Establishing a Local Presence in Thailand with Virtual Phone Numbers

Even if you need to hire a few Thai speakers to take those calls, you’ll have fewer costs and greater control over your market entry by centralizing operations.

Thailand BangkokAccording to the Embassy of the United States in Bangkok, Thailand, the United States and Thailand have had a commercial relationship spanning more than 180 years.

The embassy reports that expected market opportunities over the next few years include telecommunications, renewable energy, electrical power, broadcasting equipment, food processing and packaging equipment, medical products, cosmetics, educational services, and automotive accessories.

Other countries have free trade agreements with Thailand as well, making Thailand an attractive market for export businesses and investors from various points around the world.

If you plan on entering the market in Thailand, one easy way to begin establishing a local presence is with virtual Thailand phone numbers. These numbers, which are available in both toll free and national (+66 60) versions, are a type of international call forwarding number. Thus, you don’t need an actual branch office in Thailand in order to have a local Thailand phone number.

For example, if your main office is located in Houston, Texas but you sell goods to Thailand via a distributor in Bangkok, how will your customers in Thailand reach you should they have questions or need support? Giving them your Houston office’s toll free phone number won’t work because your toll free number only works in the North American region. What you need is a Thailand toll free virtual number.

With a virtual toll free number local to Thailand, your customers in Bangkok will dial what looks like any other toll free business phone number in Thailand. If you use a local ring tone, it will even sound like any other business number as it rings to your office in Houston. Unless you choose to tell your callers where you’re physically located, they’ll never know that they’ve just placed an international phone call.

If you provide them with a toll free virtual phone number for Thailand, they will not incur any charges whatsoever, even though the call is routed around the world. If you choose to use a national virtual phone number for Thailand, they may incur local tolls based on their location within Thailand. However, because the virtual number for Thailand conforms to the country’s numbering system, most callers will recognize whether they’re calling a number that’s local to them or not.

Thailand Virtual Number DatabaseUsing virtual phone numbers to set up a local presence in Thailand can save your business a lot of money each month compared to setting up a physical office and staffing it locally. Meanwhile, you can serve your Thai customers by using your existing staff to handle the virtual Thailand phone calls at your main office. Even if you need to hire a few Thai speakers to take those calls, you’ll have fewer costs and greater control over your market entry by centralizing operations.

Our virtual phone numbers for Thailand are available on a month-to-month basis — and they can adapt as your call volume grows. Both national and toll free virtual numbers for Thailand are available with affordable rates, excellent call quality, PBX-like features, IVR features, voice mail and voice mail to email, local ring tones, and more. Optional call recording and rollover minutes are also available. Best of all, there are no contracts, no cancellation fees, and no commitment!

View details about Thailand Virtual Numbers here

Establishing Your Business in Colombia with Virtual Phone Numbers

Simply sign up for a Colombia virtual phone number online, pick the number of minutes you’d like to have included each month, enter your ring-to number, pick any optional features that appeal to you (such as optional call recording), and share your new virtual phone number with your contacts, partners, and potential customers in Colombia.

Medellin ColombiaDid you know that the Republic of Colombia is Latin America’s fourth largest economy?

With a population of 46 million, Colombia has the third largest population. In 2012, the United States entered into a free trade agreement with Colombia, making the country one of the largest export markets in South America.

If you’re thinking of entering the Colombia export market, consider establishing your business locally with a Colombia virtual phone number.

Why Build a Local Business Presence in Colombia?

According to Export.gov, Colombians look favorably on US businesses, appreciating the superior quality and reliability of US products and services. While this is good and potentially gives your business an advantage over exporters from other countries, having Colombia virtual phone numbers can bring even more advantages.

Some of the advantages of Colombia virtual phone numbers include:

• Virtual phone numbers make it appear as if you have an office located in Colombia. This can signal that you’re serious about serving consumers in the country as well as instill confidence.

• Virtual numbers make it easy for consumers to contact you. Whether you choose a toll free virtual phone number for Colombia or choose local virtual numbers for Barranquilla or Cali, callers in Colombia will be able to reach you internationally without concerns about international long distance.

• Virtual phone numbers are flexible. The beauty of using virtual phone numbers to route callers from Colombia to your US office is the flexibility that comes with this type of phone service. For example, you could route your incoming calls from Colombia to customer service representatives who speak Spanish. If you’ll personally handle incoming inquiries, you could route the calls to your home office, mobile phone, main office line, and so forth as needed. Additional routing features, such as time of day routing, are also available.

• Virtual phone numbers add credibility to your business. If you run a small import/export business but want your business to appear more professional and credible, getting a toll free or local Colombia virtual phone number can make your business appear larger than it actually is. Use the auto attendant to route callers to different departments or set up a professional greeting. With our international call forwarding service, your Colombia virtual phone numbers have PBX-like features.

• Virtual numbers are available on a month-to-month basis with no activation fees, no contracts, and no termination penalties. Pay as you go and cancel at any time.

What Do You Need to Establish a Virtual Phone Number in Colombia?

It’s more about what you don’t need. You don’t need to rent a local business office in Colombia, you don’t need to travel to Colombia to hire staff, you don’t need an expensive phone system… Simply sign up for a Colombia virtual phone number online, pick the number of minutes you’d like to have included each month, enter your ring-to number, pick any optional features that appeal to you (such as optional call recording), and share your new virtual phone number with your contacts, partners, and potential customers in Colombia.

How have you used virtual phone numbers in Colombia or any other country?

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How Small Businesses Can Use International Virtual Numbers in the United States

Virtual Numbers US InternationalIf you currently have remote call forwarding numbers within the United States, you already have an understanding of how beneficial call forwarding numbers are. However, did you know that you can use USA virtual numbers around the world?

If you’re in the United States but do business overseas, one of the smartest — and most affordable — investments you can make is in an international virtual number. USA virtual numbers can be created for dozens of countries but set up so that they ring to your office in the US.

How Can You Use USA Virtual Numbers?

Establishing a local presence in an offshore country is one of several ways that businesses in the United States use virtual numbers. For example, let’s say that you run a small web development agency in the United States and would like to begin offering your services in an emerging country such as Brazil. Instead of renting office space in Brazil, getting a landline, and staffing your Brazilian office, you could simply get a local virtual phone number (or a toll free one) for Brazil and set your ring-to destination to your USA phone. To your customers in Brazil, your USA virtual number looks local, eliminating cost concerns immediately and helping to generate more calls.

Another way you could use a USA virtual number is to set up a toll free hotline with a recording. In countries with limited Internet access, getting information isn’t as easy as we’re accustomed to. If you provide informational services, you could create a recording directly from within your USA virtual numbers account and set up your auto voice response system accordingly. From there, publish the toll free number in the target country and begin sharing your message.

