay for - look out for pay per second billing.
Look out for companies that tie you in to contracts. You want companies that you only have to give a month's notice to. If they're locking you in for a year or two years then there might be something wrong with them and they think you're going to leave.
Finally, the company should reasonably be able to connect you the same day if you're calling within working hours.
Friday 12 August 2011
Virtual fax to email numbers
Just a thought on something I read the other day ...
When you get a virtual local phone number, such as virtual 0207 numbers for London, you are presumably doing it to appear to be somewhere you're not. For example, to appear to be based in an office in London whereas actually you are driving around in a van in London, or based in an office just outside of London to save cost.
However, what people don't think about is that they need to get a fax number to match the virtual number too, otherwise you blow your cover when someone asks for the fax number for your office, and you have to give one which shows you're not in London, or wherever your virtual numbers are set up for.
Getting a virtual fax to email is also a great excuse for modernising the way you receive faxes. Instead of via a fax machine, they're turned into PDF and sent straight to your email account, so you don't have to print them, waste ink, paper, electricity, etc.
When you get a virtual local phone number, such as virtual 0207 numbers for London, you are presumably doing it to appear to be somewhere you're not. For example, to appear to be based in an office in London whereas actually you are driving around in a van in London, or based in an office just outside of London to save cost.
However, what people don't think about is that they need to get a fax number to match the virtual number too, otherwise you blow your cover when someone asks for the fax number for your office, and you have to give one which shows you're not in London, or wherever your virtual numbers are set up for.
Getting a virtual fax to email is also a great excuse for modernising the way you receive faxes. Instead of via a fax machine, they're turned into PDF and sent straight to your email account, so you don't have to print them, waste ink, paper, electricity, etc.
Friday 5 August 2011
Interesting facts
Was having a browse through the OFCOM website, and found this to be quite an interesting read.
It talks about different telephone number codes and costs, from fascinating facts to 020 numbers.
Enjoy!
It talks about different telephone number codes and costs, from fascinating facts to 020 numbers.
Enjoy!
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