My Business Phone Just Got Cheaper and More Powerful with Google Voice

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:27:00 GMT

Google is continuing to have a stranglehold over my life and my business. I fought it for some time, but I've slowly given in to the pusher, taking whatever intoxicating free goodies Google seems to dish out. Yup, I'm hooked. Now I want you to get hooked to... Continue reading and I'll give you 10 good reasons you should consider Google Voice as part of your business phone solution.

My Business Phone Dilemma

As a small business owner, I'm always trying to cut cost. I have a mobile phone but there are two things that stop me from using it in my business.

Privacy - I don't want just anyone to find my number on the web and start calling me on my cell phone.
Professionalism - I'd like to answer and have voicemail that represent my company, but don't need to answer my phone that way when its a personal call.

So my solution was to get Vonage which gave me a dedicated business line for about $30 bucks a month. Its been great, can't complain much. Continue reading and I'll give you 10 good reasons you should consider Google Voice as part of your business phone solution.

1. Google Voice is Free

Like Gmail in the early days, you need an invitation to partake of this Google goodness, but once you get it, its free. Make sure you read through the end of this article and I'll tell you how to get Google Invite, even if you have requested an Google Voice invite and haven't received it yet, I'll tell you how to get your Google Voice invite today! Your gonna love this :)

2. Dedicated Business Number

this is the feature that really sold it for me. The fact that callers can call my cell phone even without knowing its number makes this Google voice feature a marvel to behold. Example your Mom is calling and, so she is directed at your Home Phone and when you’re Boss calls you he is directed to your Office phone. You choose who can call you; you choose what rings a certain phone and what doesn’t. You have utmost freedom when it comes to modifications.

2. Voicemail transcription- It will be easier this time to take note of that contact number left by one of your voicemail callers. The thought of not being able to sort and search throug your voicemail is also long gone. Google voice automatically transcribes your voicemail into text, so it’s like having a voice call with subtitles in it. You can now easily go through your voicemail even if you’re in a rock concert or you just want to do more reading and less listening. Though the conversion of Call Recording to Transcription is does not yet miracles, It has glitches but is constantly being developed by Google. As a Verizon user, the integration of Visual Voicemail and the Transcription both conspire in making everything convenient. Voicemail tasks are never the same again.

3. Personalized greetings- Look forward into a world of automation. When a particular contact calls he/she automatically hears a greeting that is assigned to him. You friends get a, “Hey what’s up?” and for business a “This is Mr. John Smith, leave me a message.”

4. Affordable International calls- Its one of the cheapest way to call people in different parts of the world. What’s nice is that you can call through your mobile that has Google Voice or directly dial a number from a phone with a Droid operating system.

5. SMS to email- You can now receive SMS sent to your phone thru email. What’s nice about this feature is that when you use Google Voice and someone sends you a text message you can reply via SMS, free of charge.
6. Sharing voicemails- Now as easy as 1, 2, 3 you can share your voicemail to any of your contacts. Think of the voice mail that you receive that needed to be relayed to someone else. In Google Voice you can just select share and in a minute or two you can relay the voicemail. Fast and easy.

7. Screen callers- Remember old answering machines in the movies? It works like this. When someone calls you, you will have the chance to whether receive the call or just continue listening to him/her while he/she leaves a message. That way you can decide whether to accept the call now or leave it for later.

8. Google Voice Available in Mobile- What makes Google Voice different is its mobility; it is compatible to Blackberry, Iphone and Android Powered Phones. Also people do not usually recognize that you are calling on a computer or a phone, in Google Voice you won’t notice the difference. You can bring the Google Voice Widget anytime and anywhere. Sadly the application has limited compatibility to other smart phones, which is one sad realization.

9. Easy Conference calls- The complicated steps of memorizing special codes to have these kinds of calls have been simplified by Google Voice. You can just call contacts and join them in your conference. Whether you need to discuss the next project or its just friends missing each other, rest assured that lines are crystal clear This is most especially needed when you are on the go.

Leverage the Web

My Business Phone Just Got Cheaper and More Powerful with Google Voice

My Business Phone Dilemma

1. Google Voice is Free

2. Dedicated Business Number

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