If you travel frequently, you could use your USA virtual numbers when visiting your target markets. For instance, if you’ve already set up a virtual number for Brazil and will be spending a few weeks touring factories and networking with local business contacts, you could make cheap phone calls back home by setting up the ring-to number so that it rings to the appropriate person in the USA. From there, dial your virtual number and connect with your US-based contacts. You’ll get your same low international call forwarding rates and be able to dial a toll free number when in Brazil. If you use your USA virtual numbers to make cheap international calls, make sure to change your ring-to number back to the desired phone number when you’re done.

Whether you want to expand your market, better serve international customers, or make cheap international calls, getting a USA virtual number is a great way to do so. Test the waters by signing up for an affordable, month-to-month plan with no contract.

Have you ever used a virtual number to make a cheap international phone call?

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Uses for Uzbekistan Virtual Phone Numbers

Use automatic call recording to evaluate the performance of your staff, record contract negotiations, record customer complaints, and more.

Samarkand Registan Square Uzbekistan Wondering how you can use Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers to improve your business relationships with others?

Below are a few use cases for virtual numbers in Uzbekistan.

Facilitating cross-border relationships — The landlocked Republic of Uzbekistan is surrounded by five countries (Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan), making the use of Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers an essential tool for any local businessperson doing business with the country’s neighbors.

  • By establishing virtual phone numbers for each of these countries, you can more easily receive customer inquiries, business calls, and other calls from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. Your Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers would look like local numbers to your international callers. However, they would actually ring to your office in Uzbekistan.
  • Creating a sophisticated “PBX” phone system — Our virtual phone number plans include sophisticated features such as advanced interactive voice response, customized greeting, local ringtones, select country forwarding, voicemail, sequential call forwarding, and more. You can set up your Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers to best meet your business needs — and have the flexibility to take your entire PBX with you as your needs change. There’s no hardware to buy, yet you get many of the same advanced features.
  • Keeping a voice record of your interactions — An optional call recording feature is available with Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers. With this feature enabled, you can set up your virtual phone number to automatically record all incoming calls (or a percentage of them). With automatic call recording, you don’t have to remember to record your calls. Use automatic call recording to evaluate the performance of your staff, record contract negotiations, record customer complaints, and more. Because laws vary from one government to the next, you may want to research the legal requirements for recording incoming calls with the countries involved. In general, it is considered a good practice to disclose call recording and its intended purpose. This can be done via your virtual phone number’s custom greeting feature.
  • Setting up an Uzbekistan presence — If you operate a business outside of Uzbekistan, virtual phone numbers can be used to receive calls from people within the country. For example, let’s say that your main office is in Australia but you are selling goods and services to customers in Uzbekistan. With an Uzbekistan virtual number, your customers can dial a toll free number for Uzbekistan yet reach your team in Australia — all without having to dial international country codes or worry about the cost of the call. Having a toll free Uzbekistan virtual number makes your business appear as though it is operating inside the country. This is a fantastic way to serve a market without having to invest in office space, local staff, and extensive travel.

These are a few examples of how you could use Uzbekistan virtual phone numbers. We’d love to hear more ideas.

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Improve Service with Virtual Phone Numbers Featuring Automatic Call Recording

For example, if you need to record an interview, ask the person you’re interviewing to call you on your virtual phone number with automatic call recording enabled.

Virtual Number Automatic Phone Call RecordingVirtual phone numbers are ideal for routing calls from various locations across the country — or around the world — to a centralized call center. In fact, you may already be using virtual phone numbers to do just that.

As you know, virtual phone numbers can reduce your costs, establish a local business presence in locations far and wide, and improve operational efficiency.

By adding automatically call recording to the mix, your virtual phone numbers can help to improve service.

Here’s what you need to know about our new automatic call recording add-on.

  • Call recording is an affordable, optional add-on — Rather than investing in recording equipment or upgrading your phone system, you can get the benefits of automatic call recording by adding it as a service to your virtual phone numbers. It costs just a few dollars per month per virtual phone number. If you find that call recording is not for you, you can cancel the add-on at any time with no penalties.
  • Virtual phone number call recording is flexible — Do you want to record all incoming calls over your virtual phone number or just a small percentage? Simply set up your preference and let the call recording system do its work.

Why Enable Automatic Call Recording?

Businesses use call recording for several reasons including CSR training, compliance assurance, and opportunity mining. For example, one of the best ways to evaluate your customer service representatives is by listening in. Whether you record every call as it comes through your virtual phone number or opt to record one out of ten, you’ll have plenty of recordings for each CSR to listen to.

Does your CSR answer promptly? Greet the customer correctly? Sound professional and knowledgeable? Follow the script correctly? Build rapport with customers? Solve problems satisfactorily? The answers to these questions can be found in your call recordings.

Periodically listening to call recordings can also help you keep the pulse of your business, learn about potential opportunities, and more. For example, it’s not unusual for customers to talk about your competitors when they speak with your staff, but that information doesn’t always find its way back to upper management. By listening to your virtual phone numbers’ call recordings, you may gain insight into your competitors’ offers or trends affecting your industry.

Using automatic call recording with your virtual phone numbers can also help you comply with various legislation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, that require electronic records of business transactions. For compliance purposes, you’ll want to set up your automatic call recording feature so that it records all incoming calls to your virtual phone number automatically. You’ll also want to upgrade to long-term storage of your recorded phone calls or arrange to store your recordings permanently.

Many of our customers have come up with creative uses for automatic call recording with their virtual phone numbers. For example, if you need to record an interview, ask the person you’re interviewing to call you on your virtual phone number with automatic call recording enabled. How will you use your call recording feature?

We’d love to hear your ideas, too.

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Will Your North American 1-800 Number Work in Australia?

Overcome potential barriers to trust (such as foreign phone numbers) by getting your own local call forwarding numbers for Australia.

Will Your North American 1-800 Number Work in AustraliaSetting up a local presence in Australia is attractive to North American businesses of all sizes for a variety of reasons.

According to Export.gov, Australia has very few barriers to entry, a straightforward business culture, and a familiar legal and corporate framework.

Not only that, Australia is an English-speaking nation, making it a comfortable fit for many US and Canadian business professionals.

When you visit Australia as part of your market research, you may notice that Australian toll free numbers look surprisingly similar to those in North America. This, too, makes Australia seem like a good fit for your business.

However, this doesn’t mean that your North American 1-800 number will work in Australia. For starters, there are fewer digits in Australia toll free numbers. Plus, North American toll free numbers only work in North America.

