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Category: Business Insights

Insights and strategies for growing your business in international markets.

Skype is Shutting Down: Here’s How to Port Your Skype Number

3rd March 2025 blog, Cloud Telephony
skype shutting down

Note (May 1st): We are no longer accepting Skype port-ins. Due to the May 5th cutoff date, porting requests will be rejected. Instead, clients can purchase a new phone number …Read More »

Benefits of Call Sentiment Analysis for Sales and Support Teams

25th February 2025 blog
The benefits of analyzing call sentiments

The ability to gauge emotions and pick up on the unsaid dynamics of a conversation is an important skill in business. A conveying handshake, a confident gaze, or a subtle …Read More »

Understanding Why Your International Calls are Being Blocked

21st February 2025 blog
international calls being blocked

The rise of VoIP technology has improved global communication, offering businesses and consumers a flexible and cost-effective way to stay connected. However, as VoIP gained traction, it also opened the …Read More »

Navigating International Calling Challenges in the UAE

21st February 2025 blog
international-calling-callenges-in-uae

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is renowned as a global and regional business hub, attracting companies with its favorable time zone, strategic location, and competitive corporate tax advantages. Many businesses …Read More »

Improve Team Productivity with Call Summaries

11th February 2025 blog, Cloud Telephony
Call summaries to improve team productivity.

Tired of searching through hours of call records to determine call outcomes? Looking for a way to quickly capture key insights from every customer interaction? Call Summary, an AI call …Read More »

What is Call Analytics?

13th January 2025 blog, Call Management
what is call analytics

Wouldn’t it be valuable to know where your best leads come from, what marketing channels drive the most calls, and how your customers feel about their interactions with your business? …Read More »

Virtual Team Communication: 10 Proven Tips for 2026

23rd July 2020 blog, Business Insights

Is your business considering moving to virtual offices? Then you need to be well-versed in virtual team communication tools and practices that will maintain productivity and efficiency.

Tips for Virtual Team Communication

When businesses allow for remote working, there’s always a certain level of nervousness attached to it. How will managers communicate with remote employees? How will different teams or offices communicate with each other? How do we track progress and productivity? Here are 10 proven tips to ease virtual team communication to ensure productivity.

1. Make Remote Working a Reality

In this day and age, a business that absolutely does not consider work-from-home as an option may run the risk of losing good employees. The most popular reason why business managers don’t want to consider remote working is because it’s hard to keep an eye on employees and maintain accountability. However, with the right work from home setup, you can establish and maintain communications while tracking the progress of remote teams.

When working remotely, many issues may pop up such as:

  • Lack of collaboration
  • Inability to contact employees
  • Urgent problem-solving needs, and so on

However, the right tools and platforms can help resolve these issues and create a more cohesive virtual office. Here are some of the tools available right now that can assist your team in virtual environments.

2. Invest in Reliable Technologies and Platforms

When working virtually and in different locations, what are the best ways to keep in touch and track your employees’ performance? The most popular answer: project management and cloud phone systems.

Project management systems can help track progress and milestones. On these platforms, teams can work together on projects and share them through the internet. As a manager, you can have access to your teams’ tasks and projects, and keep yourself up to date.

Get a business phone system that enables voice and video communication over the internet. Your entire team can make calls from their computers. This helps reduce costs and maintain connectivity. Communicate with employees as and when needed. Additionally, you can have calls routed to specific employees to ensure everyone is doing their job and no employee is sitting idle.

3. Choose the Right Virtual Team Communication Tools

Similar to the above point, depending on your business’ functions and needs, you will require appropriate virtual team communication tools. These include:

  • One platform for all communications (phone, email, chat, SMS, etc.)
  • Call forwarding and call transfer
  • Call recording software to record business calls
  • Audio and video conferencing
  • Project management systems
  • File storage and collaboration tools, and more

Find applications and software that work best for your teams. This may require some trial and error but getting the right tools can positively impact collaboration and productivity, even when working remotely.

