How Virtual PBX Helps SMBs Project Large

While there are many reasons why small businesses should use VoIP services, one often overlooked reason is for the respectability it can create.

Running a small business can be hard, especially during the startup phase. Not only must businesses establish a strong product and compete in the market with few resources, there also is the issue of credibility in many cases. Especially in manufacturing, a small firm often is perceived as less trustworthy if it is a small operation. This can make the business challenge even great for such businesses.

VoIP services such as Nextiva can make a big difference, however.

That’s because VoIP and virtual PBX in particular can help smaller firms project large. Just as a small business can stand tall with larger firms by having a professional website, so too can look the part with phone service by using a virtual PBX system.

Toll-free numbers have long been associated with big business, and for a long time this made sense: Only larger firms could afford the hassle and costs of toll-free phone numbers. With VoIP and virtual PBX, however, even small firms can now represent themselves with toll-free, 1-800 number calling.

Likewise, telephone directory services have long been a feature of medium and large businesses. Dial one for sales, two for marketing, or enter the extension of the party you want to reach, we’ve all been told. When we call and have direct dial with the owner of a business, however, we know we’re dealing with a mom-and-pop shop like a local florist or car repair shop.

Virtual PBX hides the size of a business, however. Even small businesses can now easily have directory services through virtual PBX, and it is easy to set up directory services for various “departments” even if those departments all resolve back to the same handful of employees.

Further, virtual PBX helps knit together small businesses that are built around the freelance economy now taking shape. You can use virtual PBX systems to have the “sales department” extension dial into the phone of a partner business that handles your sales operation, for instance, even alerting the partner during the transfer that the call is in response to your business. In this way you can stitch together freelance and part-time workers from around the globe as if they were full-time employees working out of the same office.

Small businesses have enough challenges without the added burden of respectability. VoIP and virtual PBX in particular helps smaller firms avoid some of this challenge.

Edited by Maurice Nagle