Is Your Incumbent Local Phone Company the Best Choice?

Your local phone company has always been there, providing local phone service in your area - but just because they're the incumbent phone company, does that mean they're the best local phone company for your business? Not always. Since local competition has opened up in most markets, there are more choices than ever for your business's local phone service. And having more choices means having more opportunities for saving money - something most businesses strive for wherever they see the chance.

Whereas in the recent past your business had one choice for local phone service - your main local phone company - now other local phone companies have a chance to compete for your business. Many smaller phone companies have sprung up in recent years to join the competition. That means there are literally a dozen companies that want the opportunity to provide your business with local phone service.

You may not have heard of many of these newer companies - they try to keep their rates down by keeping their advertising to a minimum. This helps them to be more competitive with the bigger phone companies.

These smaller companies are often resellers - buying local phone service in bulk from the larger carriers and then reselling the service at a cheaper rate - at least 10% cheaper - to businesses like yours.

But don't be fooled by the fact that they're smaller providers - they offer all of the same service (at the same quality) as the bigger guys. They just manage to do it a little bit cheaper.

Customer service can be better at smaller companies, too. They want - no, need - to keep your business. With a smaller provider, every customer counts. They can't afford for you to leave, and so they'll work harder to keep you happy. If your business has special needs, they'll bend over backwards to take care of them. If you have problems with your service or billing, they'll do their best to take care of you as quickly as possible.

In addition, smaller companies tend to be available to you when you need them. With fewer customers to take care of, the smaller providers can take better care of the customers they do have. You're not just a number in a queue, you're an important account to them. That means they'll take care of you when you call, when you need them to, so your business doesn't experience service interruptions.

When it's time for you to save some money for your business, switching your local phone service to a different company can help. You can cut your local phone bill by 10% or more - a savings that goes straight to your business's bottom line.