4. Offer Different Mediums for Easy Communication

Don’t just stick to email or phone conversations for quick support. You may consider having a chat or SMS tool that can be accessed via their smartphone. You can also develop a system where employees who have queries or encounter issues may submit support tickets or “problem-forms” and receive the right solution via email. The trick is to offer different ways to stay connected.

5. Consider Time Zone Differences

Remote teams are not always located in the same city or country. And for this reason, all of your employees need to be aware of the different time zones involved. You may consider creating an online spreadsheet detailing contact and time zone information. This ensures no calls and meetings are conducted at inappropriate times. A time zone calculator may prove useful so users don’t have to spend time calculating the exact hour.

6. Create Guides, Knowledge Bases, and More

Another important aspect of virtual team communication is the ability to quickly access important or necessary information. One way to do so is by creating reliable communication channels (as mentioned above). However, another effective method is to create support guides and knowledge bases that can be accessed by relevant people. The point is to provide easy access to information so employees can do their jobs effectively. These guides can be stored on Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft’s OneDrive, or on your project management system’s storage feature.

7. Monitor Metrics and KPIs

Next, monitor important and relevant KPIs instead of constantly micromanaging and monitoring your employees. Focus on the results of their performance instead of how they are getting work done or how long they’ve been at their desk.

8. Make Goals and Proper Business Communication Behavior Clear

All your teams and employees need to be on the same page and know what the final goal is. The same goes for proper business communication. Define, explain, and practice. For instance, are emojis or GIFs allowed? How does voting take place? Does everyone need to respond or do only relevant people? How many times should employees check their messages or email, every 30 minutes or every hour? And so on.

9. Avoid Long and Unnecessary Video Calls

Video calls are necessary at times to get everybody on the same page to receive quick updates. However, it is easy to go off-track and end up on video calls for more time than needed. Therefore, plan to have video calls only when necessary and follow best practices. This will help in reducing the time spent on these calls and increasing productivity.

10. Check-in With Your Team Regularly

Finally, check in with your remote teams as often as possible but within reason. You may choose to do brief monthly meetings. However, it may help to check-in via email, a quick call, or chat every week to make remote employees feel valuable.

Need Help with Virtual Team Communication? Ask Us!

We offer tools that can help keep your business communication stay connected no matter where your employees or offices are located. Our virtual phone system can route calls as needed and it provides high-quality connection. To build your cloud phone system, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171 today!

5 Ways on How to Do a Winning Product Demo

30th June 2020 blog, Business Insights

A product demo goes a long way when trying to sell your business’ product or services. For some businesses, it can make or break the sale. And so, as a salesperson, you must do everything you can to make your product relevant to your prospect.

How to Do a Product Demo Successfully

A successful product demonstration includes describing the product well but also making it relevant and useful to the prospect. So, what do you need to keep in mind while preparing for a product demo? Here are some ways you can create a solid demo.

1. Study the Product Well

Nothing puts prospects off more than a salesperson who doesn’t know the product they are selling. To be able to sell during the product demo, you first need to know what the product is and how it can benefit your audience.

For instance, if you are selling a new version of a product or service, make sure you understand what comes with the new version before the demo. Pay attention to new features, technical details, and more. Essentially, be prepared for questions about the product or related processes.

2. Research Your Client

Every prospect is unique and has specific circumstances under which they are considering your product. Therefore, it is important that you are able to present your product or service as the ideal solution. To do that, you first need to know relevant information about your prospect. Do your research and study your client before the product demo.

Don’t just Google their name and skim their website. Understand their service, number of employees, size of the company, essential needs, and so on. Look through their LinkedIn page and social media accounts. Read their press releases, articles, interviews, and industry reports. You may even choose to see what their competitors are doing to see if you can help them achieve it.

There are plenty of helpful tools for salespeople to research potential customers.

