Did you know that 60% of customers prefer to contact a small business by calling them on the phone? But traditional landline phones are limited in what they can do. Plus, if you're not located in Canada, then you have to justify the cost of setting up a Canadian phone and paying someone to answer it. Getting a Canadian business number on your iPhone gives you a convenient way to answer customer calls during business hours.
Plus, this service comes with more features to help you with marketing and running your business. Keep reading to learn all about getting a Canadian number on your iPhone so you can expand your clientele.
1. What Is a Virtual Phone Number?
2. What Are the Benefits of a Canadian Virtual Phone Number?
3. How Can a Canadian Virtual Number Help You With Marketing?
4. Features of Virtual Phone Numbers
5. Ready To Connect With Customers Using a Canadian Business Phone?
What Is a Virtual Phone Number?
Unlike a traditional business landline, a virtual number is connected to the cloud rather than a telephone line.
With a traditional phone number, the call can only go through to the number that is dialed. With a virtual number, the call can be routed to any number in the world, whether that's a landline or a cellphone.
In other words, a virtual phone number has no "physical" phone attached to it. Instead, it's assigned as the number that all calls are forwarded to. This is what lets you route your business calls to your iPhone.
Local vs. Toll-Free
You can choose between several different types of phone numbers when you go with a virtual number.
You can use a local virtual number, which looks identical to any other local phone number. This works well if you're located in Canada and are only marketing to customers in your area for the time being.
You can use a toll-free number if you want to look more established and professional, as larger companies often have toll-free numbers. Get an international toll-free number (ITFS) if you have lots of international customers. This way, they won't get charged for a long-distance call.
What Are the Benefits of a Canadian Virtual Phone Number?
If you opt for a physical call center, then you have to pay for office space, staff, and the telephones themselves. This can be a big investment and too costly for small businesses that are just starting.
A virtual phone number lets you assist customers on the go without having to pay for expensive office rentals and call center agents. If you're based in the US, for example, then a virtual phone number lets you get Canadian workers without renting an office.
If you have employees, a virtual phone number lets them work remotely, which means you don't have to pay for office space.
Another benefit of having a virtual phone number is that you don't have to route your calls to a third-party call center. Instead, you can keep track of calls to ensure that your company's customer service is top-notch.
A virtual phone number also lets you create a multilingual support team. For example, you could set up remote workers who speak French and set up calling so that callers can have the option to answer in French or English.
How Can a Canadian Virtual Number Help You With Marketing?
Did you know that having a Canadian virtual phone number can help you with marketing?
First of all, a Canadian virtual number helps you expand your business internationally. You can set up several local numbers, which helps you create an authentic presence in more than one local area.
Let's say your business is based in L.A., but you would like to expand your business activities to Montreal.
Your Montreal customers are more likely to call a local number rather than call an international number. This is especially true if they're unsure about whether they'll have to pay international fees.
This way, even if your business itself isn't local, you can establish a local presence. And when you have a local presence, your target customers are more likely to trust your company and see it as genuine.
Advertising Campaigns
Another benefit of getting a Canadian virtual number is that you can run local advertising campaigns using the local number. For example, let's say you are an e-commerce company that sells winter clothing and you want to expand your operations to Montreal.
Once you've researched your target customer, you can create advertising campaigns specific to your customers in Montreal.
When you add a local number to your advertising materials, you give potential customers a personalized approach.
Adding a local number removes any barriers customers might have in calling a company that isn't local to them. This includes high international calling fees and being in a different time zone.
Custom Numbers
Virtual phone numbers also let you choose a custom number. You can choose more than one custom number for your business, which is a great way to track your marketing campaigns.
For example, you could create a different custom number for each language your target customers speak and then track how many people call it.
So if you are running a campaign in Montreal, for example, give a different number for English and French and see how many people call. This will give you valuable data about your target customer. It will also help you with figuring out which languages to set up call support for in the future.
You can also choose what's called a vanity number, which is a toll-free number that's easy to remember.
An example of a vanity number is 1-800-WEATHER. This makes your company more familiar to potential customers and helps keep you top of mind and easy to contact.
Features of Virtual Phone Numbers
Virtual phone numbers come with more features than just being able to receive calls from a number.
These added features make it easier to serve customers. You'll also keep your business phone separate from your personal phone.
Set Business Hours
The problem many people have when they use their personal phone number as their business number is that they receive a lot of phone calls outside of business hours.
Not only do business owners feel obligated to answer the phone and get burnt out, but customers might take advantage of this and call at inappropriate times.
When you set up a Canadian virtual number, you can make sure you respond to customer calls right away, but only during business hours. Outside of business hours, you can set up your phone to send callers directly to voicemail.
Texting
No matter how many features modern corded phones have, they don't make it easy to text as you would from your iPhone.
Many young people prefer to text rather than call. Having your business phone set up on your iPhone lets you communicate with customers in their preferred way.
This way, you can text customers back right away during business hours and build a reputation for prompt customer service.
You can also configure the number to send automatic texts if you miss a call or text from a customer. This shows them that you care and will get back to them as soon as you can.
Team Functionality
One of the best things about getting a virtual number on your iPhone is that you can configure it for your team. For example, iPlum gives you a centralized portal so that you can customize permissions and profiles for each member of your team.
You can also create a phone tree with a virtual receptionist so that your customers can reach the person that can best help them.
The way a phone tree works is by connecting buttons (such as "press 1 for customer service") to each of your relevant staff members.
This way, each staff member doesn't need a separate phone number but can be reached by customers using the phone tree.
Security
Since many of your business activities will be on your cell phone, you need to make sure that you have high security with each customer interaction. This is especially true if you are in the healthcare industry.
To address security concerns, virtual phone numbers are encrypted so that you can text according to HIPAA regulations.
With iPlum, for example, your customers/patients would get free access to the iPlum app to send you texts that they know are secure.
Ready To Connect With Customers Using a Canadian Business Phone?
As technology makes the world more global, businesses need to do more than just market to international customers.
A Canadian virtual phone number lets you connect with Canadian customers in a more personalized way. By giving prompt customer service, you'll build trust in your business and establish an international presence.
iPlum's top-rated virtual line includes services that make running your business easier and more convenient, wherever your business is.
If you're ready to expand your business reach, sign up with iPlum and get a Canada mobile virtual line for your business today.