Solving the Problem with an Australia Toll Free Number that Rings in North America

Don’t let the fact that your existing toll free number won’t work in Australia stop you from what could otherwise be the perfect match. If you intend to do business in Australia, the best, and easiest, solution is to get an Australian toll free call forwarding number. This number will conform to Australia’s toll free system and dialing conventions, yet it will be call forwarded to the phone number of your choice.

For example, let’s say you have a call center in Kansas City, Missouri where all of your customer service calls are handled. While you could build a call center in Sydney, Australia, doing so would be costly, difficult to manage, and time-consuming.

In contrast, with an Australia toll free call forwarding number, you could be up and running in a matter of minutes. Simply publish this number on your Australian website and local marketing materials and set up call forwarding so that all incoming calls from Australia are routed to your existing call center in Kansas City. Depending on the expected call volume, you may not even need to hire additional CSRs. You certainly wouldn’t need to search for bilingual employees because of the common language between the two countries.

Additional Use Cases for an Australian Call Forwarding Number

Toll free call forwarding numbers aren’t your only option, either. You could also order local call forwarding numbers for various cities in Australia such as Bairnsdale, Hobart, New Castle, or Perth.

  • Set up a “local” office (without the actual office) — By printing your local numbers for various cities in Australia on your business cards and marketing materials, you can make it look as though you have local offices throughout the country.
  • Build trust with local partners — Overcome potential barriers to trust (such as foreign phone numbers) by getting your own local call forwarding numbers for Australia.
  • Make it easy for local partners to reach you — Your local partners might not mind the expense of international calls, but they may be unfamiliar with the process. Make it easy by providing local or toll free Australia call forwarding numbers.

Australia could be a fantastic match for your North American business, but you’ll need call forwarding numbers e.g. virtual number that divert Australia calls back to the U.S.

How will you use your Australian call forwarding service?

Please share your usage ideas in the comments section below.

Establishing a Local Presence with a Uruguay Virtual Number

View from Artigas Hill in MInas, Lavalleja, UruguayWith roughly 3.3 million people as of 2013 estimates and consistently gaining attention as one of the world’s fastest developing nations, establishing a local presence in Uruguay could be a smart move. One of the best ways to tap into this market is with a Uruguay virtual number.

Why Set Up a Uruguay Virtual Number?
Uruguay is a representative democratic republic with a freely elected president – and a growing, free market economy. Its economy has an export-heavy agricultural sector with soybeans, horse meat, greasy wool, and beeswax among its main exports.

The Port of Montevideo handles well over 1 million containers each year, and Uruguay has the one of the most developed telecommunications systems in Latin America.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”300px” height=”” background_color=”#FFFF99″ border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Setting up a Uruguay virtual number allows your business to appear as if it is operating inside of Uruguay. It’s a low-cost way to get started in the Uruguay marketplace.[/dropshadowbox]

For example, if you offer import/export consulting services to the agriculture industry, having a local Uruguay virtual phone number would allow your clients in Uruguay to call you directly using a phone number that makes it appear as though your office is just down the street. Your clients may feel more comfortable working with someone with a local presence – and they’ll appreciate being able to dial a local or toll free phone number.

How Your Uruguay Virtual Number Works
When you get a local or toll free Uruguay virtual phone number, you are getting what’s known as a remote call forward number. The number itself is local to Uruguay so callers do not need to be concerned about international calling costs. The Uruguay virtual number, however, rings to the phone line of your choice – and your “ring to” phone can be located virtually anywhere in the world.

For example, you could set up your Uruguay virtual number to ring to:

  • An office phone in New York
  • A call center in Madrid
  • A mobile phone in Tel Aviv

The options are practically unlimited! In fact, you can change the ring to number as your needs change or even program a different destination based on the time of day it is in Uruguay.

Virtual Uruguay phone numbers come with a variety of features and options such as auto attendant, time of day forwarding, local ringtones, rollover minutes, and more. You can even set up an optional call recording feature where all of your calls from your Uruguay virtual number are automatically recorded.

If you’ve been considering a move into the Uruguay market, getting a virtual number is an excellent way to establish a local presence and begin communicating with callers in the country. Ordering a Uruguay virtual number is easy and affordable. Select your new Uruguay virtual phone number now.

What do you think?

We’d love to hear about your experiences. How have you used virtual phone numbers in Uruguay or other nations?

View worldwide database of Virtual Numbers here

Calls that connect you globally

The combination of technology, low costs, ease of use, and quality has contributed to doing business internationally a reality.

Calls that connect you globallyBusinesses are connected like never before thanks to communications innovations such as  global conference calling and virtual phone number technology. Not only is this real and happening, costs are remarkably low.

Now, people can communicate with others around the world while keeping travel to a minimum and without huge phone bills by using global conference calls and virtual numbers for quickly creating a presence in another country.

Best of all, line quality has kept up with the technologies. The combination of technology, low costs, ease of use, and quality has contributed to doing business internationally a reality. While email and traditional long distance phone calls have their place with international collaboration, virtual numbers and group overseas calls have become essential.

Rather than connecting two individuals from opposite ends of the earth, a global conference call brings together an entire international dispersed team. Global Conference calls allow for cost-effective group communications and interactions. Because everyone can speak to one another and hear and understand voice inflection and tone, communication is far more effective than exchanging group email messages.

Overseas Call forwarding is an amazing way to set up shop in the communities that you want to serve, either locally or internationally, without having to go through the hassles and the expense of setting up a physical location.

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The Ultimate in Phone Portability – a Virtual Phone Number

Ensure your callers can reach you regardless of where you are or which physical phone you currently have access to.

Not too long ago, moving to a new home or office location meant abandoning your old phone number and getting a new one. Not only was getting a new phone number a hassle for you, it was also a hassle for all of your contacts who needed to change their records and automatic dialers. Businesses could convert their old main numbers to call forwarding numbers but tended to phase those out over time.

For residential users, VoIP and telephone number portability eventually arrived, opening the doors to taking your old phone number with you. Those options still exist, but a new option has emerged offering the ultimate in phone portability: the virtual phone.

Why Order a Virtual Phone?

A virtual phone is one that essentially resides in the so-called cloud. When you order a virtual phone, you are issued a phone number which you can then assign to ring to any other phone number in existence. Because you can change your virtual phone’s ring to number at will, you can take your virtual phone with you wherever you go. The possibilities are unlimited.