3. Craft Your Offer, Rehearse, and Personalize

Once you have the right knowledge about the prospect, you can craft a personalized offer that is relevant to them. A successful sales demo not only demonstrates the product but highlights and identifies it as a solution to an existing problem. When creating your offer and product demo, consider these questions:

  • What are the prospect’s common challenges?
  • What are the main areas of concern in their industry?
  • Which features or sub-features of your product/service can solve their problem?
  • Are all features applicable and relevant? Which features should I pay more attention to?
  • What is the best way to describe the features? Can I use examples that are similar to the prospect’s situation?

4. Have a Plan (and a Plan B)

Plan out exactly how you want this product demonstration to go. Write down each point to cover. Map out the sequence of topics you want to bring up. Highlight portions you want to repeat or reinforce. Revisit and rehearse the plan a few times until you feel comfortable.

Create a plan B in case things don’t pan out the way you want them to. For instance, your internet or phone connection may not be good or your prospect may have to cancel. What can you do to continue this conversation? Have backup software or communication tools ready to go. In case the product demo gets rescheduled, have other activities that you can pour your energy into.

5. Make the Call Confidently

Finally, once you are ready to make your call, make sure that:

  • Your internet and VoIP phone service are strong.
  • Make sure your communication tool is working well.
  • Your microphone (and camera, if applicable) is on and works.
  • The software for the product demo is ready.
  • Your plan A and B are both readily available.
  • Keep relevant websites and tabs open.
  • Keep your CRM or notebook ready to take notes.

All Set to Create the Ultimate Demo

As a successful salesperson, it is your job to do the extra work that will give you better chances of making a sale. With all of this in place, you can confidently make the call and focus on giving an excellent product demo!

6 Ways to Get People to Buy Your Product

25th June 2020 blog, Business Insights

Most sales reps constantly contemplate: how can you get people to buy your product? What can you do to quickly close a deal that you have been working on for weeks? How do you convince prospects who are on the fence to make a purchase? What efforts can you make to ensure sales go smoothly?

How to Get People to Buy Your Product

Even though it’s hard to close certain deals, part of being a successful sales rep means not giving up. So, what can you do to get people to buy your product? Here is a look at the most common hurdles to closing sales and how you can communicate clearly to ensure your products get noticed and ultimately, purchased.

1. Avoid Using Heavy Jargon

Overly technical language can easily put a customer off. Instead of using jargon or commonly used industry cliches, make it easy for your clients to understand what your product consists of, what the benefits are, and how they can apply it to their needs.

2. Focus on the Benefits of Your Product or Service

Most agents or reps tend to list down all the features that come along with a product or service. However, while clients are interested in what a product does, they also want to know what it means for them specifically. Understand their needs and business so you can demo your product as a solution that helps them.

3. Keep Them Engaged with Email Marketing

Use email marketing to educate and inform customers, not just to remind them of your business. Why are prospects hesitating from making purchases? Can you offer more information about the product or service your company provides? Use email to continue the conversation in a productive, informative way.

4. Emphasize How Your Brand is Unique and Different

Get a prospect to pay attention to your specific product and brand by demonstrating how it is unique and different from others offering similar or the same product. Generic benefits and features may convince a client to purchase, but it does not guarantee that they will buy it from you. So show them how your brand is separate from the others, offers better features or functions, and why it’s important in the industry.

For example, our sales reps spend a majority of their time explaining how our international toll-free numbers are quite different from services offered by other providers. A focus on differentiation will surely help convince more people to buy your products.

5. Use Testimonials and Case Studies to Demonstrate Success

Include reviews, testimonials, and case studies on your website and social media platforms. You should constantly be asking your best customers for testimonials. Highlight how customers have already used the product so new customers can visualize it and see how it works in action. Include statistics and hard data to support your claims.

6. Create a Sense of Urgency for Difficult Customers

Sales reps have to deal with customers who do not get off the fence. Even though they are solid and promising leads, they need ongoing convincing. So how can you increase the urgency without using high-pressure tactics? Short-term offers or deals with an expiration date can help close these deals while triggering them with immediacy.

