The outbreak of Covid-19 (‘Coronavirus’) affects us all, hitting entrepreneurs especially hard. The accessibility of organizations is also under pressure, for example, because employees are working from home. Belfabriek has received many requests from customers wanting to redirect calls to mobile numbers. Moreover, more organizations are opting for virtual call centers, and we are setting up many coronavirus-related emergency and information lines.

Exploring Solutions

To help you stay reachable—it’s possible!—we explain the (im)possibilities in this series of articles. This way, you can explore remote work solutions and/or virtual call teams. Since some new customers may not be fully familiar with virtual numbers, this article focuses on the basics. What are virtual numbers? How do they differ from ‘normal’ numbers? And why do virtual numbers have extra value right now?

Virtual Numbers

Since 2000, Belfabriek has been offering virtual numbers (also known as ‘service numbers’). Have you ever called an 0800 or 0900 number? Chances are that the call was routed through us. The same goes for calls to 085 and 088 numbers. These numbers (nationally accessible, local rate) are also virtual and provided by Belfabriek.

Call Traffic Distribution

For all (0800, 0900, 085, and 088) virtual numbers, incoming call traffic can be distributed among locations or employees. Think of people working in the office or colleagues working from home. If a colleague has a mobile or landline phone, we can forward calls. This can also be done via a PC—no phone required. A major advantage is that call traffic is distributed ‘on demand,’ for example, based on time or call volume. Moreover—more on this in later articles—you have access to advanced options with a virtual number. Think of queues, announcements (‘Due to the coronavirus, our store is closed’), and more. All without a telephone exchange.

Recent Cases

Here are two examples of solutions we recently implemented:

Remote Work Solution

An existing client used one virtual number with four devices at one location. Unfortunately, they were forced to work from home. Forwarding the number to ‘one’ employee was not an option. What if multiple customers called at the same time? Our service desk created a virtual call group that handles calls in order of priority. Two sales employees handle the first calls on their mobile phones. If it gets busier, calls are routed to colleagues. Thanks to a pre-announcement tone, employees hear a chime for business calls. This ensures they know it’s a business call and prevents ‘wrong’ answers.

Humanitas Stays Reachable!

The Humanitas Foundation urgently needed to set up an information line for 35 employees. And it happened. Within an hour, a new number was activated, and a virtual call team was created. To minimize setup time, callers were initially connected to Humanitas employees’ mobile phones. Employees have since installed a ‘softphone’ on their computers. The PC is now a fully functional phone. If an employee is unavailable, for example, to teach their kids, they can log out via the Belfabriek app.

Do These Solutions Help You?

For existing customers: we make changes free of charge, even in the evenings and on weekends. Emergency numbers can even be adjusted at night if necessary. Not a customer but looking for a solution to stay reachable during this difficult time? Get in touch!

We wish you strength and good health. #strongertogether