Have your calls forwarded to another country while traveling or at another office
Global Call Forwarding
It can be a problem for all of us that need to stay in contact with our office with associates,
potential new customers as well as existing clients when we travel.
Enjoy seamless contact with callers while traveling or simply to create a phone presence in another country and have the calls forwarded to a mobile or fixed phone overseas. (local overseas or U.S. phone companies won’t redirect calls internationally, we do)
There are actually two separate solutions for the requirement of keeping in contact while traveling and setting up a virtual number to create an overseas phone presence.
Let’s look at the scenario where you already own a mobile phone in your country but plan on going to another country on assigment or on holiday. If it’s going to be a holiday, you may not even want any calls forwarded. But if it’s a business that you have and it’s important to keep in contact with callers, this is how to do it.
#1. Get a virtual number in the same country or locale where you have your mobile number.
#2. Use the built-in call forwarding feature on your mobile to redirect calls to your ‘new’ virtual number.
#3. Set-up the virtual number to ‘ring to’ the phone number overseas where you’ll be going to, either a fixed line or new mobile.
This strategy enables receiving the calls from your mobile or landline from your original country at your new phone number in your new locale.
Creating a phone presence in another country
Virtual numbers are now offered in appproximately 95 countries and the list is growing. Many customers find that they wish to promote their product or services in another country and using a virtual number is the easiet and quickest way to accomplish creating the local phone presence. The removes the requirement of leasing an office internationally and deploying a support staff to go with it. The virtual numbers can be purchased on a month-to-month basis, so no long term commitment is necessary.
Virtual phone numbers offer many benefits to you and your callers alike. While you may want a virtual phone number for your own sake, you may not realize how useful your choice is to your callers as well. Here’s a quick look at how a virtual number can benefit your callers.
No toll charges – If you order a virtual phone number in your callers’ local dialing area, your callers will not incur toll charges whenever they need to reach you. For example, if you have a child attending college in Pennsylvania and you live in Florida, ordering a virtual number local to your child’s campus ensures that your child can call you anytime without incurring long distance fees. Similarly, you can order a toll free virtual phone number if desired.
Peace of mind – Providing local virtual numbers for your customers can reassure them that your company does indeed serve their community. When looking for new service providers, many people prefer to call local phone numbers. They don’t want to call a remote call center that is unfamiliar with their community or may not even serve it. By having a local phone number, you are signaling that you are committed to serving that community. While the phone may ring to a remote call center, the fact that you have invested in a local phone number shows that you fully intend to provide local service.
Improved service – Everyone wants to receive great customer service. While a virtual phone number doesn’t necessarily improve customer service, it can help ensure that calls are routed to service representatives even if the office is closed for lunch. For example, you can use time of day routing to route calls to your main office if the office that normally handles those calls is closed for some reason.
Doesn’t it make sense to reduce costs, ease stress, and provide better customer service? A virtual phone number can help you achieve all three.
If you’re like many business professionals, you’re rarely in one place day-in, day-out. While you likely carry a cell phone with you, you may not want to share your number with everyone for various reasons including keeping your cellular costs to a minimum. How do you limit calls to your cell phone yet stay readily accessible despite your mobile lifestyle? With sequential forwarding.
What is Sequential Forwarding?
Sequential forwarding is a type of call forwarding service that forwards your calls to a series of ring-to numbers in a sequence set by you. If a call is unanswered at the first ring-to number, sequential call forwarding will then route it to the next number in the list. If that number goes unanswered, the call will be routed to the next number, and so on.
For example, if you’re a real estate agent, you may work out of your main office, a branch office, and your home office during the week. In addition, you likely spend a fair amount of time showing clients houses, going on caravan, and attending various business networking events. While you could set your calls to forward to your cell phone whenever you leave your main office, it’s silly (and expensive) to receive cellular calls when you’re sitting at a desk with a landline. Likewise, you may not want to receive cellular calls when you’re grocery shopping or enjoying family time.
By using sequential forwarding, you can set up a ring-to sequence that reflects your most common locations. For instance, you could set your main office number as your primary number followed by your branch office number, home office number, and finally your cell phone. Whenever someone calls your main office number and it goes unanswered, your branch office number will ring. Not at your branch office? Sequential forwarding will try your home office? If the call still goes unanswered, it will try to reach you at your cell phone. Alternately, you could set a voicemail number as your last ring-to number.
How Many Sequential Numbers Can You Have?
Most sequential call forwarding service providers limit the number of ring-to numbers you can have in a sequence to a handful. This is primarily a practical consideration as each ring-to number must be allowed to ring a few times before the call forwards to the next one. If you have too many ring-to numbers in the sequence, your callers may hang up before you’re finally reached.