Close the Deal!

Now that you know a variety of inside sales tactics to get people to buy your product, start implementing these methods into your strategy to improve your sales record. Be patient and find maneuvers that will help you enhance your efforts; using the right tools and strategy, you will be converting sales successfully.

5 Ways to Earn Trust in the Financial Services Industry

11th June 2020 blog, Business Insights

Why is it important for a finance company to earn its customers’ trust? So that they see the value in your company and return. Additionally, returning customers hold the ability to bring new customers to your company. So, what can you do to earn trust for your finance company?

Finance Companies: Top Ways to Earn Trust

There are a few different ways of earning customer trust and respect. These range from improving the way your business and its employees interact with clients to using technology and marketing to your benefit. Here we look at 5 practical ways to earn trust in the financial services industry.

1. Value and Focus on Customer Interaction

This should come as a given. The best way to retain customers and earn their trust is by giving them a reason to trust your company and its services. Care for your clients. Focus on ways to improve client relations and increase positive experiences. Don’t let technology replace human interaction. At the end of the day, customers trust humans more than automated services. Make sure that clients and prospects reaching out through email and phone receive the same (or similar) treatment as they would in a face-to-face meeting.

2. Improve Transparency and Credibility

The best way to earn trust with current customers is by being forthright and transparent with them. Gaining new customers is more expensive than retaining existing ones. And therefore, your finance company should focus on customer satisfaction and retention. In other words, what can you do to provide honest, ethical, and good customer support?

Avoid hidden agendas and surprises in payments and billings. Run through your terms and conditions with them in detail. Explain early termination fees and other fees they should be aware of. Help them understand ways they can avoid damages and unnecessary payments.

By doing so, you will be creating a reputation for your company as one that provides honest work and actually cares for their customers’ concerns and benefits. By informing your customers and clients, the more they understand and value your work, and the more they trust your services. This further helps build credibility and trust.

As your financial services firm builds credibility with customers, it’s important to be in compliance with local and international regulations. Recent laws like MiFID II require all VoIP calls to be recorded. Penalization is among the worst things that could happen to a new financial services business.

3. Take Advantage of Digital Advancements

Any finance company that is not using digital and technological advancements is behind in the game. These advancements can help make processes easier and bring your services to your customers’ fingertips. For example, Positivly combines the principles of positive psychology with digital advancements in modern wealth management to create a stronger connection and build trust.

There are many other ways that financial services companies can incorporate digital advancements to build trust. Here are a few:

  • Optimize your website for smartphones
  • Allow for better digital payment methods: mobile payments or payments, renewals, and account verification through an automated IVR system
  • Create an easy-to-navigate app with helpful and informative resources
  • Use a PSP to accurately and securely accept payments
  • Use the latest cybersecurity to protect your clients and their information from fraud

4. Manage Reputation and Demonstrate Expertise Through Marketing Resources

Market creatively and for the benefit of your target audience. Your marketing strategies can determine how the public views your finance company and its reputation and credibility. Therefore, this is a good way to demonstrate your expertise and good customer service practices.

Produce informative and educational content on your website and optimize it for search engine results. Use social media to highlight important financial advice and information and connect with younger audiences. Generate newsletters with current news and promotions rewarding existing customers. Include reviews and testimonials.

Showing how your company conducts its business and that your employees are experienced and know what they are doing can help earn trust. Use marketing strategies to manage your reputation and improve the way customers view your services

5. Make Your Business Accessible

Lastly, being a financial services company, your company must remain accessible. A well-functioning and reliable business phone service can help you stay connected. Open multichannel communication such as phone, email, live chat, social media, and SMS (instant messaging).

You may even consider getting a toll free number so that prospects and customers can call your office for free. Additionally, if you get virtual business numbers with call forwarding, then you can have calls forwarded to different offices or lines.

Global Call Forwarding can help you set up a reliable business phone system with premium communication features that help in improving customer relations. To learn more, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171.

