Do you remember the good old days where you had to listen to annoying music for ages while waiting for a receptionist to put you through to the right person? Or those times when you had to enter numbers, hashes, and who knows what else to get through to a consultant? It’s not exactly the best example of a streamlined customer experience, is it?
Well, unfortunately, many businesses still use those systems today. If you’re one of those, it’s time you get a DID number. You can use it to save time, money, enhance your customer service, and improve your marketing efforts.
But what is a DID number, and how does it work? Let’s take a look.
What is a DID (Direct Inward Dialing) Number?
So, what is a DID or Direct Inward Dialing number? Although it looks like any standard telephone number, a DID, also called a DDI in Europe, is a virtual number that allows customers or clients to dial directly to a specific phone or person in a business.
As such, they don’t need to go through a menu, dial an extension, or wait for a switchboard operator to divert them to the right place.
How Does a DID Number Work?
There are essentially two ways in which DID works. One way is through Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) lines and the other is through Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP), which we will be focusing on in this post.
Using direct dial numbers over VoIP is possible through SIP trunking. You don’t have any physical lines with a VoIP system but only virtual links across a network.
SIP, in turn, works as an intermediary between your phone system and the Internet Telephony Service Provider (ITSP). These connections are available only when you need them.
One of the main benefits of this is that you can configure virtual connections yourself and the numbers are assigned to the different lines through a software platform.
For example, if you want to set up a few extra lines for a marketing campaign, you can easily do it yourself and there’s no need to wait for a telephone company to allocate numbers for you. This not only means that DID on VoIP is convenient, but this capability also makes it highly scalable.
What is a DID Number Used For?
Generally, a DID number is used to provide local telephone numbers for businesses that deal with phone calls from customers worldwide or to provide access to non-PSTN services like VoIP.
It also makes telephony easier to manage. This is because, with DID, it’s possible to assign personal numbers to every employee in a business without requiring physical phone lines to each of them.
Also, DID numbers used with VoIP allow you to route incoming calls to remote workers, route them to a CRM, create conference or video calls, and put incoming calls through to cell phones.
Benefits of Direct Inward Dialing
Now that you know what DID is and how it works let’s look at some of the benefits you’ll enjoy when using it.
1. Cost savings
When you use a unique DID number for employees in your business, you’ll reduce the number of trunk lines you need to connect in your business’s telephone system.
Also, when you use DID in conjunction with a VoIP system, you’re able to forward DIDs to different offices or even continents. This, ultimately, brings about significant cost savings, especially if your business has offices globally.
2. Time savings
With DID, calls are routed to the specific person in your business directly, without callers needing to go through a receptionist or phone menu. This saves you and the caller’s time.
Also, it’s easier for customers to follow up on requests when their agent has a unique number that they can dial.
When used with VoIP, you don’t have to wait for days or weeks for a telephone company to allocate numbers to you; you can configure them yourselves.
3. Better customer experience
Because customers can reach employees or agents easily without going through a switchboard or phone menu, it greatly improves the customer experience (CX).
Additionally, because you’re able to forward calls to cell phones or other temporary numbers, customers will always be able to get a hold of you.
4. Improves team communication
DID enables employees to contact team members via a dedicated number even if they’re not at the office. This means they’ll be able to reach them even if they’re in different buildings, cities, or even countries. And, with the ability to easily create videoconferences, you’ll improve your team’s communication even further.
5. Flexibility
When you use DID numbers, you get to control where and when your business receives calls. This gives you more flexibility and a robust telecommunications solution for your business.
6. Using DID for Marketing
With DID, you’re able to assign different phone numbers to different marketing campaigns. This means that callers get to speak to the right person instantly and that you’re able to track the performance of your marketing campaigns. When you track your marketing campaigns, you’ll know how to improve them.
How to Get a DID Number
If you want a robust telecommunications solution for your business that promises to save you time and money and improve your customer experience, you must get a DID number.
Thus, you’ll ensure that your customers, vendors, and suppliers have a way to reach you without going through long phone menus or waiting for ages for a receptionist to put them through.
It’s simple, once you have DID set up, you’ll be able to enhance your customer service performance and gain a competitive advantage in your industry.To get a DID number or simply find out more, visit ULTATEL.com or contact us for more details.