Sequential Forwarding Considerations
Keep the caller in mind as well as your ability to answer the phone promptly when setting up your sequence. In general, you can specify the number of rings or number of seconds before sequential forwarding will move to the next number.
Finally, consider how each ring-to number is currently set up to handle non-answered calls. For example, if the second number in your sequence is set up to send calls to voicemail after five seconds but your sequential forwarding sequence is set up to forward calls after ten, the call will be sent to voicemail before sequential forwarding has a chance to send it to the next number in the sequence.
How an International Call Forwarding Number Can Benefit US-based Business Professionals
As a US-based business professional, you likely spend most of your time doing business with other US-based business owners, customers, and partners. Your standard toll free and local phone numbers work fine, allowing you to speak with people from coast-to-coast with minimal costs. However, today’s business world has become increasingly global – and US-based toll free numbers do not work for international callers who need to speak with you. While you could publish your main local phone number, callers from around the world may be uncomfortable dialing it.
Cost concerns and the fact that your number looks odd compared to the phone numbers that they’re accustomed to seeing in their own countries are major obstacles. Fortunately, international call forwarding is a viable and affordable solution to this problem.
International call forwarding works much like an 800 number. 800 numbers essentially forward calls from callers across the United States to your “ring to” number. Callers do not incur costs when they dial toll free numbers; the 800 number’s account holder pays the associated costs and fees.
With international call forwarding, you order a toll free (in a country you require) phone number that is specific to the country where your callers are located. Once you have an international call forwarding number, you then assign a ring-to number to it. Once set up, callers dial a phone number that’s local to their country and the phone rings in the United States at the number you’ve designated.
Why go through the trouble of setting up an international call forwarding number for callers in a different country? For starters, you can expand your service area to include other countries. An international call forwarding number is a low-cost way to establish a local presence in countries outside of the United States. For example, if you want to sell products to customers in Spain, you could advertise your Spanish international call forwarding number throughout Spain. Locals would assume that they’re calling an office in Spain.
International call forwarding numbers are also extremely portable. If you travel frequently and would like to receive phone calls while you’re traveling, you could change the ring-to number of your international call forwarding numbers to ring-to a phone at your current location.
Other useful features include time-of-day routing and local ring tones. Time-of-day routing allows you to change the destination number based on the time the call comes in while local ring tones add to the “local” flavor of the call.
Whether you’re an expat who wants to make cheap international calls back home or a business professional who needs to stay in touch with people around the world, aitelephone.com can slash your calling costs. Use these tips to make cheap international calls.
International Call Forwarding Numbers
International call forwarding numbers often have less expensive per minute rates than local phone service rates – sometimes dramatically so. With international call forwarding, you order a local number for a designated country and then configure that number to ring to a designated phone number in another country. How you set this up will depend on your specific needs.
For example, if you want to make cheap international calls to friends and family members in another country, you could establish a local phone number for the country where you currently reside and then configure the ring-to number to ring to the desired phone number as needed using your online account management tool. Since you can change the ring-to number in real-time, you can use your local number to make cheap international calls around the world. With this technique, you will bypass the local country’s telephone network and pay low per minute rates offered by your international call forwarding service provider.
Cheap International Calls
Discounted international calling plans are another option for making cheap international calls. These plans allow you to dial a local or toll free access number which will connect you to the provider’s network. Once connected, you simply dial the international phone number and pay a low per minute rate for the country you wish to call. Both pre- and post-paid long distance calling plans are available.
Not only can you make cheap overseas calls from the U.S. to any country but the same service works from other countries using international local access numbers.
For example, access numbers are available in the following countries:
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Replublic
Denmark
El Salvadore
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
UK
If you are located in one of these countries, what’s the benefit of using this service? The per minute rate to call back to the U.S. is very low -approximately 2.4 cents (US$). In addition, the per minute rates to call from country-to-country are extremely competitive and high quality connections can be expected.
International Callback Service
Another option for making cheap international calls is to use an international callback service. Use a callback service when you or a loved one lives in a country with expensive outbound calling rates. International callback services allow you to dial a local number to initiate a cheap international phone call. From there, hang up and wait for the callback service to call you back. The callback call originates from the United States. Once connected, you can then enter the phone number you want to call and take advantage of the lower international calling rates that callers from the United States enjoy. This type of service is ideal for making cheap intercontinental calls (such as from South America to Europe).
