Call Forwarding using Virtual Phone Numbers

Call Forwarding using Virtual Phone Numbers

Phone call forwarding is a technique that allows a business to establish a local phone number and have the calls routed elsewhere. For example, if your business is located in Los Angeles but serves San Diego, you'd either offer a toll free number for your San Diego customers or a number that's local to them. When the San Diego customer dials what appears to be a San Diego phone number, the call actually rings to the business located in Los Angeles.

Domestic and international businesses use call forwarding in several ways. One of the primary goals is to create a local presence as described in the Los Angeles / San Diego example. When international calling is involved, callers in the target country see a local phone number, not an international one. This helps them to feel more comfortable calling than they would be if they saw an international phone number. For example, a caller in the United States may hesitate to call a company in London because of long distance concerns as well as a preference for doing business locally. However, if the caller sees a USA number, these concerns never arise. When the caller dials the local USA number, phone call forwarding routes the call to the London business.

Another reason that international businesses use call forwarding is to provide local users with toll free phone calls. For example, a customer may have no objection to ordering products and services from an international company. However, that same customer may not know how to dial an international phone number. In addition, as a paying customer, that customer may balk at the cost of long distance. By providing a local call forwarding number, the customer is served and these objections are addressed.

The local phone call forwarding process is relatively straightforward. A local number is established in the target market and the destination phone number identified. When the local number is dialed, call forwarding kicks in and the call is routed to the destination number.

Though technically similar, global phone call forwarding is more complicated due to language and time differences. For example, an Italian company serving a U.S. market must have a staff of English-speaking customer service representatives available to take calls during U.S. business hours.

Fortunately, many call forwarding providers offer tools that help with phone call forwarding challenges. For example, "time of day" routing allows you to schedule call forwarding based on the time of day the call takes place. If a call arrives during local business hours, you could have it ring to your call center where live representatives will be able to assist the caller. If a call arrives after local business hours, you could route the call to voicemail or some other alternate number. Depending on how many phone call forwarding numbers your business maintains and the number of countries involved, it may make sense to use call forwarding to route callers from specific countries to specific customer service representatives knowledgeable about that market and conversant in the local language.

Both domestic and international businesses can take advantage of phone call forwarding to create a local presence virtually anywhere in the world. Call forwarding is convenient for customers as they do not have to pay toll charges to speak with you. It also addresses customer objections to calling outside of the country before these objections have a chance to materialize. Best of all, phone call forwarding is versatile and inexpensive!

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