For example, you could use your virtual phone to:

  • Route calls to your mobile phone
  • Route calls to your home’s landline
  • Route calls to a hotel room phone when traveling
  • Route calls to your main office
  • Route calls to a back office line
  • Route calls to a temporary workspace phone
  • Route calls to a colleague’s phone
  • Make cheap international long distance calls by changing the ring to number
  • Route calls to a disposable cell phone when visiting another country
  • Use the virtual phone number’s calling features to create a virtual PBX system
  • Ensure your callers can reach you regardless of where you are or which physical phone you currently have access to

Where to Get a Virtual Phone

Due to its virtual nature, you’re not buying a physical phone per se but rather a call divert service that routes incoming calls to a designated phone number. aitelephone.com offers an affordable virtual phone service suitable for domestic and international call forwarding. Simply select an international virtual number that makes the most sense for you and sign up for a pay-as-you-go virtual phone plan.

Once established and configured, give your new virtual phone number to your contacts and let them know that they can use this number to reach you no matter where you may be. From there, you can use the online account management tool to change your ring to number as needed and change any personal preferences you wish.

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Should You Get an International Virtual Number?

Let’s say that you advise technology startups in Silicon Valley. It makes sense to have an office in Palo Alto, and you do. However, you’ve noticed that a lot of your clients have moved to Dublin, Ireland.

If you do business internationally, getting an international virtual phone number (or several of them) may make sense.

International Virtual NumberWith an international virtual phone number, you can create a “local” presence in a designated country without having to actually establish a physical office there.

The international number looks like any other local number to your overseas customers and partners, but it rings to your designed phone located in another country.

Who Needs an International Virtual Number?

For example, let’s say that you advise technology startups in Silicon Valley. It makes sense to have an office in Palo Alto, and you do. However, you’ve noticed that a lot of  your clients have moved to Dublin, Ireland.

They still have strong ties to Silicon Valley, and you don’t want to lose business simply because of geographic differences. At the same time, opening a second office in Dublin is cost prohibitive.

Your clients want to speak with you regularly, but they hesitate to do so due to fears about international long distance costs. The answer: an international virtual phone number.

In this example, you’d need to order a Dublin virtual phone number and designate your Palo Alto office phone as its “ring to” number.

Whenever a Dublin-based client needs to call you, he or she would dial a local number for Dublin. The call would then be forwarded to your office in Silicon Valley where you can advise your client just as you would have done had your client stayed in the area.

That’s just one of any number of possible scenarios where a business could benefit from an international virtual phone number.

On a larger scale, you could have multiple international virtual phone numbers for any number of countries where your business has a presence.

In order to handle all of these calls, you could route them to a single call center staffed with agents who speak the languages involved. To ensure that the right agents handle each call, set up call routing based on country code.

For example, all calls originating in Portugal and Brazil could be routed to agents who speak Portuguese while calls from Germany would go to agents who speak German.

Advantages of Using an International Virtual Number  

Using an international virtual phone number is a fantastic way to create a local business presence in countries where you do business. It eliminates cost concerns and looks familiar.

Your customers will feel more confident dialing a familiar looking phone number than they would feel if presented with an overseas phone number. They may also feel more confident in your abilities to serve them because you don’t appear to be located on the other side of the Earth.

In addition to appearing local and eliminating cost concerns, an international virtual phone number can save you a great deal of money.

There’s no need to rent office space or hire a local representative. Instead, international call divert routes those calls to your existing office staff in your home country.

Finally, international virtual phone numbers are extremely portable. You can set them up to ring to any phone, at any time. For example, if you decide to travel to Dublin to meet with your clients in person, you could change your Dublin international virtual phone number’s ring to number to a temporary mobile phone that you buy once you arrive in Dublin. Your clients could then reach you using the same phone number.

Likewise, should your main call center need to go offline due to a natural disaster, you can use international call forwarding to route your international phone calls to a secondary call center located elsewhere.

Should you get an international virtual phone number? If you conduct business overseas, the answer is yes.

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Stay in Touch While in another country with International Call Forwarding

In addition to booking flights, lodging, and various tours, make sure to add planning your communications to the list.

Stay in Touch with International Call ForwardingSummer will be here soon, making it important to begin planning your vacation. In addition to booking flights, lodging, and various tours, make sure to add planning your communications to the list.

After all, your cell phone may not work as expected when traveling overseas and high international calling costs could catch you off guard. Even if your cell phone does work, you could be subject to outrageous per minute international roaming fees.

By the time your bill arrives, it will be too late. Avoid this potentially costly problem altogether and stay in touch at the same time by using an international call forwarding service to divert your calls and lock in some of the most competitive rates in the world.

How to Make Low Cost International Calls When Vacationing or on assignment Overseas

First, you’ll need a means of calling your family, friends, business partners, and other parties back home. As mentioned earlier, your cell phone may not work overseas. Thus, you may want to buy a disposable cell phone locally once you arrive. However,  while a local cell phone will be useful for making and receiving local calls, on its own it doesn’t solve the challenge of low-cost calls home. You’ll need an international call forwarding number to do that.

For example, if you are traveling to Paris, France and need to call your office in the United States while you’re on vacation, order an international call forwarding number that’s local to Paris, France and then set up the “ring to” number so that it rings to your US office.

Whenever you need to call your office in the United States, simply dial the French call forwarding number on your cell phone. This call will be treated as a local call by the mobile phone carrier. You will be billed separately by the international call forwarding service at its low per minute rates.

If you don’t feel the need for a mobile phone, you can use this same strategy to avoid excessive international dialing costs imposed by French hotels. Again, order an international call forwarding number local to Paris, France and set the ring to number to the international phone line of your choice.

You can change the ring to number as often as you’d like. From your hotel’s perspective, these calls will be treated as Paris-to-Paris local calls. Thus, you’ll bypass the hotel’s international long distance charges.

How to Receive Low Cost International Calls When Overseas

What about your contacts back home? How will they get in touch with you? Whether you want to ensure that your immediate family can reach you no matter where you go or you have an international business deal that requires you to be on call, setting up a global call forwarding number will do the trick.

In this case, you’ll create a global call forwarding number that’s local or toll free for your contacts back in the United States. Give them this number and let them know that it can be used to reach you while you’re on vacation. You’ll need to set the ring to number so that it rings to your hotel room or disposable cell phone at each destination.

Though setting up multiple international call forwarding numbers and managing their ring to numbers does take a bit of work, it can slash your international communications costs dramatically.

If you need to stay in touch while traveling overseas, international call forwarding is an affordable way to do it. Best of all, month-to-month, pay-as-you-go plans are available with no long term contracts or early termination penalties.

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3 International Call Forwarding Tips for Budget Conscious Businesses

For example, if your main office is located in Barcelona, Spain and you will be spending a week in Beijing, China, you could order an international call forwarding number local to Beijing and configure its ring to number to ring to your office in Barcelona.

3 International Call Forwarding Tips for Budget Conscious BusinessesWhether you’re an entrepreneur on a budget or an executive tasked with reigning in costs, international call forwarding can play a role in your business plans.

