Talkroute is a 2013 start-up founded by Paul L. Howes, that’s raised USD 500,000 in funds so far. Its flagship solution is a cloud-hosted virtual phone manager that combines existing phone services and software-based features in a single platform.
Talkroute aims to turn your smartphone into a true business telephony system, replacing cumbersome hardware and call-centre fragmentation with the convenience of mobile. Talkroute is great for small-to-mid-sized businesses as it requires minimal investment, and can be scaled rapidly.
Let’s now review Talkroute’s business telephony system in more detail.
Inside Talkroute
Onboarding your business on Talkroute is pretty simple. You can choose a local or toll-free number – or even transfer an existing business line if you have one available (currently Talkroute supports businesses in the US and Canada). Next, you can add your employees to the Talkroute account, granting different levels of permission. You can assign an account administrator to govern the entire system. Talkroute lets you configure the multiple settings of your business phone. After this, you’re ready to take calls on any device and also on the move.
Here is a review of Talkroute’s primary features:
- Phone numbers – You can opt for local numbers to specifically talk to a regional customer base. There’s also toll-free calling if you have a national audience. Talkroute supports vanity numbers to make your brand part of every customer interaction. But what we liked best was the ability to take your number with you if you ever choose to opt-out of Talkroute
- Call forwarding & routing – Talkroute bills this as their biggest USP, letting you schedule call forwards so that you’re always connected. You can forward to either a single or multiple phone; again, supported carriers are limited to US and Canada
- Text messages – SMS is a critical part of any customer support function, and Talkroute covers all the bases with its text messaging feature. You can send messages, reply to inbound messages, and even convert SMS communication into an e-mail. We think this will significantly boost the convenience of SMS conversations
- Call menu – Detailed menus let your customers self-serve their requests and directly access the relevant department. You can create multiple departments in your menu, add sub-menus to offer more choices, and you could turn the menu into an agent directory. If you’re working with a small team, you can assign each agent a different menu option and route calls directly to their phone. Importantly, an option may lead to a customised audio recording or voicemail as well
- Mobile apps – In conjunction with the forwarding capacity, apps make Talkroute ideal for a mobile workforce – think healthcare, sales, and governmental agencies. There is provision for both iOS and Android apps – but you could also use Talkroute without downloading the mobile app. This feature turns your personal device into a business telephone, without revealing your phone number. Needless to say, tasks such as call management and voicemail access are available on the app.
- Audio prompt – This, we felt, was a unique feature and one that would prove particularly useful for small businesses. Talkroute comes with an audio library that lets you quickly set up your account. You can either record or upload your own audio, use default music/sounds from the Talkroute library, or leverage Talkroute’s Voice Studio for professional assistance
Why Talkroute Makes a Difference
Talkroute has a lot going for it, starting from its careful coverage of basic telephony features to value-added services such as audio prompts and mobile support. Talkroute has paid special attention to user needs, with a robust hour of operations feature, permission-granting tools, and omni-channel access to voicemail.
Talkroute’s reporting suite is also quite sophisticated. All incoming and outgoing calls can be analysed through a detailed call history. You can view the specific path for every call, and all of this data can be quickly exported to a CSV file for later audits and analysis.
What We Think
The verdict is clear: Talkroute is simple, feature-rich, and designed to add value to your everyday operations. It’s proved to be a favourite among multi-location retail chains, like the UPS Store and 24-Hour Fitness. This is largely owing to its easy onboarding and mobile capabilities – not to mention, smart localisation as per city-specific requirements.
If this sounds like an attractive proposition, you can get started at just USD 19 per month, including one free number, unlimited calling, 500 SMSs, and one voicemail box.
