Advanced Call Forwarding Archives - United World Telecom Knowledgebase

How to Ring Multiple Phones at the Same Time | Simultaneous Ringing

Caller experience is important for the success of any business. When customers call for inquiries or customer support, they expect quick and accurate resolutions. And simultaneous ring is one such tool to help your business meet these expectations.

What is Simultaneous Ring?

Simultaneous ring or simultaneous ringing is a feature that rings multiple phones with one number. This is a call routing strategy that lets incoming calls ring on multiple devices so that the next available customer service rep or employee can answer the phone quickly.

With this feature, you can have calls ring on office phones, smartphones, remote workers’ phones, etc. However, the caller is not aware of where the call is being answered. They simply dial your business phone number, even if it routes to a remote employee’s cell phone.

Simultaneous Ring will ring several different phone numbers at the same time. The ringing stops when the call gets answered.

How to Set up Simultaneous Ring

Please follow these instructions to set up simultaneous ring:

1. Log in to your control panel.

2. Click My Phone Numbers on the left-hand side of the page.

3. Click on the Settings Icon line that you want to modify.
settings icon

4. Click on the Advanced Routing tab.

ring multiple lines

5. Under Forwarding Rules, select Go to Rules.

multiple rules

6. Create a new rule for your desired results.

ring multiple phones

By default, you will be able to ring up to ten phones at the same time. However, this number can be increased as you wish. Please contact your account manager for increased simultaneous ring capacity.

5 Benefits of Simultaneous Ringing

Simultaneous ring is a common feature for businesses dealing with high call volumes. These companies do not want to miss out on important calls or keep their callers on hold for long. And so, simultaneous ringing is a convenient option. Use this feature when call traffic is especially high and turn off, when not needed.

1. Calls Automatically Route to Designated Lines or Numbers

You can set up pre-determined rules for your call routing needs. Decide where you want calls to ring and during what periods of time. Then, incoming calls will automatically ring on these lines and devices. You don’t have to re-do or reprogram the settings unless you want to make small adjustments, such as adding or removing a device.

2. Achieve Greater Mobility and Flexibility without Missing Calls

Since different lines and devices can be added, you can include various employees within your ring groups. These employees may include:

  • Employees in the main office
  • Employees in satellite offices
  • Remote workers
  • Virtual assistants or receptionists
  • Call center outsourcing services
  • Answering services

By doing so, you can increase the chances of all calls being answered without long wait periods.

3. Reduce the Number of Abandoned Calls

Most businesses that bank on customer service for growth and success face the common issue of abandoned calls. These are customers who called for sales or customer service needs and hung up because:

  • They were made to wait for too long
  • Got transferred from one agent to another, or
  • Had to deal with an automated system without the option to speak with a representative

Simultaneous ring can help reduce these abandoned calls by increasing the chances of the calls being answered.

4. Feel the Combined Power of Ring Groups and Line Hunting

Simultaneous ringing works by ringing multiple lines or ring groups. Line hunting or sequential forwarding, on the other hand, has the call run through a sequence of agents to get to the next agent. However, with advancements in VoIP phone systems, you can use both ring groups and line hunting together to create a powerful communication system that will help you tackle common customer service complaints.

5. Improve Caller Experience & Customer Satisfaction

Finally, you can use simultaneous ring in conjunction with other advanced communication tools to enhance caller experience and offer better customer service. For businesses that thrive on customer relations, these features can help with increasing first call resolutions rates, lowering abandoned call rates, and increasing customer happiness.

Lower Missed Call Rates with Simultaneous Ring

You can get simultaneous ringing with any Global Call Forwarding phone number plan. This feature comes with additional communication tools such as sequential forwarding (line hunting), international call forwarding, and more. Call us today to see how our features and services can benefit your specific business!

How to Configure Time of Day Routing | Time of Day Routing

Looking for ways to improve how your business offers customer service? Make your company accessible during off-hours by using time-of-day routing.

What Is Time-Based Routing?

The time-of-day routing feature enables you to forward calls to different destinations depending on the time of day or the day of the week. This means that you can have calls routed to the main office, satellite offices, remote workers, or your home office during off-hours or the weekends, and so on.

How to Set up Time of Day Routing

Here is how to set up time-based routing in six easy steps.

1. Log in to your control panel.

2. Click My Phone Numbers  on the left-hand side of the dashboard.

3. Click on the Settings Icon on the  line that you would like to modify.
settings icon

Underneath Call Forwarding, click Advanced Routing.

time of day routing

Adjust the Forwarding Rules according to your preferences. Changes will take effect based on the Activity Time Zone that you chose (under the General tab). By default, it is set to the US Eastern time zone.

time of day setting

rules and settings

4. Click Save Changes.

If a call is received at a day or time combination that is not covered by any rule, the call will automatically go to voicemail, if voicemail is enabled, or rejected otherwise.

4 Time-Based Routing Strategies to Ensure You Never Miss a Phone Call

Let’s look at the top 4 time-based routing strategies you should consider:

1. Routing for After-Hours Calls

Time of day routing allows users to route calls that come in after-hours to specific employees’ or managers’ home offices or to voicemail. This way, after-hours calls from valued customers don’t go unanswered. Furthermore, with the voicemail-to-email feature, you can set incoming voicemails to be delivered to your email that you can check when at home and return those calls the next day.

2. Routing to Satellite Offices and Remote Employees

Most businesses will use time-based routing to distribute calls to satellite offices and remote workers. This is useful during high call traffic periods such as when your company is running promotions and specials or holiday sales. You can use routing strategies to ensure that calls continue moving without long wait times and abandoned calls.

3. Routing to Virtual Assistants or Call Center Outsourcing Companies

Some companies — especially small businesses — use virtual assistants or call center outsourcing companies to handle their customer service needs. With a time of the day routing feature, you can send incoming calls to these services during certain times of the day when you need to use them the most.

4. Routing on Holidays

You can also use time-based routing by having incoming calls made during holidays sent to employees still on-call. These may be top managers and supervisors or remote agents. It is not common for companies to offer customer service during prominent public holidays. And so, your company’s ability to do so will make it stand out and seem more reliable.

Furthermore, if your company is the kind that benefits from holiday seasons such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc., you may experience high call volumes during these periods. Being able to route calls to additional workers or outsourcing companies can be helpful during these times.

 Is Time-Based Routing Right for You?

Set up time-based routing if your business experiences a high call volume that may burden your current employees. As a manager, you can prepare your employees and give them the tools they need to increase conversions and improve customer satisfaction. Want to learn more about call routing strategies, speak with one of our experts today!