1800 Numbers for Hotels, Resorts, and Timeshare Properties

1st April 2020 blog, Business Insights

More and more businesses in the travel industry are using 1800 numbers as their contact numbers to offer callers a free way to call. Learn how getting a 1800 number can boost your company’s incoming call rate and help customers build trust in it.

Toll Free Numbers for the Travel and Tourism Industry

First, what are 1800 numbers? These numbers are toll free numbers provided by cloud-based phone service providers. They are a preferred communication solution because instead of charging callers, calls are charged to the business using the number. So, 1800 numbers or toll free numbers for travel agencies ensure that they remain accessible to customers traveling to or using their service. With 1800 numbers, you can:

  • Provide uninterrupted customer service and care
  • Encourage customers to call whenever they need
  • Connect with travelers from different parts of the world
  • Increase and diversify your customer base

1800 Numbers: Why They Work?

When you purchase 1800 numbers from a cloud-based phone service provider like Global Call Forwarding, you have access to toll free numbers for different countries across the globe, no matter where your hotel, resort, or timeshare is physically located. This means that you can get 1800 numbers for countries that you want to target or where you get more of your customers from. This gives travelers in these areas a free and reliable way to connect with your business. Furthermore, they can contact you even as they travel to different locations, in case there is an issue.

For instance, you can purchase 1800 numbers for the United States, Canada, Australia, or Mexico, to name a few locations. Now, travelers contacting your hotel, resort, or timeshare from these countries don’t have to think twice to call you. This makes it more likely that they will contact your business over your competitors. And, it increases your chances of converting those calls into sales.

1800 Numbers: Making International Communication Easy

The reason why travel and hospitality companies are getting 1800 numbers is because these numbers encourage people to call. Additionally, most individuals associate such toll free numbers with large and established companies, placing your business among their ranks.

Additionally, you can provide 24/7 service by having inbound calls routed to different numbers and lines during specific times of the day or based on location. This is especially helpful for travel companies that have offices in multiple locations. During your office’s off-hours, forward incoming calls to your office in a different time zone. Or, direct calls to the nearest location based on where the call is coming from. Organizing and distributing calls this way can ensure callers get the assistance and care they need in a language and culture they are familiar with.

Using Toll Free Numbers for Marketing Purposes

Most businesses are unaware of the fact that 1800 numbers can boost their marketing efforts and provide valuable insights. When you purchase multiple numbers for different locations, you can track incoming calls to understand which markets are more successful than others. In fact, you can even run different marketing campaigns and use call tracking to determine which campaign has more ROI.

Should Your Business Get 1800 Numbers

Yes, travel and hospitality businesses like hotels, resorts, and timeshares often deal with travelers from different parts of the world. It is, therefore, essential to build convenient communication channels so that these travelers can count on your business to make their experience worthwhile. Want to know more about 1800 numbers? Call us at 1 (561) 908-6171

Push Your IT Business Towards Success with Good Customer Relations

30th March 2020 blog, Business Insights

The most important part of running a business is maintaining good customer relations. Whether this relates to selling new products or offering troubleshooting services, your IT business must focus on how it interacts with its customers so that you can serve them better. This, in turn, will lead to greater customer satisfaction and retention.

Build Stronger Customer Relations

What are some ways you can create better customer relations and have them return for more?
Developing a useful and high-quality product and marketing it well must be the first step. It is, therefore, necessary to present your product as a solution or one that your target audience needs. Think from your customers’ perspective, what can you do to draw them closer to your service?

1. Make it Easier for Customers to Contact You

Not all customers are going to interact with your business in-person. They may come across your brand or product over the internet or through ads. But how do you convert the interest to sales? Give them a reason to call you. Most customers know what they are looking for and if your business provides that, they will make a purchase. But there are individuals who need more information. And so, calling your company with queries can ensure they understand your product and follow through to making the purchase.

