Remember Transformers? We’re talking about the original Transformers cartoon show and toys — apologies to Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Tyrese, and whoever else is holding the torch for the movie franchise these days. Ever wonder why the original show and toys were so popular? The answer lies in the tagline: “More than meets the eye.” If you offer kids toy cars or airplanes, they’re in. (It’s the law.) But if those toy cars or airplanes also change into robots?! Forget about it. You might as well be asking us to buy a pizza slicer/serving utensil combo. Of course we want it! That’s what appeals to people about smartphones. Dumb phones just place phone calls (so dumb). But smartphones — they call, they text, they turn lights on and off, they check stocks, they make food magically appear on your doorstep. They also can help your business appeal to a wider audience at no cost to you.
In this article, we cover:
- The draw of offering more than what is expected.
- What’s so good about a virtual phone number.
- The features you should be looking for in a virtual phone number for your business.
Back in the day, it was a major undertaking for a business to set up a presence across an entire region. We’re talking multiple phone numbers in multiple area codes, cities, and counties. You had to make arrangements with the phone company to manage it all. The end result was business opportunities across an array of markets, so long as you had the coverage and bandwidth to serve every square mile.
The digits in the phone number itself is a major driving force. Think about it — how likely are you to call a florist whose phone number is from an area code a county away? Are you going to call a roofer whose area code you don’t recognize at all? There’s already plenty of trepidation in cold calling someone for a specialized service. Despite all your marketing efforts, a strange area code could be what ultimately loses business for you. So how can your business be more than meets the eye? It’s simple: use that highly versatile smartphone in your pocket to appear everywhere all at once.
A Virtual Phone Number Can Help Your Business
An app, such as YouMail, can give you a second phone line for your business on your mobile device. Choose from a variety of area codes and phone numbers. Afer just a few minutes of setup, customers can start calling you on your new number directly, complete with custom voicemail greetings and texting. And your primary number will continue to work normally as well.
Perhaps you’d like to be able to screen your incoming calls better. Use your primary number as your personal line that you give out to family, friends, and personal acquaintances only. Then use your second virtual phone number for business calls. Now when your business line rings after hours, you can make the choice of being available 24/7 or for the sake of your mental health, letting it go to voicemail. But if you get a call at an odd hour and you’re worried it could be a family emergency, having a separate personal line can eliminate the possibility you’re about to have a business conversation at 2 in the morning.
If you really want to put a flourish on your business phone line, you can make it a memorable “vanity” number, like (555) 4-KARATE, (800) UNCLOG-U, or whatever it is that’s appropriate for your target audience. The benefits of a vanity number are numerous: they’re easy to remember, they can quickly communicate what you’re all about, and they can offer a peak into your personality.
If you aren’t doing everything in your power to make your business memorable, stand out from the competition, and easy to remember, you’re facing an uphill battle.
What Else You Should Be Looking For in a Business Line
A free virtual phone number for your business from YouMail can provide all of that and more. Get up to 25 virtual numbers, all with their own area code, a shared voicemail inbox, custom greetings, and texting. We even throw in a fully featured auto-attendant with custom menus and call forwarding.
And it wouldn’t be YouMail if we didn’t include state-of-the-art robocall blocking. We are THE authority on robocall blocking, having stopped more than 1 billion robocalls from ever being made.
Are you ready for your business to deliver more than meets the eye? Set up your free virtual phone number today.
