Introduction
Business phone services have come a long way from traditional landlines. Today’s voice over internet protocol (VoIP) systems offer flexible cloud-based calling tailored to companies’ needs. As the market matures, distinguishing between top contenders like Google Voice and Grasshopper poses challenges. This article compares their features, use cases, pricing, and support to guide your choice.
Google Voice
Google Voice, launched in 2009, provides an internet-powered phone number for calls, texts, voicemail, and fax services. It routes these through existing landline and mobile numbers without needing additional hardware. We’ll analyze key aspects:
Features
Key features that enable simple business communication include:
Call Forwarding
Google Voice forwards calls to linked US phone numbers regardless of device. Custom rules route calls differently per user or group.
SMS Capabilities
The service supports SMS texts enabling two-way business conversations. However, this only works in the US currently.
Voicemail Transcription
One popular feature automatically transcribes voicemails into text for quick remote access. Accuracy levels are reasonably high.
Spam Call Protection
Google Voice helps identify likely spam calls by showing warnings when the number is reported for spam by other users.
Custom Voicemail Greetings
Users can set customized voicemail greetings for different callers like customers, family or unknown numbers. Greetings help convey brand personality too.
Calendar and Meet Integrations
Other email and productivity integrations include syncing voicemail with Google Calendar events. Google Voice also enables joining Google Meet video meetings.
Pricing & Plans
The basic Google Voice service is free, aimed at consumers rather than extensive business use cases. Paid options focus on enterprise functionality:
Free Version
This works for limited business calling, with budget access to core phone system basics like call forwarding and voicemail transcripts.
Google Workspace Plans
For $20 per user/month with a Google Workspace subscription, the enhanced Google Voice for business tackles more complex calling needs with extra features like multi-level menus, automated attendants, self-service callbacks, etc. International availability also expands.
Use Cases
The free and freemium tiers suits startups and lean teams on tight budgets:
Solo Entrepreneurs
Google Voice meets solo founders and self-employed professionals’ basic communication necessities without significant overheads.
Small Business Economization
Frugal small companies can tap Google Voice for straightforward customer calling and voicemails without investing in expensive PBX hardware.
However, growing enterprises require advanced tools with more customization, integrations and reporting.
Customer Support
Support options lag dedicated business VoIP rivals:
Limited Contact Methods
Google Voice lacks 24/7 live customer service. Users rely on web tickets, community forums and online contact forms for delayed assistance.
Slower Response Times
With no response SLA, users face uncertain wait times for issue resolution. Simple concerns may take over a week.
Self-Service Reliance
The online help center and FAQ aim to resolve common queries without direct support contact. But complex product questions or technical troubleshooting often needs assistance.
Grasshopper
Grasshopper offers a full-featured cloud-based phone service enabling reliable communication. How do its capabilities compare?
Features
Grasshopper equips growing companies with:
Toll-Free & Vanity Numbers
Virtual 800 and local numbers establish professional branding and consumer trust in businesses. Memorable vanity numbers also aid recall.
Virtual Fax & Receptionist
Cloud fax technology securely sends and receives faxes without landline hardware. Customers can speak to a live remote receptionist too.
Smart Call Routing
Intelligent call flows route callers to correct departments or agents using mapped extensions, call groups, hold music and multi-level menus.
Ad-Hoc & Auto Call Recording
Users can manually or automatically record calls forImproving customer service, resolving disputes and training agents.
Business Application Integration
Grasshopper phone numbers sync across devices and third-party platforms like Office 365, G Suite, Zapier, and popular CRM software.
Pricing & Plans
Various pricing tiers cater from fledgling startups to large enterprises:
Solo Plan
$26/month provides one phone number with basic features like call forwarding, auto attendant and voicemail-to-email.
Partner Plan
$44/month for 3 users gets additional numbered extensions, call groups and transfer rules for easy collaboration.
Small Business Plan
$80/month allows unlimited extensions and call handling tools like smart IVRs to represent departments uniquely.
Use Cases
Common small business applications include:
Multiple Departments
Smart call flows, auto attendants and ring groups help companies professionally represent and route customers to relevant areas like sales, support or HR.
Robust Texting
Real phone numbers enabled for SMS and MMS messaging help small businesses text customers and colleagues seamlessly from their existing devices.
Premium Customer Service
Call recording, whisper messages to colleagues and virtual receptionists give startups enterprise-grade support capabilities affordably.
Reliable Cloud Platform
Built-in continuity solutions ensure small firms remain reachable despite internet outages or disasters, cementsing trust.
Customer Support
Grasshopper wins praise for attentive customer service:
Phone & Community Support
Phone, email and 24/7 community chat offer reliable channels for quick responses from knowledgeable representatives.
Intuitive Interface
The user-friendly admin console and desktop/mobile apps minimize learning curves for core calling tasks.
Conclusion
So when choosing business phone providers, smaller teams may get adequate features from Google Voice’s free or freemium tiers based on pure cost savings. However, growing startups needing to professionalize communication will find Grasshopper’s specialty plans and robust customer support provide long-term value on a trusted platform created specifically for entrepreneurs. Reach out to both providers for demos showcasing how easily their VoIP offerings can elevate your branding and efficiency at every business stage.