While packing as many minutes as possible into your business each and every day, you’ll no doubt enjoy discovering any way of simplifying your day-to-day management. One of the ways you can do this, without compromising any level of efficiency, is by making use of virtual phone numbers. Here are several ways they can make a positive difference to the way you run your business.

Many consumer surveys have found that customers actually prefer dealing with a local, independent business, as opposed to a larger business. So, with a local virtual number, you can deliver the same personal, attentive service you normally would – but never have to up sticks and move. Callers appreciate the familiarity, the smaller, local call fees, and the reassurance of knowing they’re ‘keeping it local’ (even though they’re not).

Virtual phone numbers provide a great option for both large businesses and smaller companies that don’t own vast communications infrastructure. All you need to get started with one or many virtual phone numbers is a phone. You will continue to receive calls to your regular number, as normal, and make outgoing calls as usual. However, you’ll receive incoming calls directed through your virtual phone numbers, too, and be able to see, from your call logs, the effectiveness of your new number.

One of the main things that put people off adding a virtual telephone number to their presence is the idea of having to change everything from their business card to their signage. However, this is thankfully not an issue at all when you have a virtual telephone number in place. Your regular business number will still be in use, so anyone who’s taken your card will still be able to contact you in the same way they’ve always done.

If you’re always on the move, you’ll most likely want to divert all calls from the virtual number to your mobile. However, what about those days when you’re in the office, or working while away on business? With a virtual telephone number, you have the freedom to redirect calls to any number, using only a simple, online dashboard. Essentially, you can work from anywhere, and be anywhere in the UK simultaneously.

As virtual telephone numbers can be programmed in ways that simply aren’t possible without a cloud-based telephony system, you can divert, track and transfer calls to your heart’s content. With some providers, such as Planet Numbers, you’ll also have options such as call recording, call queuing and zone planning – enabling you to manage incoming calls from specific postcodes or areas.

Ultimately, a virtual phone number combines all of the practicality of any other phone number with the advanced quality you’d expect from ‘virtual’ technology. Target new customers, put yourself in touch with new markets and grow your business across the country – with full control of every aspect of the technology at all times.