Do You Need a Virtual Phone Number?
The answer, undoubtedly, is yes. Virtual numbers have become a necessity in this day and age. It’s not hard to see why. Businesses, companies, and individuals are on the move all across the world. It is one of the obvious effects of globalization.
Say you relocate to the US. And then you move to a different city within in the US. And then another. The process of notifying your friends and family of your new contact number each time you move can be cumbersome. An American virtual phone number that is easily portable will solve your dilemma.
If you run a business and are looking to expand it, specifically in the US, US phone numbers have more benefits than you can count on your fingers. Whether you’re a large or small enterprise, an American virtual phone number will help you reach your target consumers in a cost-efficient manner. Build the credibility of your business among your American customers with a one-time investment in US virtual phone numbers.
Small businesses, especially, can really take advantage of the increasing affordability of virtual phone numbers loaded with features.
How to Choose A Virtual Phone Number?
Choosing the most appropriate virtual phone number provider will depend on what you need a virtual phone number for specifically. But here are some common denominators you should look for in a virtual phone number.
Affordability – Whether you’re using a virtual phone number for private or business uses, you want it to cost you less than a traditional mobile plan would cost, especially for international calls.
Call Forwarding – This is an important feature for businesses. Customers don’t like busy or perpetually engaged lines. With this feature, calls can be forwarded whoever’s available to handle them.
Call Queue – If you have a lot of call traffic, a call queue is a good way to manage it. It allows multiple callers to stay on hold until one of the company employees can address their queries
Voicemail – It’s good to have a voicemail feature for your virtual phone number as the likelihood of important communication being missed out on is reduced. If your caller is facing a shortage of time, he can just leave a voicemail.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – IVR is an automated telephony menu system that interacts with callers, gathers information and routes the calls to the appropriate agents. It has become very popular and is hence integral if your business wants to provide proper customer support. IVR can be used to schedule automatic callbacks and saves time because the customer does not have to listen to full menus.
The list of features that you should look for in a virtual phone number is not exhaustive but is meant to give you a baseline of the essentials.
How to Use Your USA Virtual Mobile Phone Number?
Now that you have a grasp on the features you want in your virtual phone number, follow this simple procedure to call a UK number from the US.
Step 1: Dial 011, which is the exit code for your USA virtual phone number
Step 2: Enter 44, which is the UK’s country code
Step 3: Enter the area code. It is normally 2-5 digits long
Step 4: Dial the rest of the phone number (usually 4-8 digits, area code+phone number = 10 digits)
Some other pointers to consider if you face problems in placing a call from the US to UK:
Trunk Code
In most countries, 0 is known as the trunk code. If the UK phone number that you’re dialing begins with a zero, drop it
Cell Phone Numbers
If you’re dialing a cell phone number, you do not need to add an area code before the number.
Blocked International Calls
If you’re doing everything right and your call still does not go through, chances are, the recipient has blocked international calls or has that setting by default. You should check to see if this is the case before you place the call.
Keep these pointers in mind and you should be good to go.
Here is a handy list of major area calling codes for the UK
There is a multitude of established as well as up and coming virtual phone service providers. Some of the most highly recommended ones are Grasshopper, CallHippo, RingCentral and 8×8. Depending on your individual or business criteria, you can choose Virtual Numbers USA from the provider that best suits them.
