Geography isn’t what it used to be. The modern business landline is extremely versatile, and you don’t have to tie it to a single, fixed, physical location.
What’s the benefit to you? It means you can use your dedicated business phone number anywhere, and this makes the whole issue of getting a business landline at home a lot more straightforward.
You can do this with either a virtual landline or setting up your VoIP phone at home.
But why would you want a business landline at home in the first place?
In Business, Impressions are Important
Your telephone number is a key, forward-facing aspect of your business. It makes an impression on your prospects and customers. It’s a mark of your professionalism.
Now while working from home (WFH) is very much the norm, and adds a whole dimension of flexibility to your business model, it can also impact the impression you’re making. What if someone rings you on your mobile but they can’t get through, or you take the call with all sorts of background domestic noise going on?
This is about instilling confidence in your customers. They want to know that whenever they’re making a call to you, you’re dealing with it professionally and competently. Customer service is an important metric. 86% of buyers are willing to pay more for a better customer experience.
The telephone is the interface between a business and its customers. It’s a communications channel you can’t afford to ignore. Your caller’s experience could be the difference between whether you win or lose work.
By routing all calls through your business landline number, you reinforce a sense of professionalism and give consistency to your communications. You can establish and maintain customer service processes that enhance the customer experience.
The same principle regarding professionalism applies if you’re starting out in business with limited resources. You don’t have to make the choice between either using your mobile number or your home landline. Instead, you can have a dedicated business number, but one which offers you a huge amount of flexibility. You have complete call handling control, plus multi-site capabilities.
How do you achieve this?
- With a virtual landline, or
- Setting up a VoIP system at home.
How a Virtual Landline Works
With a virtual landline, you can make and receive calls anywhere, but using a dedicated business number.
The number you choose will ring straight through to your mobile, or another phone, no matter where you are.
From your caller’s point of view, they’re simply contacting you on your business number. With this system, you can take your business with you anywhere and never miss a call.
You get to enjoy the benefits of geographic flexibility, but at the same time, you can promote yourself locally, since you’ve the freedom to choose an appropriate local number for your virtual landline.
VoIP at Home
The other option for using a business landline at home is voice over internet protocol (VoIP).
You can set up a VoIP phone at home for a conventional handset, or for digital devices such as smartphones.
Basically, you’re using your broadband connection as your business landline. You’ll need to choose a VoIP service provider to enable you to do this.
The essentials for home VoIP include:
- High-speed internet connection
- Router
- VoIP adaptor.
The adaptor will either plug directly into your router or go between your modem and router or computer. It then connects via your ethernet or wi-fi. Then you connect your phone to the adaptor.
You now have a VoIP phone to use at home. You’ll need to keep the VoIP adaptor switched on at all times to give you uninterrupted phone service.
What are the Benefits of a Home VoIP Business Landline?
The benefits you get from VoIP at home are the same as in an office environment:
- Cost-effective calling
- A scalable and flexible phone system
- Easy to use with plenty of options.
The system features that come with VoIP will support and enhance your home business telephone system:
- Call handling
- Call recording
- Multi-site capability
- Flexible geographic numbers.
It’s easy to scale your communications up (or down). You might start out small, with just one or two people operating from home, but then up your staff count. The system will grow with you.
And you can enjoy the benefits of virtual landlines, virtual conference calls and other supported services.
Home or Office?
The distinction between home and office is blurring, but you should keep up a good standard of professional communications wherever you’re working.
Using VoIP or a virtual landline gives you all the benefits and support of a business landline system but without upfront investment or expensive running costs.
Why settle for running your business communications on anything less than a totally professional basis?
Modern, digital telephony can give you what you need, but also provide you with the scope to develop your communications alongside your enterprise.