Over the last few years, more and more people are setting up shop from their own homes – literally. The Telegraph reported that 8 million people in the UK alone are running an online business from their home. With low overhead and the incredible success of online market places, there’s little wonder as to why people might go down this route. For these types of businesses, a business phone line can make a huge difference to the company’s bottom line.
Advantages of Having a Business Phone Line
Many people might think that it would be easier to conduct their business via their home line or even their mobile phone as usual. While this may be true, it’s also true that there are many advantages to using a separate business line for anything work related.
1 – Professionalism
Using a separate business line means you can present a more professional appearance to your clients. It also means that the kids are less likely to start talking about Peppa Pig to a potential investor.
With a product such as RingCentral business phone, small business owners are able to access their business calls, contacts and any other valuable business information they may need from their smartphone, tablet or home computer at the tap of a button from anywhere in or out of the house. This means that customer see a stable business number that they find trustworthy, but business owners have the freedom to take their business calls professionally, from any location they choose.
2 – Tax deductible
The cost of phone calls that are used for business purposes are tax deductible. One of the easiest ways to qualify for this deduction is to use a specifically dedicated phone line just for business. This is much easier for all parties to see exactly how much money was spent throughout the year on business phone calls. Using the regular house landline or a mobile would make it harder to distinguish between business and personal calls and therefor harder, if not impossible to deduct the cost from the business owner’s taxes.
3 – More Accessible for Customers
Many companies offer toll-free numbers which allow your customers to contact you more easily. In the online market place where many duplicate items are sold everyday, customer service is quite often the deciding factor for many customers. Being able to reach a company and speak to somebody about a problem without being charged for the phone call is a huge positive in the eyes of a customer.
4 – Keep things Clear Cut
A dedicated phone line for a business helps to differentiate customers from friends and family. For the small business owner or entrepreneur, having a separate business phone will help them to split work and social activities so that one doesn’t confuse the other. It will also help those who run their business from home to be able to ‘switch off’ at the end of the day and keep to regular work hours if that’s what they desire.
With a clear defining line between work and social life, business owners can become more focused on each area when they need to be.
What Kind of Business Phone Line to Choose?
While the internet has done wonders for small shop owners, VoIP has done wonders for anyone who wants a simple, easy-to-use business phone system. Costs are cut with VoIP phones making a whole business phone system setup both easy and affordable for businesses of all sizes. Rates tend to be far cheaper than traditional landlines, and the freedom that business owners can experience through using such a system is good for business. Cloud phone services such as RingCentral Business Phone offer systems that benefit both the business and the customer. Businesses can benefit from all the complex functionality of a business line with multiple calls, call forwarding, and working with multiple users in different locations etc.
In today’s world, there is no need for businesses to be tied down to a costly landline. But there is still very much a need for a business number.
Business Numbers Are Still Just As Important
Nowadays with so much emphasis being placed on social media and email marketing, it’s easy to forget the power of a good phone conversation. But the fact is that most people still prefer to have a conversation over the telephone with a real person. Picking up the telephone to customers and answering their queries in a professional manner is a crucial part of both customer service and the sales process for any business.
To Conclude
Business phone lines help business owners become more organised and appear more professional to their customers. With the advancement in technology, there is no longer any need for small business owners to fear a costly and lengthy installation process. The ROI on a business phone line has the potential to be huge.
