small businesses achieve larger presence with feature-rich, affordable hosted phone system
SAN JOSE, CALIF. and NORTH OGDEN, UTAH(May 22, 2006) – According to Yoga Journal’s latest “Yoga in America” survey, over 16.5 million people in the U.S. practice yoga, up almost 30 percent from 2002. The same study cites that Americans spend $2.95 billion each year on yoga classes and products. Given yoga’s rise in popularity, instructors and studio owners are evolving the way they deliver services to their clients
Yoga Jo’s Studio of North Odgen, Utah has seen a similar rise in interest, and needed a way to keep its existing and potential clientele informed of available classes, hours of operation and directions to the studio. Owner Jo Canfield, a 7-year yoga veteran, also wanted an easier way to route calls and manage voicemails.
“We were using the local phone company for our voicemail system,” said Canfield. “I found it impossible to leave an adequate outgoing message, one that included the information that our callers needed. I spent much of my morning returning calls that could have been handled by an informative outgoing message.”
After seeing an advertisement for an Internet-based answering service, Canfield realized her business needed a change, and she began researching telecommunications options and companies. After much comparison, she chose Virtual PBX, inventor of the hosted PBX service. The Virtual PBX® is a system that provides the features of a high-end phone system, without the technology investment and complexity.
virtual pbx® soho gives small businesses a larger presence
Canfield explored the variety of service levels offered by Virtual PBX, and chose the Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) service. Designed to give even the smallest business the professional image normally reserved for large corporations, the SOHO PBX service resolved the studio’s outgoing message problems. The service offers a custom auto-attendant greeting crafted by in-house voice professionals, or recorded by the user.
“I now spend five minutes checking voicemail, and can focus on running my business, and helping my clientele and instructors with yoga,” said Canfield. “I use the email feature almost exclusively to check my voicemail. It’s very easy to manage, and I can quickly email messages to instructors, rather than having to track them down.”
Virtual PBX SOHO includes as standard many high-end features that would incur additional fees from other services. Users can project a powerful, professional image with TrueACD™ queuing, dial-by-name directory, music or information on hold, and integrated conferencing. Calls can be routed to any phone, anywhere, creating a virtual office.
virtual pbx eliminates the need for costly equipment
Virtual PBX’s service eliminates the need to purchase and manage expensive phone systems. With no on-premises equipment to buy, install or maintain, customers only need telephones and lines. Virtual PBX’s SOHO service has an initial setup cost of $25, whereas current industry estimates indicate that a hardware PBX system has an up-front capital cost of $500 to $2,000 per user for the PBX, installation, initial support, telephones and lines.
“Some might be surprised that a small business like ours would benefit from a hosted PBX system,” said Canfield. “They’d also be surprised to learn that, whereas we were spending $100 per month for voicemail from the local phone system, with Virtual PBX, we are now paying only $25 per month, including all our phone calls. The service and customer support have been excellent.”
“A professional phone system can go a long way in improving the service a small business delivers to its customers,” said Greg Brashier, vice president of marketing, Virtual PBX. “It can also save the small business owner time and can help manage communications. Yoga Jo’s has seen the changes in its industry and is evolving its business practices to better serve a growing clientele.”
about yoga jo’s studios, inc.
Yoga Jo’s Studios was founded in 2002 by Jo Canfield, a certified yoga teacher with over seven years of experience. The studio is located at 2120 N. Washington Blvd., North Ogden, Utah 84414. For more information, call 801-737-1667 or go to https://www.yogajosstudio.com/index.htm.
about virtual pbx
Virtual PBX® pioneered the hosted PBX market, introducing the first service of its class in 1997. Virtual PBX utilizes the public switched telephone network and the internet to provide PBX functionality as a hosted service. The three primary customers for Virtual PBX services include small businesses that want full PBX functionality without the capital and support expense of installed equipment; companies of any size that need to route calls to telecommuters or other employees outside of a main office; and enterprises looking for phone system disaster recovery solutions. Additional information about Virtual PBX can be found at virtualpbx.com or by calling 888-825-0800.
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VirtualPBX.com®, Virtual PBX®, and VirtualPBX® are registered trademark VirtualPBX.com, Inc.
Media Contacts:
Tim Shisler/Corey Oiesen
Dovetail Public Relations
(408) 395-3600
tim@dovetailpr.com
coreyo@dovetailpr.com
Greg Brashier
VP of Marketing
VirtualPBX.com, Inc.
(888) 825-0800 x333
greg.brashier@virtualpbx.com
