Expanding Your Business to China with Virtual Phone Numbers

If your business has been looking towards its operations to China, you may be looking at what’s the most efficient way to do so. Thanks to cloud computing technology, there’s a new way to build a business presence: virtual phone numbers. Virtual phone numbers route calls instantly from one location to a number.

This means that if you use Chinese virtual phone numbers, callers in China can reach your business, which can be located anywhere else in the world simply by dialing the number. In this article, we’ll take a look at the advantages of virtual phone numbers in regard to business expansion in China.

How Virtual Phone Numbers Are Better

Cost-Effectiveness: The truth about business expansion, anywhere in the world, is that it costs a significant amount of time, resources, and effort to establish a physical branch office in a new country. China has traditionally been a country that’s resisted foreign influence, or at the very least has tried to steer foreign business towards conducting themselves in an appropriate manner for Chinese citizens. While this has changed significantly in recent years, with businesses flocking to gain a presence due to relaxed regulations, there still are a number of obstacles — i.e. financial, bureaucratic, company ownership — that can hinder your expansion efforts. To give you an idea of what it takes, consult this guide to find out exactly what’s required of foreign entities operating in the country.

With virtual phone numbers, these obstacles are circumvented almost entirely. Simply by subscribing to virtual phone numbers, your business can contact Chinese customers and clients by phone without having to establish a physical presence at all. It is this cost-effectiveness that makes virtual phone numbers a solid choice for business expansion.

Location Specificity: China is a large country, with over 22 provinces and 33 municipalities that each have their own customs, language variances, time-zone differences, and ways of life. This means that if you set up a physical location to do business in China, your business will most likely pick some of the most prominent cities in China [Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Chengdu (in order of largest population)] and not reach some of the lesser-known areas. This means that even if you do succeed in establishing a physical presence in China, your organization still excludes a significant portion of population.

Virtual phone numbers offer a key advantage to this conundrum. Because your business can purchase a virtual phone number from nearly any region of China, your business can tailor its presence based on where it gains traction. Furthermore, if your organization is able to gain trust in a local market, you can then establish a physical presence based on this feedback.

Localization: Chinese culture remains very individualistic, with foreign entities still not fully being accepted by citizens that feel that these companies may dilute Chinese culture. While your business may do its best to blend into the culture or tailor its efforts to correspond to the Chinese way of life, there will always be a disparity as research has shown that Chinese customers are more willing to do business with local entities.

With virtual phone numbers, you can reach Chinese customers and clients on their own terms. When a virtual phone number is dialed, it functions just like any “normal” Chinese phone number. This makes them indistinguishable from local numbers, especially as they match the country and area codes that customers and clients are familiar with.

By utilizing Chinese virtual phone numbers, you increase the likelihood of reaching Chinese customers that recognize phone numbers they’re familiar with. This is because when they receive a phone call (through “outbound calling”) from your business, it shows up on their caller ID as a number they recognize. It’s also worthy to note that many Chinese callers may not have the ability to call outside of the country, due to their choice of provider and/ or restrictions due to Chinese regulations. With Chinese virtual phone numbers, your organization can make business connections that are more authentic and accessible in the Chinese market, while avoiding the typical hurdles that can prevent forward movement.