Toll Free Call Divert
Toll free call divert is another option for making cheap international calls. Toll free call divert is often used by businesses that serve customers in other countries. It can also be used by families to pay for cheaper international calls between family members.
With this technique, you establish a toll free number for the country where calls will originate and then configure it so that phone calls ring to your desired phone number. Once set up, your customers or loved ones simply dial a toll free number.
The calls are then routed to whichever phone number in the world you have designated. As with any toll free number, you will pay the toll charges on a per minute basis. Depending on the countries involved, the savings could be significant.
Global Virtual Numbers and the International Call Center
Running a call center is challenging enough; add global virtual numbers to the mix and it becomes even more complicated. However, this challenge can be solved with an understanding of how global virtual numbers work and the right staff.
It’s important to understand how global virtual numbers work so that you can plan accordingly. These numbers are call forwarding numbers assigned to various countries around the world. They appear “local” to callers in these countries, yet they ring to a call center located somewhere else. For example, a caller in the United States may dial a traditional 1-800 number at 2:30 PM and be connected to a customer service representative in Singapore where it’s 5:30 in the morning.
In this example, the international call center in Singapore would need to have a team of customer service representatives who are fluent in English. Because of the time differences between the two countries, this team would need to work an unusual shift. After all, callers in the United States expect someone to answer phone calls during business hours. Not only must the call center have English-speaking staff available, it needs to be in tune with local time in the U.S.
To further complicate matters, international call centers often answer calls from other global virtual numbers. If our theoretical call center in Singapore also handles callers from the United Kingdom, Australia, and Russia, it will need English and Russian-speaking customer service representatives available during those countries’ business hours.
In addition to accommodating callers through staffing, the technology that powers global virtual numbers also has a role to play.
For example, callers who call at 9:00 PM local time do not generally expect a live person to answer the phone. In fact, many prefer to call afterhours so that they can simply leave a voicemail message and receive a callback the next day with answers. A feature called “time of day routing” can control how calls are routed based on the time of day it is in the originating country. The call center manager could set each global call forwarding number to ring to the call center during local business hours and then to voicemail afterhours. From there, appropriate staffing levels could be determined around these schedules. In addition, global virtual phone numbers can be set to emit a “local” ringtone so that callers hear the traditional ringing sound that their country’s phone system uses.
Makes it possible for a single call center to handle calls from around the world, around the clock. Once you understand what calls are coming in, from where, and when, you can then staff the call center with the right people at the right time to handle those calls.
Many business owners quickly see the benefit of their local virtual numbers and promptly order additional virtual numbers for other locales. After all, local virtual phone numbers allow you to establish local presences around the world without requiring office space, additional staff members, and other business expenses. However, as your virtual phone presence grows, it becomes more difficult to manage. Use these tips to keep track of your local virtual numbers.
Use one provider – The more providers you have, the more complicated it becomes. Wouldn’t you rather deal with one bill each month rather than dozens? In addition to consolidating billing by using a single provider, all of your local virtual phone numbers can be listed and managed under one account. If you need to change a ring-to number, simply log into your main account, choose the local virtual phone number that you need to change, and edit as needed.
Use a spreadsheet or database program – This isn’t necessary when you have just a few virtual numbers to manage but can be helpful as your list grows. For example, you may want to record the following details for each local virtual number you have:
Local virtual phone number
City and/or country that the number is local to
Its ring-to number
Its purpose (localization, internal communications, hotline, etc.)
Where it is advertised (phone book, website, company trucks, etc.)
Local language and customs (will you need translators to interpret messages or bilingual staff to answer these calls?)
Expected end of life (some virtual phone numbers are ordered for temporary purposes while others are intended for the long term)
Track performance – Just as you measure the performance of other areas of your business, it’s smart to track the performance of your virtual phone numbers. Are customers calling your local virtual phone number? If not, do they know it exists? If so, are these calls resulting in sales?
Using one provider makes managing local virtual numbers much easier. By tracking important details in a spreadsheet or database program, you can quickly find relevant information should you later make changes to the number. For example, if you cancel a local virtual number, you should also cancel its associated advertisements. Tracking performance allows you to get a better sense of how well your local virtual numbers are performing so that you can adjust your approach or replicate its success with a new local phone number.
Toll free phone numbers aren’t just for huge corporations. In fact, many solo business professionals and entrepreneurs have toll free phone numbers. However, unlike large corporations with massive telecom budgets, independent professionals don’t necessarily have the resources to man their phone numbers when they’re away from the office. Toll free call divert is the answer.
What is Toll Free Call Divert?