Global call forwarding numbers are readily available for hundreds of countries around the world, and you can use them in a variety of cost-effective ways.

Here are three tips for using  international call forwarding to trim costs and stay in touch.

1. Creating an international presence around the globe. Whether your main office is located in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, or Africa, you can help customers and business partners connect with you by ordering local toll free phone numbers for the countries of your choice and then forwarding those calls to your main office. These international call forwarding numbers give your business the appearance of having a local office; however, you do not need to operate a physical office. Instead, your staff answers the phone at your main office or at a call center located elsewhere. Time-of-day routing, local ringtones, and other features can be used to enhance the experience.

2. Making low-cost international phone calls while traveling. In addition to using international call forwarding numbers to route global calls to a central location, many business professionals order personal call forwarding numbers to use to make low-cost international phone calls while traveling. For example, if your main office is located in Barcelona, Spain and you will be spending a week in Beijing, China, you could order an international call forwarding number local to Beijing and configure its ring to number to ring to your office in Barcelona. Whenever you need to reach your office while in Beijing, you’d simply dial a local number (thus avoiding high international long distance costs and hotel surcharges) and be billed according to the rates offered by your international call forwarding service provider.

3. Remaining available while traveling. Unless you have a pricey global satellite phone, traveling from one country to the next usually means that your mobile phone may or may not work due to cellular network differences. Even if your mobile phone does work in a foreign country, international roaming charges may make communications cost-prohibitive.

While you could let everyone know your hotel phone numbers, this is an impractical solution that requires a great deal of coordination. Plus, you won’t be at your hotel room the entire time. A better option is to order an international call forwarding number in advance, give that number to anyone who will need to call you while you’re gone, and then set it up to ring to voicemail temporarily. Once you arrive at your destination, purchase a no-contract cell phone and then re-configure your international call forwarding number so that it rings to your new cell phone. Repeat as needed as you travel from one country to the next.

International call forwarding is a low-cost solution to several business challenges. Whether you need a temporary phone number in a foreign country or want to build an international presence for your business, affordable global call forwarding plans are available on a month-to-month basis with no long term contracts or early termination penalties.

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What You May Not Know About International Call Forwarding

For example, if the person who usually handles all incoming calls from Italy calls in sick, you could change the ring to number for your Italian call forwarding number to ring to another qualified, Italian-speaking person in your company.

What You May Not Know About International Call ForwardingThink that all there is to using an international call forwarding number is getting the number and then setting its “ring to” number? Think again. Yes, setting up an international call forwarding number can be as simple as that.

However, to squeeze the most value out of your global phone number, you may want to learn more about international call forwarding and the numerous features available to you.

Make an Impact with International Call Forwarding

Getting a global call forwarding number could immediately transform your local business into one with international appeal. For example, if you’ve recently begun selling products in Brazil, listing a toll free Brazilian number on your product packaging would reassure consumers that your business is readily accessible. In contrast, listing a number for a company located in North America, Europe, or Asia may cause Brazilian consumers to reconsider their purchase.

Sound Local with Local Ring Tones

Did you know that the sound of a ringing telephone varies from region to region? A caller may hear a different ring tone when dialing London than when calling Hong Kong. For those who frequently call specific countries, a mismatch between ring tones could be jarring. Avoid confusing callers by using local ring tones whenever possible.

Handle Global Phone Calls Night and Day with an Auto Attendant

One of the biggest potential problems with issuing an international call forwarding number and answering it on the other side of the world has to do with time zone differences. Fortunately, this problem can be handled by an auto attendant. For example, you can set up your global call forwarding number so that it rings to different phone numbers (such as various call centers located around the world) based on the time of day a call comes in. You could also roll calls to voicemail at a specific time.

Create a Virtual PBX with an International Call Forwarding Number

You can take call routing even further by configuring your international call forwarding number so that it serves as a virtual PBX system. For example, you could set up your call forwarding number to greet callers with a recorded greeting. From there, the auto attendant could instruct callers to push specific buttons on their keypads in order to: speak with a customer service representative, reach technical support, get directions to your office, leave a message, or anything else.

Never Miss a Call with Simultaneous Ringing

What happens if ten people call your international call forwarding number at the same time? One option is to set up simultaneous call forwarding to multiple phone numbers at the same time.

Eliminate Your Fax Machine

Tired of paying for an extra phone line for a fax machine that rarely gets used? Your global call forwarding number can accept faxes. Any incoming fax will be converted to a PDF or image document and then emailed to the email address of your choice.

Month-to-Month International Call Forwarding

International call forwarding numbers can be ordered and used on a month-to-month basis with no long term contracts. If you need a temporary or long-term call forwarding solution, these plans provide fantastic features, low rates, and the flexibility your business needs.

Change Your Ring To Number On the Fly

It’s possible to change your ring to number quickly and easily, and as often as you’d like. For example, if the person who usually handles all incoming calls from Italy calls in sick, you could change the ring to number for your Italian call forwarding number to ring to another qualified, Italian-speaking person in your company.

These are but a few of the many ways you can use international call forwarding numbers. Don’t just “set it and forget it,” take advantage of your global call forwarding plan’s advanced features.

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International Call Forwarding – A Frugal Tool for International Calls

You will be billed by the global call forwarding service provider for the call forwarding service at its low per minute rates.

International Call Forwarding - A Frugal Tool for International CallsYour college student just announced that she’s been accepted at a prestigious international university.

Though everyone’s excited, you may wonder how you’ll stay in touch or be concerned about the cost of international phone calls.

International call forwarding is a frugal option for international college students and their parents.

Low Cost Ireland to US Phone Calls

Let’s use Ireland and the United States as an example. If your college student will be attending a semester in Ireland, she’ll need an inexpensive way to call her family and friends in the United States. Likewise, you’ll need a cheap way to call her in Ireland.

Start by ordering an international call forwarding number that is local to the city in Ireland where her university is located. Set the “ring to” number to your home phone number. When in Ireland, she will dial a local Irish phone number whenever she wants to call home. The phone will ring at your house in the United States. In Ireland, that call will be treated as any other local phone call. Her local phone carrier will not impose international long distance charges because it is essentially a local call. You will be billed by the global call forwarding service provider for the call forwarding service at its low per minute rates.

Low Cost US to Ireland Phone Calls

Next, set up an international call forwarding number that’s local to your family in the United States. For example, if you live in San Diego, get a local San Diego phone number in your local calling area. Set up this number’s ring to number to your daughter’s dorm room number back in Ireland. Since you’ll dial a local San Diego phone number each time, your phone company will treat it as any other local call. Again, your international call forwarding service provider will bill you its low-cost international call forwarding rates.

