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Is it possible to buy a professional image? Of course it is. People do it
everyday with business cards, an expensive suit and haircut, a nice office front
and well designed websites to name just a few examples. All of these things tell
your potential customers about you and your business before you even get a
chance to talk to them. It is important that they are portraying the right
image. A common mistake many small and home based businesses make is not
including their phone system in their image campaign. All too often a potential
customer is impressed by the professional image that is presented to them until
they go to call. Then two things can happen that turn them off. One, the
business only has a local number. And two, if they decide to go ahead and dial
the local number, the whole experience can leave them wondering if there really
is a reliable company behind the image they first encountered. Now, with virtual
PBX systems small and home based businesses never have to sound small and
unprofessional again.
Here are just 3 features of a virtual PBX that contribute to it's effectiveness
at portraying a professional image for its users.
1. A Toll Free Number. A virtual PBX with a toll free number conveys an image of
professionalism right off the bat. People feel that a company with a toll free
number is more established and reliable as well. And when businesses make that
toll free number a vanity number, the feeling increases 3 fold. This is
especially important in online businesses where consumer confidence tends to be
lower. Sure, business owners can get a toll free number with the "Bells", but
the impact the toll free number has when combined with the other features of a
virtual PBX is unbeatable.
2. Automated Attendant. A virtual PBX with an automated attendant will answer
calls professionally and consistently the same way every time. An automated
attendant also gives small and home based businesses the ability to sound more
like their bigger competition. With a professional recording, callers can hear
options such as press 1 for sales, press 2 for technical support, 3 for billing
and so forth. The caller does not know that all of those key presses might take
them to the same place and the same person. This is also a very useful feature
for a small business with a dispersed work force. If there are employees that
work from home or in different locations, a virtual PBX automated attendant can
forward calls to each of their locations based on their extension.
3. Call Forwarding. Some virtual PBX providers call it "find me" or "follow me"
call forwarding but no matter what they call it, it all means the same thing. It
means that a small or home based business using a virtual PBX can receive the
calls coming into their toll free number anywhere they wish. This is especially
important in the scenarios above. If a small business only has 1 employee for
example, they can sound much bigger with different "extensions" all leading to
the same person. A dispersed workforce could receive calls in New York, Florida,
Texas and California all from one virtual PBX toll free number. As well, those
businesses that operate out of their homes can set up the virtual PBX to forward
calls to their home office or even their cell phone. Most systems will even
allow the call to be announced in a specific way, taking the mystery out of
whether the incoming call is business or personal. This allows business calls to
be answered professionally every time.
These are only a few of the features that can be found with a virtual PBX. Other
features that help portray a professional image are after hours greetings, dial
by name directories, a recorded list of extensions, on hold music and the list
goes on. A standard PBX with these capabilities would cost thousands of dollars.
Not to mention the cost of maintenance and upgrades as new features and users
are added with growth and time. Comparatively, virtual PBX systems can be found
from about $10.00 - $50.00 a month depending on the features and number of
users. The cost of the right phone system will pay for itself in the confidence
that it instills in potential customers. How much is your professional image
worth?
Brandi Cummings, an expert in the field of virtual telecommunications,
recommends checking out Freedom800.com (
http://www.freedom800.com
), a leading provider of toll free numbers and virtual office technology for
small businesses.
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