There are many things that large businesses have that a small business can do without for a while. However, a telephone and voicemail system is not one of them. Even in the age of e-mail and social networking, the number one way, short of walking to your door, that most customers or clients will contact you is through a telephone call. In addition, the business owners who makes use of virtual assistants will occasionally find it necessary to actually talk to their VA’s.
This doesn’t mean that your telephone system has to be the same old ones that businesses used 10 years ago, though. The dawning of the Internet and of cloud-based computing has brought with it telephony options that are cheaper for you than standard landlines, and which make it easy and convenient to receive calls, even if you can’t hire an on-site receptionist. Let’s take a look at some of the options available to you.
Internet Telephones. By Internet telephones, I’m referring to programs that you install on your computer. The program features a telephone keypad. You plug up a headphone and microphone to your computer and then make calls as usual. Currently, there are two primary Internet telephone services that I recommend:
1) Skype. I like Skype because I use it for a lot of things including conducting and recording my interviews with small business experts, hence I am always connected on Skype. You can download the program at www.Skype.com and sign up for a free account. You can then prepay for calling credits in one of two ways. You can either buy per minute or you can pay about $2.99 for unlimited calling within the United States. To get your own telephone number, sign up for “Skype In.” This costs you about $18 for three months worth of service.
2) Vonage. Vonage has a lot of features that will you will find useful. For a full list of the features and plans go to www.Vonage.com. I particularly like the Vonage Pro® plan (which will cost you about $34.99 per month) because it comes with the Vonage PC Companion software that you can install on any computer and still be able to make and take calls. I have also been able to get my virtual assistants in the Philippines to install this software on their laptops and they also can use it to make and take US based calls. It is an awesome tool because as long as you have a high-speed internet connection, you can stay in contact with your clients and potential customers no matter what country you are physically in. They now have a mobile application “App” that you can download onto your cell phone which allows you the same benefits, awesome!
So which of the internet telephones described above is better? That depends on your needs. Skype costs much less for each phone call and in my opinion is not as reliable for making calls to Landlines or cell phones as Vonage. That said Skype is awesome for chatting, video meetings, phone conferences, and sharing your screen during demos. The key with Skype is for everyone using it to each have a free Skype account and that is when the features in my view can be used to their full potential. On the other hand, Vonage does not have the cool features like Skype, their core focus is on developing and improving their VOIP phone technology and so far it’s been a great move on their part because I do recommend that if you need an internet phone for make and taking US based calls and also for your Virtual Assistants who might not be physically located in the US to be able to make and take calls as well then Vonage is the best option.
Web-based Voicemail. Even though Skype and Vonage are internet phone systems, they also provide the voicemail features I will be describing below. If for some reason you only need a web-based voicemail, it is possible. For starters, an online voicemail account makes is possible for people from multiple locations to check the messages. This means that if you have a virtual assistant who handles messages, and you also like to keep up with them, you can both do that by logging onto the website that hosts your messages. Another advantage is for those with super-small businesses (one or two employees). In this case, you can’t be by the phone at all hours, but you need for messages to be answered speedily. Many Web-based voicemail services allow you to have the messages forwarded straight to your email account in two versions, the transcribed text and also a copy of the audio message itself. You can also have the messages transcribed and texted to your cell phone. Even if you go out of town, Web-based voicemails allows you to stay on top of your incoming messages. Some of the services I recommend are:
1) Simple Voice Center at www.SimpleVoiceCenter.com has a free option, in which your customers call a number and then must enter an extension to reach you; a toll-free number for six cents a minute; and a regular local phone number, which people can call without entering an extension, for $9.95 a month.
2) Telemessage at www.VoiceMessage4You.com is extremely convenient, since they notify you via email of an incoming message, and even attach an mp3 file of that message. That means you can listen to the message right from your e-mail.
3) Google Voice which I think is the best because I love Google. Anyways, this one is located at www.Google.com/Voice. In addition to all the other features described above for web-based voicemail services, Google allows you to have your cell phone messages forwarded to your Google Voice account. The benefit of doing this is that you can then either listen to the messages online or even read a transcribed copy of it that Google sends to you.
Questions for you
- What disadvantages and advantages have you encountered with Internet telephone and web-based voicemail services?
- If you have not used them, what would need to happen before you start using them?