Depending on how generous you want to be, you could share this local phone number with your college student’s friends who remain in the area. Keep in mind, however, that you will be billed for any calls others make using your call forwarding number.

Using a global call forwarding service while your college student is studying abroad is a fantastic way to keep your communications costs low during the school year. Month-to-month plans and low international call forwarding rates make global call forwarding a fantastic, frugal choice.

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Virtual Business Tools: How International Call Forwarding Can Help

Whether you need to be available for calls from important clients or your family members back home, an international call forwarding number makes reaching you a simple matter with no additional work or international long distance expenses for your callers.

Did you know that a single phone number can partially automate your business?

Getting an international call forwarding number is like having a virtual secretary who can track you down no matter where in the world you may be.

Not only can your global virtual phone number ensure that you can be found, the right international call forwarding service can also deliver a fantastic user experience to your callers.

How a Virtual International Phone Number Can Find You

An international call forwarding number is a virtual phone number that is local to a given country. It does not have a physical location connected to it. Instead, it can be configured to ring to any phone that you designate. For example, you could get a virtual phone number for Ontario, Canada and set it up to ring to your main office, your mobile phone, your home office, or any other phone number you choose – at any time.

You can also set your virtual number to ring to ALL of your designated ring to numbers at once or to ring them sequentially until you pick up. Having a number follow you around is ideal for business professionals who frequently work at different locations. It also allows you to reduce your reliance on your cell phone for business calls when sitting behind a desk. Thus, you can conserve your mobile phone’s minutes. A virtual number also allows you to receive mobile phone calls when necessary while simultaneously keeping your mobile phone number private.

What happens when you need to leave the country? Your international call forwarding number can find follow you. Simply change the ring to number to your overseas contact number such as the phone in your hotel room or temporary office space. Your colleagues back in Canada would call you as they always do by dialing the same phone number. Meanwhile, you would receive the call in a different country. Callers may not even realize that you’re not in your Ontario office!

Virtual Number Benefits to Callers

This brings up another important point about international call forwarding: your callers’ experience. Whether you need to be available for calls from important clients or your family members back home, an international call forwarding number makes reaching you a simple matter with no additional work or international long distance expenses for your callers. They simply call you as they normally do using the same local or toll free number.

On your end, you can configure your virtual number in a variety of ways to enhance the caller’s experience. For example, if you’ve traveled out of the country and into a different time zone, you might want to set up time of day routing so that calls are routed to voicemail while you sleep.

Creating a Virtual PBX

Whether traveling abroad or setting up your main office, you may want to create a virtual PBX with your international call forwarding number. Advanced auto attendant features allow you to greet callers and prompt them to make specific choices such as “press 1 for sales; 2 for service.”

A single international call forwarding number can serve a variety of purposes and partially automate your business. Use a virtual number to receive calls no matter where you may happen to be, to ensure a consistent caller experience, and project a professional image.

Best of all, international call forwarding plans are affordable and available on a month-to-month basis – and hundreds of countries are supported.

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Global Call Forwarding – The Perfect Solution for Businesses and the Pros that Power Them

While you could skip the international call forwarding number and simply inform all of your contacts of your temporary phone numbers, doing so requires you to inform everyone who may possibly have a need to reach you.

Global Call Forwarding: The Perfect Solution for Businesses and the Pros that Power ThemGlobal call forwarding is a versatile telecommunications method that helps businesses and business professionals stay in touch around the globe. From a business perspective, setting up an international call forwarding number makes it possible to appear local in various countries while also allowing for affordable international calls. From a business professional’s perspective, global call forwarding ensures that calls continue to come through despite frequent international travel.

How Global Call Forwarding Connects International Customers to Businesses in Faraway Countries

Businesses often establish local phone numbers in external countries and then use call forwarding to route those calls to their main office or call center.

For example, if you operate a business in the United States and would like consumers in Brazil to be able to call your US office, you have two choices:

  • Give them the direct line to your US office (because a North American toll free number won’t work in South America)
  • Establish a local number in Brazil and call forward it to your US office.

Think about perceptions for a moment. If you give a Brazilian customer a US number to dial, the customer may worry about costs or be concerned about dealing with an international company. There may also be concerns about language or time zones.

In contrast, if you give a Brazilian customer a Brazilian phone number to call (either local or toll free), the customer will see a familiar number and costs won’t even be considered. From the customer’s perspective, it’s a local phone number; thus, language and time zone differences are not a concern either.

In addition to overcoming concerns about costs, time zones, and language, a global call forwarding number can also be used in lieu of establishing a local office. Imagine the costs of renting office space and staffing local offices in just three countries compared to ordering three international call forwarding numbers.

Now multiply that by the number of countries you want to serve. The savings are significant, and you would be able to handle all of those calls in a central office.

How Global Call Forwarding Allows Business Professionals to Be Found Around the Globe

Global call forwarding is also beneficial to business professionals who travel frequently. By setting up an international call forwarding number, you can be found wherever in the world you may be. Not only can you be reached internationally, your callers can do not need to do anything special in order to reach you. Below are a few of the many benefits of global call forwarding:

  • One number can reach you anywhere in the world – Once you establish a global call forwarding number, you can set it up to ring at the number of your choice at any time. For example, you might start by setting its ring-to number to your main office phone number. When you head to Hong Kong for a few months, you can set your ring-to number to your office phone in Hong Kong. When you go on vacation in France, you can change your ring-to number to your hotel room in Paris. No matter where you are, your callers can reach you.
  • Easy for callers – While you could skip the international call forwarding number and simply inform all of your contacts of your temporary phone numbers, doing so requires you to inform everyone who may possibly have a need to reach you. Not only that, your callers may be hesitant to dial an international phone number due to unfamiliarity with the process as well as concerns about international calling costs. By forwarding your calls as needed, you no longer need to inform others about how to reach you and your callers no longer need to be concerned about the technicalities or costs involved in reaching you when you’re out of the country.
  • Complete control over access to you – Setting up an international call forwarding number also gives you complete control over when and where you can be reached. Using advanced features such as time of day routing ensures that if a call comes through in the middle of the night, it will be sent to voicemail. Likewise, if you’d prefer not to give out your cell phone number but need to take calls on your cell phone when out of the office, you could simply forward your calls to your cell phone when needed. This allows you to take the calls at your convenience when out and about without having to reveal your personal cell phone number to customers, colleagues, and business partners.

Whether you would like to extend your business’s reach to other countries or need a convenient way to receive phone calls when traveling outside of the country, global call forwarding is the perfect solution.

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Types of Virtual Numbers

Virtual numbers with simultaneous call processing also ensure that callers do not hear a busy signal.

