Google Voice is a “telephony service that provides call forwarding and voicemail services, voice and text messaging, as well as US and international call termination services for Google Account customers.”
Google Voice may seem like a good service to have for your business; it compiles messages, lowers phone costs, and seems to make things simpler, but it can actually make something as easy as answering the phone much more complicated.
Voicemail is tricky with Google Voice
All voicemails go to one inbox. This may seem concise, but actually it makes checking messages more complicated. If your company has many employees and receives phone calls often, one person may spend a lot of time checking messages and relaying those messages to the right employees.
One voicemail box may also eliminate privacy. If someone calls for the owner about a subject that is meant to remain private for a period of time, one voicemail increases the risk that other employees could hear the information.
It could also cause missed sales opportunities. If the company forgets to check the voicemails regularly, a potential lead could get frustrated and find another company. One of our clients recently almost had an “uh oh” moment with Google Voice. This client is now on a managed services solution with us, but they also have an old dormant Google Voice number still floating around the web. They hadn’t checked their Google Voice voicemail in a while, so the owner just happened to check it a few days ago. There was a message left by a high quality lead, and it would have been missed had he not checked the voicemail. This potential accident would not have occurred if the message had been left on a main line or a sales employee’s personal answering machine.
Answering the phone with Google Voice isn’t any easier
Having one phone number may cause confusion among the office. With everyone running around all day, messages and missed phone calls may not be reported. If each person has an individual phone number and voicemail, this eliminates that problem. It costs a little bit more, but it’s worth it to make sure that your business runs smoothly. It’s not an expensive endeavor either if you employ a managed services solution.
Although Google Voice can be forwarded to several people on your team, this doesn’t eliminate the problem that occurs with most calls. One of the 5 people who answered it via their personal cell phone, is not the person the caller is looking for. So you have people handing off their cell phones because of no clear way to transfer the call. It’s just plain clunky for a small growing team.
If you do have Google Voice, be sure to check it at least once a week and use any of the bells and whistles to manage your voice needs.
If you’ve outgrown Google Voice like our new client, then consider our managed services plan. If you’d like to talk to a technology specialist, fill out the form and we will get back with you as soon as possible.
