For small businesses, maintaining business continuity is vital for building customer trust and sustaining growth. Call forwarding is an essential tool that ensures every call is answered.
Whether you're a sole trader, a start-up, or a growing small business, call forwarding can significantly enhance your operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
In this guide, we will highlight the benefits and provide practical instructions for setting up forwarding on various devices.
What Are the Benefits?
Stop Missed Calls and Avoid Losing Sales
Every missed call is a missed opportunity. With call forwarding, you can prevent missed calls and avoid losing potential sales. Put simply, when every call is answered, you’ll capture more leads, and close more sales.
Flexibility for You and Your Employees
One of the standout benefits of call forwarding is the flexibility it offers. Whether you’re in a meeting, travelling, or on holiday, you can manage your calls effectively. This flexibility extends to your employees as well, allowing them to work remotely or outside traditional office hours
Improve Professionalism & Business Continuity
With calls answered promptly, you’ll foster trust and confidence among your customers. In situations like power outages, office relocations, or other disruptions, call forwarding ensures that your business operations remain smooth and your customers can still reach you.
Greater Productivity
Call forwarding can boost productivity by allowing you and your team to focus on core tasks without the constant interruption of missed calls.
How Does It Work?
Understanding the different types of call forwarding can help you choose the right option for your business needs. There are essentially two main types;
Unconditional
This is the most common type of forwarding. It forwards all incoming calls to another number without ringing on the original number.
Conditional
Conditional call forwarding provides greater flexibility to businesses and individuals. It allows you to forward calls based on different circumstances. These include;
- Busy: Forward calls only when your line is busy.
- No Answer: Forward calls when you do not answer after a certain number of rings.
- Not Reachable: Forwards calls when your phone is turned off or doesn't have reception.
Read more: What is conditional call forwarding?
Advanced Features
Modern forwarding services offer a range of advanced features that can further enhance your business communication:
- Sequential Ringing: Rings multiple numbers in a specified order until the call is answered.
- Simultaneous Ringing: Rings multiple numbers simultaneously; the call is connected to the first number that answers.
- Voicemail to Email: Converts voicemail messages to emails, allowing you to access them from anywhere.
- Time-of-Day Routing: Forwards calls based on the time of day, allowing for different forwarding rules during and after business hours.
- iOS: Go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding. Enter the number to which you want to forward calls.
- Android: Go to Phone app > Settings > Calls > Call Forwarding. Enter the forwarding number.
Read more: All you Need to Know About Mobile Call Forwarding
- Dial the code provided by your service provider (usually *72), followed by the number you want to forward calls to.
- To deactivate, dial the deactivation code (usually *73).
- Access your VoIP service portal.
- Navigate to the call forwarding settings and enter the forwarding number.
- iOS: Go to Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding. Enter the number to which you want to forward calls.
- Android: Go to Phone app > Settings > Calls > Call Forwarding. Enter the forwarding number.
Read more: All you Need to Know About Mobile Call Forwarding
- Dial the code provided by your service provider (usually *72), followed by the number you want to forward calls to.
- To deactivate, dial the deactivation code (usually *73).
- Access your VoIP service portal.
- Navigate to the call forwarding settings and enter the forwarding number.
A Growing Consultancy Firm
Situation
A small consultancy firm has experienced growth, leading to an increase in client calls. The team is often in meetings or on-site with clients, making it challenging to answer every call.
Solution
They can redirect incoming calls to a virtual receptionist service by setting up call forwarding. This ensures all client enquiries are handled promptly, maintains a professional image, and prevents missed opportunities.
Benefit
The firm maintains high customer satisfaction by ensuring every call is answered, even during busy periods. This also frees up time for consultants to focus on delivering their core services.
A Tech Start-up
Situation
A tech start-up is engaged in a rapid development cycle and often misses customer support calls during peak hours. They need to stay focused on delivery.
Solution
Call forwarding allows the start-up to forward their calls to an outsourced customer support team during peak hours or when no one is available to answer. They continue to provide a greater customer experience and stay focused on growth.
Benefit
Customers receive timely support, enhancing their experience and reducing the likelihood of lost business. The start-up team can focus on development without constant interruptions.
Call forwarding is an effective way to enhancing your business communication strategy.
It ensures you remain accessible to clients and maintain consistency in your contact details. Here are a few additional tips:
- Utilise Advanced Features: Many services offer advanced features such as sequential ringing, simultaneous ringing, and voicemail to email.
- Monitor Call Analytics: Use call analytics to track call volumes, peak times, and missed calls to optimise your call management strategy.
- Train Your Team: Ensure your team understands how to use call forwarding and knows the importance of maintaining up-to-date contact information.
Is call forwarding safe?
Absolutely, call forwarding is perfectly safe. It's a standard feature offered by most phone mobile networks and is designed to protect your calls. The process simply reroutes your existing calls to a number of your choosing.
What is the difference between call forwarding and call divert?
Call forwarding and call divert are essentially the same; both terms refer to redirecting incoming calls to another number.
Do I get charged for call forwarding?
Yes, charges for call forwarding depend on your mobile network provider and call plan. Typically, you pay for the forwarded call as if you made the call from your phone to the forwarding number.
How do I stop call forwarding?
You can use the cancel code ##002# and press SEND. This code cancels all active call diverts.
Does the phone need to be on for call forwarding?
No, your phone does not need to be on for forwarding to work. Your mobile network manages the settings, so calls can be forwarded even if your phone is off, in airplane mode or out of network service.
Does call forwarding affect outgoing calls?
No, call forwarding does not affect your outgoing calls. It only applies to incoming calls. So you can continue to make calls from your phone as usual, whilst call forwarding is enabled.
Understanding and implementing call forwarding can significantly improve your business's communication efficiency and customer satisfaction. At Answer4u, we're dedicated to helping UK businesses stay ahead in their customer service and sales targets.
If you need further assistance, our expert team is here to provide call handling support and solutions tailored to your needs. We can also provide your business with a local number anywhere in the UK, ensuring you remain accessible to your customers no matter where you are based.
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