Types of Virtual NumbersVirtual numbers come in two basic flavors

Local and Toll Free. With a local virtual number, you are not restricted to numbers available to your locally. In other words, if you live in San Diego, California, you are not restricted to San Diego numbers. You can get local numbers for cities all over the world and have them ring to any phone you choose.

Toll free numbers are toll free versions such as 800 and 888 numbers. Like local virtual numbers, you can get toll free virtual numbers for various countries including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and dozens of other countries.

Both local and toll free virtual numbers involve routing calls to the phone number that you designate. As the virtual number account holder, you would be responsible for paying the costs associated with forwarding those calls to your ring-to number.

You can choose a plan that includes monthly minutes or begin with a buy-the-minute plan and can decide to change the plan later after you know your typical usage pattern.  The plans are month-to-month so there are no long term contracts.

How Virtual Numbers Make You Look More Professional

Having a toll free number for your business immediately makes your business look larger and more professional. It shows that you are serious, and it eliminates any concerns callers may have about dialing long distance.

If you’d like your business to appear more professional, consider setting up your virtual number with an auto attendant. This is an affordable alternative to a traditional PBX. You could assign separate mailboxes for individuals or departments and have the auto attendant route calls based on the caller’s choices. For example, your auto attendant could prompt users to “press 1 for sales, 2 for accounting, and 3 for shipping.” This is an efficient way to route calls to the appropriate person, and it can also give the illusion of a larger operation.

In addition to routing calls based on caller input, you could also take advantage of a lesser known feature called time of day routing to route calls. For example, if a call comes in after 5:00 PM, you could have it automatically sent to voicemail. You could do the same at lunch time.

Virtual numbers with simultaneous call processing also ensure that callers do not hear a busy signal. When several callers dial the virtual number at once, the extra calls will be sent to the next available extension or voicemail.

In addition, virtual numbers can also double as fax numbers. Whenever someone needs to send you a fax, they can fax documents directly to your virtual number and you’ll receive it as an email attachment. You’ll never miss a fax again due to a lack of paper, toner, or ink. Plus, you’ll no longer need to maintain a separate fax line and fax machine.

Virtual numbers can also make you look local which in turn can increase your credibility.

For example, if you run a small mom-and-pop graphic design firm in a rural community, you may have difficulty competing with firms from New York City simply because of your rural location. By ordering a virtual number with a New York area code, your business can overcome this perceptional problem.

Overseas example

You offer a service on the Web and are located in London.  Since your customers are located worldwide, you want to make it easy for a customer in Argentina or Costa Rica to reach you.  You have the option to own an Argentina local number in Buenos Aires or an Argentina toll-free number.  For Costa Rica, choose from Costa Rica toll-free or a national Costa Rica number.  The possibilities include your ability to acquire a local number in a country of your choice spanning most of the civilized world.

From setting up a toll free number to creating a virtual PBX system and beyond, virtual numbers can help small businesses and solo professionals look more professional. Even better, virtual numbers are an inexpensive alternative to traditional phone systems and fax machines.

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10 Ways to Use Global Call Forwarding

Use global call forwarding numbers to appear larger and more capable.

10 Ways to Use Global Call ForwardingGlobal call forwarding using virtual phone numbers can be used in a variety of ways, allowing you to connect with international friends, family, colleagues, partners, and customers using a single virtual phone number. Below are 10 ways to use global call forwarding to connect with others around the globe.

1. Use a global call forwarding number to keep in touch with family members living abroad. If you have family members living in another country with high international calling costs, consider ordering a global call forwarding number that’s local to that country. Once established, your family members would dial a local phone number that forwards to the destination number in your country. You would pay a fixed per minute price that’s typically much lower than the host country’s rates.

2. Using a virtual number to stay connected when traveling the world. If you travel around the world, you could order a global call forwarding number that’s local to your home country and give that number to your family, friends, and colleagues to call.

As you move from one country to the next, simply change your ring-to number to your new local phone. Your contacts back home would dial a local or toll free number and you’d pay a low per minute rate.

3. Set up shop in another country. Want to start offering products and services overseas? Instead of setting up a physical location in another country, consider setting up a virtual location with an international call forwarding number. Your customers would dial a local phone number to reach you no matter where in the world you actually are.

4. Use a global call forwarding phone number to receive international faxes. Instead of maintaining separate international phone and fax lines, sign up for a global call forwarding number with a fax-to-email feature. Whenever someone needs to send you a fax from that country, they’d simply fax the document to you using the call forwarding number. You’d then receive an email containing a PDF of the faxed document. Not only does this eliminate the need for a separate phone line, it also means that you can get rid of your fax machine and its ongoing expenses.

5. Use global call forwarding numbers to appear larger and more capable. If you would like your business to appear larger, ordering several virtual phone numbers can instantly give your business an international boost.

6. Use virtual numbers to establish yourself in a given country. Are you headed to an international conference where you have the potential to close business deals with partners around the world? Consider establishing global call forwarding numbers in your target countries and then print up business cards with your new phone numbers. Your prospects will likely feel confident calling you from their home countries thanks to your local presence.

7. Use global call forwarding to avoid costly international roaming rates. When traveling internationally, your mobile phone may or may not work at your destination. Even if it does work, you could be faced with sky-high international roaming rates. A better option is to order a global call forwarding number and then buy a disposable cell phone at your destination. You can then designate your new mobile phone as the ring-to number and receive your calls no matter where you go.

8. Use global call forwarding to control when and where you receive international phone calls. International call forwarding plans typically allow you to change the destination phone number on the fly. In addition, many plans have a “time of day” routing feature where you can preprogram how calls are handled based on the time of day they are made. For example, if you do not want to be disturbed between 6:00PM and 5:00AM local time, you can configure your phone number to route any calls between those hours to voicemail.

9. Use global call forwarding in an international call center. Global call forwarding numbers can be routed to an international call center where you can have customer service agents available to handle incoming calls. If you have multiple call forwarding numbers, you may want to route calls to specific agents based on country codes. Similarly, you can route calls to different call centers based on time of day.

10. Use global call forwarding to reduce international calling costs. With low international calling rates and the ability to switch ring-to numbers on the fly, many people have found that global call forwarding is a cost-effective way to make international long distance calls. Rather than dialing directly, you can change your ring-to number to the number you’d like to call and then dial your global call forwarding number. This bypasses the traditional system, puts you on your call forwarding provider’s network, and gives you access to low per minute international calling rates for dozens of countries around the world.

Global call forwarding is a versatile solution to a number of international calling scenarios.

How will you use your global call forwarding number?

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Become More Flexible with Global Call Forwarding

At the same time, you could establish several international forwarding numbers in countries around the world and have them ring to your call center.

Become More Flexible with Global Call Forwarding
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Whether you run a small business or an enterprise organization, global call forwarding can help you become more flexible and agile.