Toll free numbers for IT companies provide a free way for interested individuals to call your employees. Whether it is a new customer or a returning one, being able to reach your company easily lets them know that you care about their business. Furthermore, high first call resolution rates, where callers are able to resolve issues on the first call, leads to higher customer satisfaction rates. And an IVR system for IT companies can help achieve this by directing callers to the right department. And in some cases, you can even set up the IVR to assist callers in completing tasks without the help of an agent or rep.

2. Track Quality Assurance

Besides making your business available and accessible, you want to ensure that employees are doing their best when interacting with customers. Here’s where quality assurance becomes significant. Do you need employees to be informative and educational? Should they follow a certain script or can they customize interactions based on who they speak with? Are they following up with callers, as promised?

Monitor quality assurance with call recording for IT companies. Use recordings to study employee interaction and customer behavior. Which tactics are more successful than others? Additionally, you can reward good customer service, further incentivizing employees to do well. You can also use recordings as training material to teach new employees what they should and should not do. Better training leads to better customer service which vastly improves customer relations.

Connect with New Customers

Another way to improve customer relations is to use outbound calling for IT companies and be in touch with potential and existing customers. You can use this service to call local and international audiences for a reasonable price and by evading high long-distance fees. With outbound calling, you can:

  • Welcome new customers
  • Help new customers with setting up products and services
  • Generate new leads
  • Collect feedback
  • Conduct market research
  • Follow up with clients
  • Offer company updates or information about new products
  • Reward customer success efforts, and more

Global Call Forwarding’s Outbound Calling service gives you the opportunity to connect with potential customers across the world. If you purchase multiple local and toll free numbers, you can override the caller ID to display specific numbers when calling certain areas or regions. For example, you can display a Dallas local number or a Mauritius toll free number when you call those regions.

Customer Satisfaction = Better Customer Relations = Closer to Success

Connect with target individuals and serve them better with these communication tools. Improve customer relations and watch your sales increase. For more information on how Global Call Forwarding’s services can help, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171.

Coronavirus: How to Keep Communicating During Isolation

24th March 2020 blog, Business Insights

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has slowed our lives down and has practically brought the entire world to lockdown. In these uncertain times, it is easier than ever to lose contact with important people and connections. So, how do you maintain relations and keep communicating during isolation?

Coronavirus: Communicating During Quarantine

Coronavirus has taken the world by surprise, causing many of us to practice social distancing and work from home, if possible. In such times, communication becomes more important than ever. Whether it is checking in on family and friends or completing business tasks, the right tools can help you stay in contact and take care of business.

Keeping Business Communications going

Most non-essential companies have been ordered to shut down in different cities, states, and countries. However, there are still many companies that can conduct operations virtually or remotely. This involves putting faith in employees while also ensuring daily and weekly tasks or projects are completed. If your business is working remotely, here are some tools you and your team can use to make communication easier:

  • Office chat tools such as Slack, Google Chat, WhatsApp groups, etc.
  • Video conferencing tools such as Skype, Google Meet, Zoom, etc.
  • Virtual numbers with call forwarding to forward incoming business calls to personal or home phone lines.
  • Toll free numbers to make it free for customers and clients to reach you.

Most chat and video conferencing tools are available for free. They work over your internet or WiFi connection and offer good quality calls. This will help you be in quick and constant contact with your remote employees. You can create group chats for different departments as well as collaborate by sharing important files and documents.

You can also get virtual numbers such as toll free numbers from Global Call Forwarding, or port your existing number. Virtual numbers work over the internet and through an online account management system. You can set up incoming customer calls to be forwarded to specific employee numbers. For example, you can have calls made to your customer service line directed to your customer service team working remotely. Or, have them sent to your receptionist who then directs them to the right department.

Presently, to keep things even more convenient and cost-effective, you can get $5 off Global Call Forwarding’s Value, Power, Premium, and Enterprise plans with the COVID19 promo code. This will help you maintain essential communications between your business and its valued customers with call forwarding, even during a pandemic like coronavirus. Purchasing and setting up a virtual number is quick and easy.