Call diversion is a telecommunications feature that allows a phone service subscriber to redirect, or divert, their incoming calls to another phone number or voicemail. With toll free call divert, this concept applies to a toll free phone number. By default, toll free numbers are already diverted to a designated “ring to” number. Taking that one step further with toll free call divert, the subscriber can change this ring to number as needed.
For example, if you have a toll free number that rings to your home office, you could use toll free call divert to redirect your calls to your mobile phone number whenever you travel on business. The advantages to using toll free call divert are plentiful and include the following:
Increased flexibility – Instead of missing calls while you’re away, you can divert them to an alternate number. Similarly, you could use toll free call divert to route calls to voicemail when you absolutely cannot be interrupted.
Reduced costs – If you normally use an answering service or hire someone to answer your toll free phone number when you’re traveling on business, you could reduce or eliminate these costs by diverting your calls to your mobile phone or a phone at your current location.
Portability – Toll free numbers are among the most portable numbers available due to call divert features. Whether need to divert calls temporarily while on a trip or permanently due to an office move, you can easily do so by changing the ring to number.
How to Divert Toll Free Calls
The specific steps vary based on your toll free call divert plan. For example, some plans allow you to divert calls by entering a code on the phone followed by the new ring to number. Plans with online account management dashboards usually have easy-to-follow prompts, enabling you to quickly change the ring to number online.
Toll free call divert is an easy-to-use feature that can reduce your costs while allowing greater flexibility and portability.
Thinking about ordering a local, toll free, or international call forwarding plan? If so, one of the options you may want to consider is whether or not the call forwarding plan includes rollover minutes. A rollover minutes option, if available, can provide you with even more flexibility.
What are Rollover Minutes?
You’re likely familiar with the rollover minutes concept thanks to similar offers on long distance and cell phones. Many calling plans, including domestic and international call forwarding plans, are offered in packages where you pay for a pre-determined amount of minutes each month. If you exceed that value, you must pay for the additional minutes you use, often at a slightly higher rate than your bundled minutes. If you do not use up all of your minutes, you generally lose them.
How Not Having Rollover Minutes Costs You Money
For example, let’s say that you have a call forwarding plan with 900 minutes per month. In January, you only use 500 of those minutes. You will have paid for 900 minutes but only used 500 of them. In essences, you’ve overpaid for your usage. Now let’s see what happens in February when you use 1200 minutes. 900 of those minutes will have been included in your call forwarding plan, but you will need to pay for 300 additional minutes at a slightly higher per minute rate.
In this example, not only did you overpay for minutes in January, you had to buy additional minutes in February. If you had a rollover plan, you would have been able to save those unused minutes from January and used them in February. Not only would you be money ahead, you’d still have rollover minutes left to use in March, April, or several months from now. Minutes from each month that you are under your allotment would rollover, allowing you greater flexibility over your call forwarding usage.
Is Adding Rollover Minutes to a Call Forwarding Plan Financially Smart?
Adding rollover minutes to your international call forwarding plan is typically optional and offered for a small monthly fee which could be anywhere from $5 a month to $15 or more per month depending on your plan. In order to determine whether or not this option makes sense for you, you’ll need to examine your usage patterns and do the math.
For example, does your usage fluctuate from month to month or is it fairly stable? If you routinely use just under 200 minutes each month, then AI Telephone’s “Preferred” plan (222 minutes) with no rollover minutes might be suitable.
On the other hand, if your usage goes up and down dramatically each month, being able to “bank” your unused minutes makes a great deal of sense. Once you decide that the rollover option is a possible fit, look at the per month rate for the feature. Will you get more value out of using banked minutes than the fee or does it make more sense to forfeit your unused minutes and pay for overages? Do the math based on your anticipated usage. You’ll likely find that opting for rollover minutes is the financially smarter choice.
Create White and Black Lists for Your Virtual Phone Number
When calls are forwarded to your global virtual numbers, costs accrue by the minute with rates varying by country. What happens if someone calls your virtual number from an expensive country? What about calls from other countries that are wrong numbers? Unfortunately, unwanted calls can and do occur no matter what type of call forwarding plan you have. Fortunately, you can use white and black lists to allow and block access. Here’s a quick look.
Using White Lists enable Selective Call Blocking
White lists are lists of phone numbers or area codes that you want to reach your virtual number at all times. For example, if you establish a global virtual number in Italy so that your Italian grandmother can dial a local number and reach you no matter where in the world you are, you could place your grandmother’s Italian phone number in your white list and set up your account to block all other calls. This prevents you from being charged for misdialed calls made to your global virtual number yet it allows your grandmother to reach you.
