Be Local to Your Customers No Matter Where You Are

Sponsored by ConXhub.

Is your small business ready to win business away from larger companies? Barcelona Metropolitan spoke with CEO of ConXhub Mark Trowbridge for insights on how small businesses can enhance their image, operate more efficiently and gain coveted customers.

What Is ConXhub?

ConXhub is a mobile-first communication system that allows you to put your business phone numbers onto your personal mobile phone. This means you can take calls on your mobile without having to give out your personal mobile number; it makes you look bigger and more reliable to your customers; it means you can be local to your customers and it means you offer a much better environment for communications to your customers.

Why Is It Important to Be Local to Customers? What Does That Mean?

Nowadays people rarely pick up a phone call from an unrecognized number, and they are even less likely to pick up a call from an international number or number that is not local to them. Having a mobile number that does not tell anybody where you are calling from makes it highly unlikely your target will pick up your call.

You have a much better chance of connecting with a prospective client if your number is local. When you use a local number, you have a 78% better chance of your call being picked up. Of course identity is very important. So, if you can identify yourself with a local phone number to your community then you have a much better chance of winning that business over the competition.

Why Shouldn’t You Use Your Own Personal Number?

There are so many reasons you should not use your personal phone number. You may have had phone calls in the middle of the night without knowing who is calling—such unexpected calls can be very annoying. Often we let them go to voicemail or block them.

However, such a call could have been a big piece of business coming your way. There are also a lot of issues now around the world with phone numbers being hacked and used in scams. It is essential to keep your mobile numbers safe.

I am very lucky because I use ConXhub to avoid these risks. My personal mobile number is only known by about seven people, so what I do is I give people a business number and use other numbers for my social media that allow my personal number to remain private—completely private—and in this world that is  paramount.

Does ConXhub Offer Call Forwarding?

It does! Call forwarding has been around for a long time and for small businesses it is essential. For example, if you are unable to answer an incoming phone call, ConXhub can reroute that call to a colleague, an answering service or your voicemail. Call forwarding can manage those calls that you might otherwise not take. This helps you cover all the bases if, for example, you are on holiday for a couple of weeks and your business is dependent on responding quickly to calls from your customers. You can continue to offer professional service by allowing those calls to be handled by someone within your business.

How Does ConXhub Enhance Your Image If You Are Small or a Freelancer?

ConXhub helps tremendously if you do not want to appear you are too small to handle a big client.

Image is crucial, especially nowadays. Yet so many people are still advertising on Facebook, Google and on their websites using a mobile phone number. This instantly tells your potential purchaser that you are a one-man band and plants the seed that you may be too small to handle their needs.

How Can ConXhub Help Small Businesses Compete with Larger Businesses?

It is very difficult for you to compete for high value customers when your competition demonstrates they have a landline number and a PBX.

The first thing is to get local numbers. The second part is deciding how those numbers are answered. ConXhub can put in message greetings at the beginning of a phone call, so that when potential clients call they are greeted with a welcome message, such as: “Welcome to ABC Limited. Thank you for your call. Please hold while we connect you.”

That instantly gives a much more powerful and reassuring image, and ConXhub’s PBX system (which is mobile first based, not a VoIP system) is centered around your mobile. Your mobile phone is at the center of all your communications. ConXhub effectively manages your phone calls so that your customer can be directed to the best people in your organization.

You can learn more about ConXhub at conxhub.com and you can follow on social media for the latest updates on Twitter @ConXhub, Facebook @ConXhub, Instagram @ConXhub, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Sponsored by ConXhub.