Choosing a Virtual Phone Number Service: Why Should You Try It Before You Buy?

A virtual number lets any type of business enjoy greater control, accessibility, convenience, and flexibility in how it receives calls.
Essentially, it’s a powerful call-forwarding service that routes inbound calls to any number the subscriber chooses.

When someone dials the virtual number – the call is professionally answered by an auto- attendant with a custom automated greeting that welcomes the caller and directs him or her to the appropriate department or employee.
After customers make their choice, they are immediately transferred to the specific extension of the actual individual or department the caller is trying to reach.

Since it is not attached to any specific piece of hardware, calls are forwarded to existing landline or mobile phone lines, VoIP based smartphone apps or just to a voicemail box.
As a result, businesses, which adopt this technological solution, don’t have to purchase, install or maintain any type of additional hardware, software or phone lines.

Businesses use this type of service for a variety of purposes:

• To support companies with multiple branches, offices, call centers or points of sale.
• To establish a national presence in the U.S. and use local numbers in all cities and states where businesses have existing customers or prospects.
  Phoning by using local area codes, eliminates the costly fees associated with making long distance calls
• To support remote working, by enabling staff members who are scattered across the country maintain a business phone line.
• To support frequent business travelers, on-the-go professionals and people who work outside the office that need to remain accessible for taking calls.
• To establish an international presence by allowing American and global companies to expand and have multi-country operations, regardless of their actual physical location.
• To track and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
• To enable small businesses to establish a professional image and convey a ‘big business’ feel.
• To enable foreign companies (from outside the U.S.) to have a business phone number in the United States.

Essential features like auto-attendant, unlimited extensions, incoming call management options (such as call forwarding, transferring, screening or blocking), multi-line management, voicemail, and SMS are very common with many providers.
Advanced capabilities like find me / follow me, call recording, custom greetings, on-hold music, and mobile app are also available with some companies.

There are many competing business phone number providers on the market, and every company offers its unique mix of technological features, functionalities, and capabilities coupled with its own set of pros and cons.

However, solopreneur home business owners, startup entrepreneurs, field contractors, small businesses and larger companies all have very different telephony needs.
So how can you determine which vendor is ideal for your ongoing communication demands?

Since there are so many alternative options available, the best thing you can do is try some out for yourself and obtain an independent insight on which SaaS product deserves your hard-earned money.

The no-obligation testing period gives you the chance to review all components of a certain system in a hands-on way, which gives you a real feel for how it works.
It also helps you to form an independent opinion about the service, discover its strengths and weaknesses, and reach a research-based conclusion, whether a long-term paid subscription is worth it or not.

How to Make the Most of a Virtual Phone Number Trial Period?

An initial trial period allows you to try out a premium service for free before committing to a monthly or annual subscription and without spending a penny.

It’s a great way to verify that the service provider you consider delivers on everything you’re looking for before actually putting money down.
Research, reviews, and customer recommendations are extremely useful, but it’s not the same as actually taking a platform for a test drive.

Unlike a demo version or a freemium, free trial accounts come with significantly fewer limitations or restrictions, and sometimes, none at all.
In such cases, users get complete access to the entire system for a certain period and enjoy the same benefits and privileges of a paid subscriber.

This time window enables you to fully explore the virtual phone system’s features, evaluate its ease of use, assess its value for money, and experience the provider’s customer service and support departments.
You get all of this paying nothing and with no obligation to join the service as a paying customer.

After opening an account and starting your free trial with a chosen provider, get a virtual number in your desired locality.
Configure the system, set call routing rules and personalize the prerecorded greeting.
Accept calls, test audio conversations on home, office, VOIP and mobile phones, to evaluate the sound quality in different devices.

Ask yourself: do you like using this service? Do you get a generous monthly minute allotment?
If you’re happy with what you saw and experienced, then feel free to purchase a paid subscription.
However, if the service did not meet your expectations or needs, simply cancel the trial and look for better cloud business phone alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Trying out and comparing a number of potential virtual phone system options is a vital step before choosing a provider and selecting a relevant plan.
Here’s a list of common questions (and answers) that often come up during this process.

• Why Should You Sign Up? Benefits of Using Free Trials before Choosing Any Paid Service
  
• “Credit Card Required”: Why Do Some Free Trial Offers Require Users to Enter-In Their Credit Card Information?
  
• Risk-Free Offer Models: What’s the Difference Between Free Trials, Freemium and Money-Back Guarantee?
  
• Common Free Trial Scams: How Do They Work and What Can You Do To Avoid Them?
  
• Tips: How Do You Cancel a Free Trial You Signed Up For?