If you operate a local business and serve customers within just a few area codes, you could also use white lists to allow calls from within your designated area codes. This ensures that local callers can reach you while blocking access from callers that you cannot help. For example, if you operate a window washing service in Portland, Oregon, your website could attract potential window washing clients from Portland, Maine. If you receive an excessive amount of phone calls from Portland, Maine, or if you want to avoid that scenario altogether, use a white list to allow phone calls only from the area codes in which you do business.
Using Black Lists with Virtual Numbers
Black lists are the opposite of white lists, though they can be used to accomplish similar effects. Instead of creating lists that allow specific phone numbers or area codes to ring through to your global virtual numbers, you can use black lists to specifically block certain phone numbers or area codes. For example, if your business is constantly being contacted by a disreputable salesperson who won’t take no for an answer or take your number off the list, you could use the black list to block that salesperson’s known phone numbers. You could also escalate your complaint, but blacklisting calls may be faster and more effective.
Similarly, you could block calls from specific area codes. For example, if you have a toll free call forwarding number for the United States, but only serve customers in the continental United States, you could block calls from callers located in Hawaii and Alaska by blacklisting those area codes. You may also want to blacklist area codes such as 876 (Jamaica) that are linked to scams.
Whether to use white lists are black lists or a combination of the two is a personal decision based on how you use your global virtual numbers. It may be easier to whitelist the few area codes or callers that you want to hear from than it is to blacklist all the ones you don’t want to go through. On the other hand, if you only have a few undesirables, then it might be easier to blacklist those and let all other calls go through.
Equip Your Small Business Office with a Low-Cost, Fully Functional Virtual PBX
Have you priced PBX phone systems lately? While enterprise organizations have the resources to pay hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per user, small business owners are rarely in a position to do the same. Instead, they make do with smaller systems or multi-line business phones. If you’re thinking there’s a probably a better way, you’re right. Consider a virtual PBX.
What is a Virtual PBX System?
Instead of investing in PBX hardware, a virtual PBX is “hosted” by a telecommunications provider such as us. You simply order a plan and receive calls on your designated ring-to number. Depending on the plan you choose, you could order local virtual numbers, a toll free number, or global virtual numbers and then set them to ring to your virtual phone system.
While similar to local or international call forwarding, virtual PBX systems have more features and extensions. For example, with multiple extensions, you could set up an extension and voice mailbox for each employee. You could also designate different extensions for different purposes such as “press one for sales, two for accounting, three to get directions to our office,” and so on.
World-Class Features; Low Costs
Virtual PBX systems come with a number of important features – and they’re surprisingly affordable. Some of the more notable features include the following:
No busy signal
Time of day routing
Call alerts
Online dashboard
Toll free numbers
Voicemail or live answer
Auto-attendant
Outgoing message
Low cost, month-to-month plans available
Using a Virtual PBX to Pre-screen Leads
Virtual PBX systems with multiple extensions and numerous features are appealing to small business owners because of their capabilities and low costs. Not only can you create an impressive image and route calls more efficiently, you can also use your virtual PBX to pre-screen sales leads. Here’s how:
Choose a hosted phone system that supports long (up to ten minutes) outgoing messages
Record an audio presentation about your company, product, or service
Configure the feature to allow leads to leave a message or be routed to a live salesperson
Advertise your informational “hotline”
Once your hotline is set up and advertised, interested leads can call your toll free number to learn more about your product or service. The informational recording provides your prospects with valuable information and prompts them to take the next step. Once they’ve left a message or have opted to speak to a live agent, they will be better informed about your product and service and ready to move forward. Those who need more time or simply aren’t interested can simply hang up. This technique can be used to ensure that your best sales agents are spending their time working with interested, informed prospects.
Since your local and global virtual numbers along with the entire virtual PBX system can be configured to ring to specific numbers as needed, this solution is also extremely portable. While large organizations can afford to invest in the latest business phone systems with all of the bells and whistles, most small businesses don’t have that luxury. With a virtual PBX system, you can get similar features along with unique benefits at an affordable price. Plus, your customers and leads won’t know the difference!
How to Receive Mobile Calls when Traveling Overseas this Summer
Summer has arrived and the world awaits! Unfortunately, if you’re traveling from the U.S. to an international destination this summer, your trusty cell phone won’t necessarily work unless you use some sort of international or toll free call divert. While there’s something to be said for being completely disconnected while on vacation, being able to receive emergency calls is important. If you’re traveling on business, being disconnected from the office is not an option.
