Telephone systems and communications are a very important part of the success of any business. In fact, communications costs are often associated with as much as 25% or more of a business's overall expenditures. This can change with the use of a virtual phone system, however, as this solution is more affordable than any other.
Landlines vs. Virtual Systems
Consider the costs associated with purchasing two or more telephone numbers from a landline company. First, the business owner must pay for the installation of telephone jacks; this often costs upwards of $200.00. The national average for basic telephone service that does not include any features whatsoever is $20.00 a month. Even if this cost is discounted by half for the second line and each one after that, business owners are still expected to pay $30.00 a month plus all of the associated taxes for two telephone lines with bare minimum service. For the same price, the business owner could purchase a virtual phone system packed with features and multiple virtual telephone lines.
Auto Attendants vs. Administrative Assistants
The next thing to consider when it comes to saving money on communications is whether or not to hire an administrative assistant who has the sole duty of answering telephones and routing calls. While effective, this method is very expensive. The average salary for an administrative assistant is between $50,000 and $70,000 a year-just to answer phones and route calls! For just a few dollars per month, business owners can incorporate the auto attendant feature, which is a recorded message that callers will hear as soon as they call. The greeting is friendly and courteous, and the system allows the caller to select the required department for an immediate and seamless transfer.
Call Forwarding Costs
Even if a business is small enough that it only requires a single phone number, the costs associated with forwarding calls alone can become staggering. The call forwarding feature must be purchased from the telephone company separately-usually at a cost of between $4.00 and $5.00 per month-and pay per-minute charges for all forwarded calls on top of this. That cost alone is between $0.20 and $0.40 per minute. With a virtual phone system, business owners can forward their calls as frequently as necessary with just a few clicks of the mouse and there is no additional charge from the company for forwarded calls.
Maintaining Privacy Affordably
Finally, when saving money on communications and maintaining the privacy of the employees are of equal importance, a virtual phone system is a must. There are times when business owners and employees must be able to accept calls when they are away from the office, whether they are at home or out in the field. Since it is not feasible to provide callers with these employees' personal telephone numbers for privacy reasons and call forwarding through a landline or mobile phone company is very expensive, virtual phone systems are a great solution. This way, when callers dial into an employee's extension, they are automatically forwarded to the home or mobile number of choice; the actual number remains invisible to the caller.
Businesses who want to save money on their communications can do so with the help of a virtual phone system. With plenty of features included in the low monthly or annual price, business communications have become surprisingly and even outrageously affordable.
This article was written by Kevin John, Online Marketing Executive at iTeleCenter. He has extensive marketing experience and is extremely knowledgeable about 1800 numbers, vanity numbers, local numbers and toll free numbers in conjunction with virtual phone system. He is happy to share his knowledge with small business owners on how to protect company image.
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