Personal Communications

Social distancing is much harder for some people over others. But it does not mean that you need to stop all kinds of interaction. With technological advances, it is possible to stay connected even in uncertain times through communication apps such as:

  • Instant messaging over the internet using iMessage, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, etc.
  • Social media: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, etc.
  • Video chats: Google Hangouts, Skype, Google Duo, WhatsApp, etc.

These apps and tools make it easy to keep in touch with friends and family through texts and video capabilities. You can create and share audio, images, videos, GIFs, etc. In fact, Netflix has an interesting and fun “Netflix Party” feature that even lets you watch shows and movies with your loved ones along with a group chat element. While virtual, this still maintains some degree of social interaction that can be comforting during this time.

Stay Positive and Keep Talking

Everything does not need to come to a halt during the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to the internet and virtual communication capabilities, you can still stay in touch with the people you care about. Whether it’s grandparents stuck indoors or employees working from home or keeping a sick friend company, stay positive and keep communicating.

Work from Home with These Virtual Business Options

18th March 2020 blog, Business Insights

Fears of the coronavirus (COVID-19) have put cities and countries on lockdown and forced businesses to shut down. Fortunately, most businesses and job positions have the opportunity and ability to use virtual business tools and ask employees to work from home. And this is made easy with the advancements in technology. So, what are some options your business can adopt during these uncertain times?

Virtual Business Tools

Whether you’re a small business or a large company, you may choose to allow your employees to work from home. At least, for the next few weeks as everyone keeps an eye on the growth and spread of the coronavirus. Virtual business tools can help your business stay on track even as employees work from home. These tools include virtual numbers with call forwarding abilities, management systems, chat tools, video conferencing, and more. The following article will include some options to consider:

Get a Virtual Phone Number

You can easily get a virtual number from a service provider like Global Call Forwarding or port your existing number to us today. Doing this will allow you to take advantage of other virtual communication tools that can help immediately. You can use call forwarding, call transfer, outbound calling, customized greetings, and more. This will help your business maintain communication with its customers and clients.

Getting or porting your number with us is quick and easy. You can have the number ready to use in a few minutes. And you can then have business calls forwarded to your home office or personal line, or have it directed to your customer support team members’ phone lines. In fact, our Simultaneous Ringing feature enables you to have all incoming calls ring on multiple phone lines. This could be your number, your sales team’s home or personal lines, and so on. This ensures that someone will answer the phone and business can still continue. And so, sales and customer support teams can continue to serve existing customers thereby not degrading the quality and standard of your service.

You can set up interactive voice response (IVR), an automated system, to answer calls and greet customers by offering them company updates revolving around the coronavirus. Or, simply add a custom greeting that lets callers know your business is still running and you can still provide them the service they need. Additionally, you can transfer calls to other team members or have calls forwarded to them during specific times of the day. There are many cloud communication tools available, but which ones your business needs depends on what services you want to offer.

Video Conferencing and Chat Tools

Video chatting and conferencing is another virtual business tool that can be used for remote working. You can stay connected with your employees and track their progress or conduct online meetings with video conferencing apps such as Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, and so on. You can schedule meetings, share screens to demonstrate the material, share important files, and documents, and more.

Online Content and Project Management Systems

Take your tasks online. Use online project management systems or apps to remain connected with employees as well as track tasks and projects that need to be completed. You can have different team members work and collaborate on a task and watch its progress. Set deadlines, due dates, and log time for important and prioritized projects. Some popular systems are Teamwork, Slack, Monday, Trello, etc.

Be Productive and Efficient Even When Working Remotely

Most businesses worry that remote working will decrease productivity and slow down the overall success rate. This can be countered with virtual options which ensure that employees can stay on task even outside the office location. For more information on how our cloud communication tools can support your work-from-home days, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171 to talk to an expert.

Avoid Coronavirus: Practical and Useful Information

17th March 2020 blog, Business Insights

It’s no secret, everyone has the coronavirus on their mind. And while a global pandemic can be overwhelming and terrifying, it is important to focus on the things that we can control. So, what are some things you and your family can do to avoid the coronavirus?