Most of us take our cell phones for granted and expect them to work no matter where we are. Once we cross international lines, however, nothing is guaranteed. Even if your phone works, international roaming charges could be an unexpected – and costly – surprise. Fortunately, a low-cost solution exists that allows you to receive your mobile phone calls in countries around the world: international call forwarding.
You’re likely familiar with domestic call forwarding, right? For example, depending on your cellular service provider’s calling features, to set your iPhone to ring to your home number, you simply go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding and enter your home phone number. Whenever someone dials your iPhone number, the call rings to your home phone.
International call forwarding works in a similar manner. If you’re thinking you can simply change your mobile phone’s settings to ring to an international number as illustrated in the example above, think again. This technique only works domestically. You will need an international call forwarding service to accomplish this task. Don’t worry, it’s not hard but it does require some planning.
First, make sure your mobile phone has a call forwarding feature (not all do). If you can call forward calls from your mobile to your home number, then your phone is properly equipped. If it is not equipped with call forwarding, you may be able to change that via your online account dashboard or with a quick call to your provider.
Next, you will need to order a domestic call forwarding number from a service provider. If you’re in the United States, for example, you’ll need a U.S. call forwarding number. This is the number that you will forward your mobile calls to. This step is crucial because in most cases you can’t forward mobile calls to an international phone number directly. Even if you could, the costs would be prohibitive.
Once you have your domestic call forwarding virtual number, you will need to configure it so that it forwards to the ring-to number in the country you will be visiting. This number could be your hotel, a disposable cell phone you buy in that country, your local business office in that country and so on.
At the same time, you will need to configure your cell phone to ring to your new domestic virtual phone number. Once all configurations have been made, anytime someone dials your U.S. cell phone number, the call will be routed first to your new virtual number and then to your ring-to number overseas.
The same method will work regardless of where your home country is. Simply get a virtual number in your country. Call forward your mobile phone to ring to the mobile or hotel, etc, at your travel destination.
This process allows your local contacts to reach you overseas without requiring them to do anything different. You will incur costs for the call forwarding, making it important to choose a low-cost international call forwarding service. Because quality is equally important, you’ll also want to choose a provider that uses traditional telephone networks rather than Internet-based routing. Another useful feature to look for is time of day routing, especially if time differences are significant.
Don’t let your overseas travel plans keep you disconnected. Explore your international call forwarding options today!
International Call Forwarding – A Solution When Local Phone Service Sucks
The world is served by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of local phone companies. While some countries are well equipped with infrastructure and responsive service providers, others are sorely lacking. While you may feel as if you are at the mercy of local phone companies, you may actually have options. If your local phone service sucks, consider this: international call forwarding.
How International Call Forwarding Overcomes Poor Local Service
Many people located in countries with poor local phone service work around the problem by using international call forwarding services. For example, if you need to order a new local phone number in a country where the process could take several months, ordering local call forwarding numbers from an international call forwarding service is much faster and may even be less expensive. Using an international calling service provider allows individuals to receive local numbers specific to their countries in as little as a few hours. These local phone numbers can be set to ring to virtually any local phone or mobile phone.
Should You Use International Call Forwarding as a Temporary or Permanent Solution to Poor Local Phone Service?
Many international call forwarding customers initially use call forwarding as a temporary solution. They need a local number and they need it fast. They may plan on dropping the service once the local phone company delivers. In situations like this, it’s smart to choose a pay-as-you-go international call forwarding plan with cheap international calls and no long-term contracts or early termination penalties.
With reasonable rates and superior call quality, some international call forwarding customers opt for a more permanent solution. If you intend to use international call forwarding for the long term, you may want to choose a service provider that offers the most useful features. For example, rollover minutes become more important when you use call forwarding permanently. You may also appreciate features such as local ring tones, auto attendant, voicemail, online account management, and automatic fax forwarding.
In fact, many of the features that are included with international call forwarding and the fact that you can make cheap international calls sway short-term customers into becoming long-term ones. The more you use these features, the more beneficial the service becomes.
Another Use for International Call Forwarding Numbers
We’re constantly amazed at the creative ways customers use international call forwarding. One of the most creative ways is to bypass costly international long distance fees. If you regularly dial an international phone number in a country where dialing costs are extremely high, ordering an international call forwarding number local to your own country and then forwarding that call to the destination number could be much less expensive than direct dialing. In order for this to make sense financially, you will need to know the per minute rate you normally pay and compare that to the cheap international calling rates offered by your international call forwarding service provider. Do the math. If it makes sense, check to ensure that there are no minimum usage charges, hidden fees, or long-term contracts.
