Today, it’s not uncommon for even the smallest companies to conduct business globally. Whether your customers are abroad or you have remote teams as part of your workforce, many companies have the need to collaborate from great distances. Most companies rely on conference call services to bring them closer to their clients or their remote offices. However, conference calls can be challenging internationally.
Joining a conference call hosted in the United States can burden your international customers with international toll charges they incur by dialing an international number. Or if you have global teams to collaborate with, fees associated with conference calling could skyrocket. In addition to the expense, phone numbers from other countries can feel long, burdensome and unfamiliar to international callers increasing the likelihood of dialing errors and meetings that start late.
An elegant and simple way to solve the problem is to provide numbers in each locale you conduct business in and then tie them together. We refer to this as tied lines. The idea would be, for example, if you’re doing business in the UK and France, but your office is located in the US, you would get a number in the UK, one in France and “tie” them both to your US number. When people in the UK join the call, they will dial a local UK number and be connected to the same conference call as the callers who called the US phone number. France participants would call a local number in France.
The benefits of tied lines can be a significant advantage for virtual teams. Customers no longer need to incur international calling fees since the numbers they call are local. Even better, with a service like Branded Bridge Line, most international numbers are included in your conference calling plan which means you don’t pay international calling fees either. All participants would be calling numbers in the format they are accustomed to dialing and would no longer need to remember country codes and exit codes for accessing your conference bridge.
Tying lines together is simple. When you add a line to your Branded Bridge Line account, you will be prompted with a question asking if the new number is a standalone number or tied. If you indicate you’d like to tie the line, just select the line you’d like to tie it to and you’re all set. You can also go to your line configurations and tie a line there. If you’d like help tying lines or have more questions, chat with us live from our website, email us or call 888-774-6990.
There are no fees for tying lines together. So enjoy your free lunch and avoid international calling fees.
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