In the world of ecommerce, dropshipping and order fulfillment companies are often debated or incorrectly referred to interchangeably—but their differences make a direct comparison tricky. While they both offer solutions for merchants seeking outsourced fulfillment services, they apply to entirely different business models: Dropshipping is when sellers partner with manufacturers and suppliers to accept orders…
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What Is Call Filtering: A Small Business Guide
Filtering calls gives users control over who can reach your business. The technology enables users to accept, decline, route, and block specific numbers, preventing spam and forwarding calls based on preferences. This guide answers what is call filtering and what it means to filter calls to help you optimize its use to improve productivity, lower…
What Is an Auto-attendant Phone System? Our Small Business Guide
An auto-attendant is a popular voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) feature that transfers incoming callers to the right agent or department without needing a phone operator. This voice menu system allows companies to lessen wait times and manage large-scale call volumes. With its self-service functions, callers can get the help they need through touch-tone dialing, giving agents more…
What Is Call Masking & Its Benefits for Small Businesses?
Call masking, or number masking, refers to the voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) feature that hides phone numbers to protect the call participants’ contact information. Aside from promoting privacy, this tool lets companies establish a local presence, as it displays a local caller ID, making call recipients more responsive. Different organizations use number masking in everyday communications, including…
What Is a Softphone? The Small Business Guide
A softphone is software installed on a computer or a smartphone allowing the device to make and receive calls online. It benefits businesses in many ways, including cost savings, reduced need for equipment, and remote work support. The robust features of softphones help teams efficiently manage calls, including call transfer, visual voicemails, and video calling….
What Is Call Tracking? A Small Business Guide
Call tracking is the process of assigning unique phone numbers to ad campaigns to determine which marketing tactics are driving the phone calls. Aside from helping businesses measure the effectiveness of strategies, call tracking software offers robust customer data, including their location and demographics. Here, we answer the questions “What is call tracking?” and “How…
What Is SIP Trunking? A Comprehensive Guide for Small Business
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) trunking is a communication protocol for sending and receiving communications over the internet through private branch exchange (PBX) equipment. The most common applications for SIP are voice and video calls and instant messaging over internet protocol (IP) networks. This technology enables your on-premise phone system to benefit from unified communications (UC)…
Search Engine Marketing Guide for Small Businesses
Search engine marketing (SEM) involves tactics for increasing website visibility and traffic using paid digital ads and search engine optimization (SEO). Explore our small business search engine marketing guide to learn how it works, what’s involved, and the tactics you need to employ for success, including the best options should you need expert help. Get…