International call forwarding is a useful, cost-effective, and creative choice when local phone service sucks. Why wait for service to improve when other options are readily available?
Whether you run a regional business or a global one, appearances matter – especially to locals. Having a local phone number immediately reassures potential customers that your company is legitimate and ready to help. What they may not realize is that while yes, you are legitimate and ready to serve, your business may be located thousands of miles away. With virtual phone numbers, you can appear local yet receive phone calls virtually anywhere.
How Virtual Numbers Work
Virtual numbers are a form of call forwarding. Many companies use virtual phone numbers as way of creating a local presence without having to maintain a physical office in the desired country or city. For example, if your business is located in Idaho and you’d like to serve customers in Beverly Hills, you could order and advertise a Beverly Hills phone number. When prospective customers in the Beverly Hills area dial that virtual phone number, the call will ring to your office in Idaho.
With a virtual number, callers are able to reach your business wherever it is located by dialing what appears to be a local phone number. If callers call from within the same local calling area, no toll charges will appear on their telephone bills. As the owner of the virtual phone number, you will pay the charges associated with forwarding the call to your designated ring-to number. This is similar to owning a toll free number in that you, the virtual phone number account holder, pay for the cost of the calls.
The Benefits of Virtual Phone Numbers
Localization is one of the primary reasons businesses use virtual call forwarding numbers. However, the benefits of having a virtual phone number extend far beyond appearances. For example, virtual numbers allow you to enter new markets without the need to rent space and staff an office.
Even if you have an office nearby, you may want to use virtual numbers in specific communities in order to make it as convenient as possible for your customers to contact you. For instance, if you serve communities located in different area codes, having a local phone number alleviates customer concerns about paying long distance fees. While you could solve that problem with a toll free number, doing so gives the illusion that your company may not be local at all.
Virtual phone numbers are also beneficial if you want to take advantage of less expensive office space in a neighboring city. For example, if you want to provide mobile service to clients in Beverly Hills, you may find office space there to be cost-prohibitive. Meanwhile, rents may be much more affordable in a different Los Angeles city. However, the phone prefix, and in some cases, the area code, will be obviously different. With a virtual Beverly Hills number, you can create the upscale presence you want with minimal fuss and low costs.
Virtual numbers are portable
Whether you need to change the ‘ring-to’ number due to staffing issues, travel, or a permanent office move, you can keep your virtual number and forward it to any number in the world as needed. Your callers will never know the difference. To them, your office is just a phone call away.
Saudi Arabia toll-free and local Riyadh numbers available as of 11/20/2015. Please check site for updates.
Saudi Arabia Toll Free and Riyadh virtual numbers
Saudi Arabia Toll Free Number | Create a Saudi Arabia phone presence.
A Saudi Arabia Toll Free virtual phone number can make for easy communication with Saudi callers. Calls are diverted to any type of phone, in any country including fixed line, mobile, fax, PBX.
All types of businesses use Toll Free numbers. Everything from document solutions to DNA analysis, manufacturers, airlines and every other type of business you can imagine benefit from utilizing Toll Free numbers for their international enterprise.
Customers in any country can own a Saudi Arabia Toll Free number to facilitate communication from Saudi Arabia to their phone located in any country.
Saudi Arabia Toll Free and local Riyadh virtual numbers available.
Create Black and White lists for your Virtual Number service.
This feature enables Global Call Forwarding customers to create a list of phone numbers to help manage who you wish to call you on your Virtual phone number.
The customer can set up lists of caller ID’s that will be automatically blocked = ‘Black’ list. Black list callers will be rejected by the system.
Caller ID’s can also be added to the White list and immediately connected.
Global Call Forwarding for Ukraine Business Expansion
Ukraine Virtual Numbers – Local and Toll Free
Ukraine virtual numbers are available in many Ukraine cities which are listed at this link. International call forwarding enables Ukraine callers to reach you in any country.
Get a Ukraine virtual number located in your choice of dozens of Ukraine cities or a Ukraine Toll Free number to make it simple for your customers, associates or family in the Ukraine to call you in any country. Create a Ukraine phone presence quickly and easily.
Most business owners recognize the value of toll free phone numbers for their businesses. A toll free number signals your professionalism and commitment to making it easy (and free) for customers across the nation to contact your business. But what if your business is expanding to another country, such as Ukraine? Global call forwarding is the answer.