How to Avoid Coronavirus?

News outlets are flooded with information (and misinformation) about the virus, its spread, and how one can avoid contracting it. In such a time, where there is an abundance of information and data available, it becomes necessary to go to the right sources. Governmental websites and global health websites are the best places to get news about the virus on a local and global level. You can track COVID-19’s movement globally and locally with data provided by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) here. Make sure you have the right information and do as recommended by health professionals.

Keep a Watch on Symptoms

First and foremost, keep an eye on possible symptoms. According to the CDC, the main symptoms relating to COVID-19 are:

  • Fever,
  • Cough,
  • and Shortness of breath.

Emergency symptoms include:

  • Difficulty breathing,
  • Pain or pressure in the chest,
  • Disorientation, and
  • Bluish lips or face.

At the first sign of these symptoms, you must contact your healthcare provider for advice and next steps.

Work from Home and Setting Up Virtual Communications

Thanks to advancements in technology, it is quite possible to switch to virtual business mode and work from outside of your office. You can set up virtual communications for your business by buying or porting your virtual business number to a virtual phone service provider like Global Call Forwarding and forward incoming calls to your and your employees’ personal or home phones temporarily. Right now, you can get $5 off our Value, Power, Premium, and Enterprise plans with the COVID19 promo code so you can maintain important communications even during this time. You can quickly purchase and set up a toll free number and forward incoming calls to our personal or home phone. This way, customers in need of your service can still contact you free of cost and no matter where you work.

Additionally, you will want to set up video conferencing and chat opportunities to schedule and conduct online meetings and discussions. Video conferencing apps and software like Zoom or Skype can enable video conversations. Furthermore, your teams can also use online content management tools like G Suite, Microsoft Projects, etc. These systems help keep track of important tasks and projects and ensure that work continues on.

As with the threat of any disease or illness, the recommendation is to always use preventative measures. The same goes for the coronavirus. Part of social distancing includes staying and working from home. This will reduce the risk of being exposed to others who may have the virus at your workplace or ride-shares, and so on.

Social Distancing, Self Isolation, and Quarantine

You’ll notice the overuse of terms such as “social distancing,” “self-isolation,” “quarantine,” and “flattening the curve” in the media regarding COVID-19. But what do these terms mean and how do you know what needs to be done? John Hopkins Medicine defines these terms for us.

Social Distancing: Means to avoid large crowds such as social events, sporting events, festivals, concerts, and more. The general recommendation is to avoid places and groups with more than 50 people. Social distancing means deliberately increasing physical space between you and other people. Maintain at least six feet of distance. Cancel plans, switch to video meetings, work from home, and so on.

Quarantine: Individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19 will be asked to self-quarantine. The recommendation for this quarantine is to stay at home for at least 14 days to ensure you do not have the virus and do not spread it to others. If you have recently returned from traveling to a place where the virus is currently active or have been in close contact with someone who has the virus, then self-quarantine is the next step for you.

Self Isolation: People who have confirmed they have Covid-19 will be asked to self-isolate, which basically means keeping those infected away from those who are not. You can self isolate at home or the hospital or at a care facility. Protective equipment may be used to keep the germs at bay.

Flattening the Curve: Refers to using protective measures to slow the rate of the virus’ spread. The motive behind these measures is to ensure that doctors, hospitals, and clinics have rooms and supplies for infected individuals and patients.

Be Aware and Stay Safe

Coronavirus is a fast-spreading virus affecting individuals, businesses, and economies across the world. It has been a hard few months and it may continue for a few more. Do what you need to do, to keep yourself and your family members safe.

Keep in mind, you can get $5 off our Value, Power, Premium, and Enterprise plans right now with our COVID19 promo code. So, if your business is looking to transition to entirely virtual/ working from home, there is no better time to get a virtual number. For more information about cloud communication tools offered by Global Call Forwarding, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171.