With global call forwarding, you have several options. For example, you could establish a virtual number that follows you no matter where in the world you may happen to be.

At the same time, you could establish several international forwarding numbers in countries around the world and have them ring to your call center.

Imagine the possibilities! Below are just a few examples of how your company can take advantage of global call forwarding.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Stay in Touch Globally

As an individual who travels frequently, you may want to check into using global call forwarding as a means of staying in touch with employees, clients, and family members back home when you travel overseas. As you know, your cell phone doesn’t always work in  other countries, and when it does, international roaming rates make accepting calls from people back home an expensive proposition.

Many business travels find it cheaper to buy a disposable mobile phone once they arrive in a country but that brings problems of its own. For example, you need to inform everyone that you have a new number for them to call if they need to reach you when you’re in that country. Since the phone number is local to the country you’re in, your contacts will face international long distance charges should they need to call you. Plus, once you dispose of that phone, you’ll need to tell your contacts that that phone number is no longer valid.

With global call forwarding, you establish a local phone number within your own country (or a toll free one depending on your preferences). You can keep this virtual number indefinitely. The beauty of global call forwarding is that you can change the “ring to” number on the fly. When you purchase a disposable mobile phone in a new country, you simply switch the global call forwarding number’s ring to number to your new mobile phone. You do not need to inform your contacts. They simply dial the same number they always dial. Since the virtual number is local to your own country, your in-country employees, clients, and family members do not need to worry about international dialing costs.

Meanwhile, if you use a reliable, low-cost global call forwarding service, the rates that you are charged will be far more affordable than international roaming rates. In fact, you can view per minute rates for each country you frequently visit before you sign up for a plan.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Establish an International Presence

Another way to use global call forwarding for your business is to establish local phone numbers in the countries that you serve and then have those calls diverted to your call center or main office. To customers in various countries, the phone numbers are completely local. They may even feel as though they’re dialing a business across town thanks to the way the number appears and even the sound of the ringtone. However, the phone will ring to your designated number whether it’s in the same country or not. This provides your business with a flexible alternative to setting up physical locations around the world.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Route Calls by Time of Day

Using Global Call Forwarding to Route Calls by Time of DayHaving a global call forwarding number in a different country does bring with it one challenge: global time differences. However, those differences can be dealt with using time of day routing. For example, if a caller calls you during local business hours, how do you want the call handled if it’s the middle of the night your time?

With time of day routing, you can send calls to a live answering service, call center, or voicemail based on the time of day calls take place. Since callers don’t expect to be helped after business hours, you could send those after hours calls to voicemail as expected or, if those calls occur during your normal business hours, you could exceed expectations by handling those calls in real time.

Time of day routing is a flexible feature that allows you greater control over how incoming calls are routed based on the time of day they occur.

Global call forwarding is a convenient, low-cost choice for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a globetrotting executive who needs to stay in touch at all times, a mid-sized business owner who wants to make it easy for international customers to reach your office without investing in a physical location, or a call center manager who needs to staff a call center to handle incoming calls around the clock, global call forwarding can help you become more flexible.

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International Call Forwarding for Non-Profits

Using call divert, calls can be routed virtually anywhere the organization needs them to ring at any given time. For example, if a small non-profit organization usually operates in the United States, it could have its international forwarding number ring to its main office in the United States most of the time.

International Call Forwarding for Non-ProfitsNon-profit organizations, like their for profit counterparts, must increasingly do more with less. Pressure from stakeholders and donors often prompt non-profit organizations to take a harder look at how to shave administrative costs so that more of their resources can go toward providing much-needed services or emergency help.

Non-profits can both cut costs and become more accessible internationally by using international call forwarding.

International call forwarding involves establishing an international forwarding number and routing calls to that number to a different phone number known as the “ring to” number.

Using call divert, calls can be routed virtually anywhere the organization needs them to ring at any given time. For example, if a small non-profit organization usually operates in the United States, it could have its international forwarding number ring to its main office in the United States most of the time.

However, when the entire team is mobilized to provide aid in another nation after a catastrophe, it could use call divert to route those calls to its temporary office in the affected nation, a mobile or satellite phone, or to an alternate call center located elsewhere in the world.

Non-profits can use international call forwarding in a variety of ways to cut costs or become more agile – or both. Below are a few ideas for using an international forwarding number.

Create an International Presence with International Call Forwarding

Imagine that you run a small non-profit based in the United States that provides food, clothing, and financial assistance to people in Haiti. While most of your donors are likely located in the United States, some may also be located in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, France, Canada, and the Bahamas.

In fact, each of these countries have a large population of Haitians, many of whom may share your commitment to helping the impoverished nation.

As you develop marketing materials targeted to these nations, you realize that your US toll free number won’t work internationally with the exception of Canada. With international call forwarding, you could create local toll free numbers for Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, France, and the Bahamas and use your main number as the “ring to” number.

To your international donors, your international call forwarding number looks as if it rings to a local office when in reality it rings to a phone in another country. The localization effect can inspire confidence, add a local feel to your non-profit, and overcome potential concerns about making an international long distance phone call.

Create a Virtual PBX with International Call Forwarding

Many international call forwarding service plans come with auto-attendant and call routing features commonly found in more expensive PBX systems. For non-profits that would like the advanced features of a PBX but can’t justify the expense, international call forwarding may be the answer. You can create a customized greeting and divert calls to the appropriate voicemail box or live attendant based on time of day or country of origin.

Receive Incoming Faxes

Fax machines require separate phone lines, plain or thermal paper, and/or ink and toner cartridges. Instead of maintaining a standalone fax machine and regularly spending money on fax supplies, your international forwarding numbers can double as incoming fax numbers. Rather than receiving a paper printout, your incoming faxes are routed to your email address as an image attachment. Since you can check your email from virtually any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet, you can receive faxes even when away from your office.

Make Low Cost International Phone Calls

Since you can change your international call forwarding number to ring to virtually any number in the world, you can also use it to make cheaper international phone calls. You’ll need to double check your per minute calling rates for the countries involved and compare them to the rates of your carrier. If they’re cheaper, and they very well could be dramatically cheaper, then temporarily change your ring to number to the number that you would like to call. Instead of dialing that international number directly, dial your virtual number which will then ring to your designated phone number. This bypasses your local carrier and gives you access to your international call forwarding service provider’s network and rates.

From ensuring that your team can be reached wherever it happens to be deployed and enabling low cost calls from international donors around the world to creating a local presence, gaining access to advanced PBX features, receiving incoming faxes, and making cheap international calls, international call forwarding is a terrific choice for any non-profit organization with a global mission.

Create a global presence and cut your costs at the same time with international call forwarding.

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