According to the Embassy of the United States, Ukraine, the government of Ukraine has demonstrated a newfound commitment to reforming the business climate in the nation — and the market is “poised for progress.” Market opportunities in Ukraine include:
Pharmaceuticals
Medical equipment
Safety and security equipment (i.e., airport screening systems, access control)
Oil and gas equipment
Agricultural equipment
As a business owner entering the Ukraine market, global call forwarding allows you to establish a business presence within Ukraine — but without the need to own or lease physical office space. With Ukraine global call forwarding, you can get a toll free number that works throughout the country yet have the calls forwarded to your office or call center in your home country.
What if you’re using an offshore call center? No problem. Your Ukraine global call forwarding number can be set up to ring to any phone number in the world. You could even use the “time of day” routing feature to designate different call centers (or voicemail) to receive the incoming Ukrainian phone calls based on the time of day they are placed.
Use Cases for Ukraine Global Call Forwarding
There are several ways you could use your Ukraine global call forwarding number including the following:
Exporting to Ukraine — Selling your products to the Ukrainian market means reaching customers who may need to call you with questions, complaints, or orders. By having a toll free number in Ukraine using global call forwarding, you can export your goods and receive phone calls from customers in Ukraine no matter where in the world your main office is.
Hosting a Toll Free hotline — Is your expertise relevant to the Ukrainian market? For example, if your organization is focused on raising awareness about a health condition and you want to help patients located within Ukraine, you could publicize your global call forwarding hotline in Ukraine and answer the calls in your home country.
International Branding — Do you want your online business to appear as if it has an office in Ukraine? Global call forwarding numbers can help you to appear more international to visitors around the world. For example, if you’re based in the United States but serve clients in Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Japan, order global call forwarding numbers for each of those countries and publish them on your website. Your clients will appreciate being able to reach your regional offices toll free, yet you’ll never need to rent or lease office space within those countries.
These are but a few ways you could use Ukraine global call forwarding as you expand your business internationally. Any other ideas?
If any of your answers are yes then we shall discuss how you can make use of Global Virtual numbers that are meant for small, medium and large scale businesses. As a complement to international call forwarding, you can have a business class international conference call collaboration tool to round out your global communication arsenal.
Since effective communication is the need of every business, it becomes vital to have proper communication channels. With a Global Virtual Number, distances do not really matter. This all shrinks the globe and makes all geographic locations that much more accessible.
To any of the domestic or international plans available for calling; the feature for Virtual Phone Number can be added easily by making a visit to the online account.
It is here, where you need to select the area code that are available in the country where you desire to own a virtual phone line.
The prices of the Virtual Phone Number are quite reasonable and they can be seen as the perfect solution for communication needs of every business.
There are many companies that are offering the service of cheap Global Virtual Number. Among those Aitelephone is undoubtedly a brand name. This is a recognized option through which you can draw the benefit of low rates and high quality.
There are calling plans from which you can see one that matches with your current requirements. So what are you waiting for? Solve the problem of communication today by joining hands with Aitelephone.
International Call Forwarding utilizing a Virtual Number
International Call Forwarding utilizing a Virtual Number
Gain a “local” presence in 94 countries worldwide with an International Call Forwarding facility. Select a local or toll free number which can redirect your calls to your preferred phone number, anywhere in the world.
It is an amazing, yet simple technology to allow your customers, associates and other critical resources reach you whenever they desire. Reach out to your markets and save on International Calling rates at the same time with the call forwarding feature.
Here’s how it works. You opt for a China phone number, assuming your business prospects are in China. When customers in China call this virtual number, it automatically calls your phone number in your country. You could be in California, London, Budapest or Tokyo and yet be easily reachable from China or any other city in the world via a local or toll free number.
It also gives you the flexibility to receive calls through your mobile, fixed line, voice mail, PBX or fax machine. Irrespective of your actual geographic location, you command a “virtual” local presence in many cities or countries worldwide.
See list of available <u>global virtual numbers</u> here.
There is no limit to the amount of virtual numbers you can have. Depending on your requirements, you can have a number for every city you have an interest in.
Whether you require a local or toll free number relies on whether your customers or key people are located in a particular city or scattered throughout a specific country.
This service is making International Calling less costly and more convenient for a growing clientele across the globe.
The call forwarding facility is a boon if:
you are traveling overseas and want your callers to get in touch easily, opt for a virtual number in your native country
you want a low rate on one overseas number you call frequently, you also have the ability to change this call forwarding number online, in real time, and as frequently as you like, everyday
you have a college kid in another city and want him to call home, get him a local call forwarding number in the city of his residence and have his calls redirected to your phone
you are a frequent flier and want to call home cheaply, get a local call forwarding number in the country you are visiting and dial this number when you want to speak to your office, wife or family back home
