Before cloud communications existed, expanding globally was costly and challenging. It required businesses to establish offices or headquarters in each of their target countries – leading to high overhead costs. And this was typically a luxury that only enterprises could afford. But, thanks to advancements in virtual technology, global expansion is now affordable and accessible for all businesses – big or small.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how cloud communication enables expansion and how you can use it to grow your company’s international presence.
How Cloud Telephony Works
So, how does this cloud-based technology make global expansion possible for businesses?
Cloud telephony uses voice over internet protocol (VoIP) technology that digitally transmits your calls over an IP network. In other words, it allows you to make and receive business calls using the internet.
Since this technology works through an internet connection, it is not tied to a specific device or location – meaning your teams can initiate and answer calls from anywhere. So, your business can use cloud communication to enter new markets and connect with overseas customers without increasing your overhead costs.
The Benefits
More and more businesses are migrating to a cloud-based communication system because of its many benefits. Let’s take a look at the top 5 benefits it offers.
- Access cost-savings – save on the costs of opening new offices, developing a physical presence, and even on long-distance and international calling rates.
- Adaptable to your business’ evolving needs – scale your cloud phone service up or down according to your needs, without altering your entire network.
- Make and receive better quality calls – achieve high call quality with cloud telephony as it replaces traditional copper lines with digital routes, letting calls travel faster with clearer audio.
- Build an international business network – establish a global business network of customers, clients, vendors, trade links, and more across multiple markets and locations.
- Connect global and remote teams – link teams across multiple locations, including remote employees, with cloud communication’s increased mobility and flexibility.
How You Can Use Cloud Communication to Expand Globally
After reviewing the basics, it’s clear that cloud communication makes it easy for all businesses to expand internationally.
But, how do you actually use this technology to establish your company overseas? Let’s take a look.
Get International Phone Numbers
One excellent and cost-effective way to expand your business globally is to get cloud-based, international phone numbers. Since these numbers use the internet to connect your international calls, you can test out new markets with minimal risk and establish a presence overseas – all without being physically present.
You can get local, national, and toll-free numbers in each of your desired countries. This allows you to connect with locals and access a broader customer base. And these numbers provide your international customers with an easy and familiar way to contact your business.
By simply using international cloud phone numbers, you can grow your business network and your customer base, without increasing your overhead costs.
Customize Call Forwarding and Routing Rules
International call forwarding and routing work in conjunction with international phone numbers. This technology allows you to redirect calls from one destination to another. This means when a customer calls your international number, you can reroute the call to your office headquarters or your remote teams.
This capability offers businesses more flexibility and mobility, as you can forward calls to any location or device. And you can fully customize your routing rules to support your business’ goals, infrastructure, and customer needs.
For instance, imagine you have customers in different time zones across the world. With strategies like time-based or location-based routing, you can offer 24/7 global customer support in the caller’s preferred time zone, region, and language.
With this technology in place, you can not only expand your business’ services and accessibility globally, but also increase customer satisfaction and connect distributed teams.
Use an Outbound Calling Service and Caller ID Management
A cloud-based outbound calling service provides businesses with a simple way to call internationally. This is because cloud communication avoids many international calling restrictions that traditional phone services typically experience.
Most outbound calling services include access to a web phone or softphone – allowing you to make calls from any device. And since these outbound calls travel through the internet, you don’t have to deal with high long-distance or international calling fees.
Look for a service that also offers caller ID management for your outbound calls. With this feature, you can change your outgoing caller ID. So, you can display a local number or your business phone number when calling prospects, customers, or vendors – even when calling from a different device, line, or location. This leads to a higher response rate as your caller ID appears professional and familiar to recipients.
Centralize Call Management
Cloud telephony providers typically offer users a single platform to access and control their business network. But, of course, this function varies among providers.
Most of these control panels exist in the cloud and are accessible from anywhere. As such, remote and distributed users can access your business’ communication system from any device or location.
By using a central call management platform, you unify your widespread teams, improve business communication, increase productivity, and encourage collaboration. To centralize your network, simply select a cloud-based solution that provides all the features you want in one place. Or, use integrations and APIs to build out your current system.
Go Global with Cloud Communications
Using cloud communications simplifies global expansion for all companies. It helps you cut down on the cost and labor of physically establishing your business in multiple countries. So, you can focus on testing new markets, reaching new customers, growing your service, increasing international sales, and building a strong, global business network. Start now; better late than never!
