Purchasing a 1-800 number is quite expensive, because not only do you have to pay for the actual phone line but also for every call made and received with it. This can easily rack up costs and can prove especially detrimental for businesses that are working on a tight budget.

Traditional telephone systems don’t help the case because you have to pay the monthly line rent and invest in the equipment (phone set per user) that’s needed to operate the phone line.

In such events, VoIP solutions are your best bet, they’re cost-effective, reliable and easily set up. VoIP – Voice over Internet Protocol – uses your internet connection to make and receive calls so installing a new VoIP service into your system is seamless because most businesses already have an internet connection.

However, before choosing a VoIP service for a 1-800 number, there’re certain questions you need to ask yourself before making the final decision:

• Does my 1-800 phone line extra extensions? If yes, how many?
• What’s my budget? How much can I afford to pay monthly for a phone line?
• Where’s my clientele based? Remember if your target audience isn’t from the US or Canada, getting a 1-800 number will not make a good investment.

Now that you have answered all the above questions and have signed up for a VoIP service provider of your choice, let’s help you set up your 1-800 phone number.

Most VoIP service providers allow you to choose and customize your 1-800 number. So this is your chance to get creative. Choose a number that’s easy to remember and represents your brand in the best way possible.

Choosing a Number

A 1-800 number can represent your business if you choose number combinations that spell out your business name or services. For instance, a locksmith can go for a 1-800 number that spells out 1-800-LOCKNKEY or a dog walking business could choose something like 1-800-DOGWALK.

But before you start, here are a few tips that might help you choose the best 1-800 number for your business:

• A 1-800 number is a largely coveted commodity so it’s possible that your first choice of a number is already taken or not available, so come up with multiple options before you set your heart on one.
• A 1-800 number should resonate with your callers so choose a number that’s easy and catchy and doesn’t have difficult spellings like ‘ANALYTICS’ or ‘CONTRACT’.
• Another thing to keep in mind here is that short numbers are easy to remember and don’t overwhelm callers so let’s say if you’re running a butcher house, instead of using digits that spell out ‘BUTCHER’, use digits that spell out ‘MEAT’ because it’s shorter and easier to remember.

Choose a Greeting

Some VoIP service providers allow you to come up with your own customized greeting; while others offer a list of options to choose from. So if you get the chance to record your own recording, here are a few things you should keep in mind:

• Practice makes perfect. Write down what you’d like to say and then repeat it out loud a few times before you record your greeting.
• Make sure you’re clear and speaking slowly. However, if you have too many extensions and caller options, you might want to consider speeding things along.
• Choose someone who’s vocal and is lucid with enunciations to record the greeting.

Beyond this your VoIP service provider would guide you through the process of setting up the number.

Once your 1-800 phone number is set up and running, you can add your departments, teams and employees to the phone line with extensions. This will up your internal communications and make it easy for you to manage your business activity.

You can also have custom extension numbers for every department and staff member (‘Dial 1 for Sales, Dial 2 for Human Resources and Dial 3 for Stephen Stacy from Administration)

Now that your organization has been introduced to your 1-800 number, it’s time to enjoy the benefits a 1-800 number brings to your business.

Firstly, a VoIP 1-800 number can be accessed by all your departments and employees via their extension lines so no matter which team member calls using the 1-800 number, the caller ID will read your company’s name and number.

Secondly, VoIP services allow you to view who’s calling before you answer. So, if need be, you can easily transfer calls to the person they’re intended for without even picking it up!

Most importantly, VoIP solutions offer voicemail and fax to email transcriptions and capabilities. Perhaps the best feature of all is the voicemail and fax to email transcription. It’s better than it sounds! All your calls can be directed to your or a specific email address saving you the trouble of having to call your voicemail every single time!

VoIP 1-800 numbers are affordable, beneficial for your business’s image and come with an array of exciting features, so there’s really no reason why you should opt for one.

Just choose a VoIP service provider that offers 1-800 numbers and also suits your business needs and budget to enjoy the best communications solutions for your company. If you need help deciding on a VoIP service provider, you can go through our Review Archive of top VoIP service providers and compare them side by side to find the one that suits you best!