Why Channels Is The Best MagicJack Alternative

MagicJack is a well-known personal phone system that is widely used across the US. Yet, a few years ago, the company has ventured into the business sphere with their MagicJack for Business version.

And while their home plans are indeed attractive, MagicJack seems like a very new player to business phone systems and it looks like there’s a lot of time ahead of them until they figure out a proper offer.

In this brief article, I’d like to show you how and why your business can benefit from the best MagicJack alternative – Channels.

We’ll go through the Why, How, and What of the reasons to switch from MagicJack to Channels.

Let’s go!

Table of contents:

1. Why do you need a Magicjack alternative
2. What Channels can do for your business
3. Why Channels is the best MagicJack alternative

Why do you need a Magicjack alternative

At first, it’s smart to say why you would even need to go on a lookout for a MagicJack alternative.

In this short section, I’ll outline why it is a good idea to do so. But don’t worry. You won’t find here accusations, blank claims, or arguing over which brand is better.

The purpose of this article is to show you the other side of business phone systems so you can make a smart choice that could impact your business.

The first concern that pop-ups about MagicJack for business is the lack of features.

The features that MagicJack outlines on their website are:

• Unlimited U.S and Canada calling
• Music On Hold
• Caller ID
• Enhanced Call Forwarding
• Free Mobile App (Android & iOS)
• Voicemail
• Conference Bridge

Compare that to only some of the Channels features and you’ll find a huge gap between the two:

• IVR
• SMS
• Voicemail
• Voice drop
• Live-listening
• Call recordings
• Call forwarding
• Customizable tags
• Free incoming calls
• Click-to-Call widget
• Various Integrations
• Flawless Mobile App
• Call distribution rules
• 24/7 Customer Service
• Easy contacts management
• Affordable International Rates
• Multiple International Phone Numbers
• Transparent you-get-what-you-pay-for pricing

Business phone systems require much more robust solutions than your everyday phone systems. Here it seems like MagicJack hasn’t done a good job of making that distinction.

The second concern is the need for hardware.

MagicJack requires you to use a physical phone solution in order to benefit from their calling system.

On the other hand, Channels is a much more flexible solution. That being said, here, you don’t need any additional hardware and you can successfully operate using solely your laptop or even your mobile phone.

The third concern is the pricing.

Not that MagicJack doesn’t have fair prices. That’s up to everyone’s taste and sense of value.

What I’d like to highlight is the lack of flexibility. There is only one pricing plan that you can choose from and no matter what your needs are you need to stay with a hard-coded $15.99/mo + the phone ($49.99+).

Using Channels, you’ve got a choice between 3 different pricing options. This way you can pay solely for what you opt to use.

The last concern goes to MagicJack’s customer support.

The only way to get in touch with them is by using their on-site (quite lengthy) form or through live chat.

Of course, using the form means waiting and when you have a dealbreaker type-of issue you don’t want to wait at all.

So how about the live chat?
Well…

Yup, that’s unfortunate.

In Channels, that’s not an option.

You can contact us 24/7 via live chat, email, phone, and social media.

We provide a solution to power up your customer service and thus we pride ourselves in having the best customer service on board.

What Channels can do for your business

Now that you know why it’s a good choice to look for a MagicJack alternative, let’s take a look at what Channels can do for your business.

Here, we will touch on three main components.

Get more out of what you already have

One of our main benefits is integrations.

Nowadays, companies equip themselves with plenty of tools, and getting another solution on board can often bring more confusion into the process than improvement.

We certainly don’t want that to happen.

That’s why you’ll find plenty of integrations that you can use to connect Channels with the software you’re already using. Some of these are:

• Zendesk
• HubSpot
• LiveChat
• Shoper
• Shopify
• Pipedrive
• Magento
• Integromat
• Internal API

What are the use cases of these integrations?

Well, for eCommerce tools like Magento, Shoper, and Shopify you can make use of customer details that you already have.

Namely, in Channels, you can handle calls using our Chrome Extension. This tool lets you access the so-called Customer Card which consists of all customer’s information. Some of these are their full name, past calls, and previous orders.

With all these details at hand, you can solve any customer problem in seconds.

For tools like Zendesk, Channels is a way to get an in-build dialer without splashing a fortune on one.

Namely, by integrating Channels and Zendesk, you’ve got a ready-to-use calling solution right inside your dashboard. Yet, its costs and the call rates are a fraction of what you’d normally have to pay for Zendesk Talk.

Solutions like Pipedrive and HubSpot benefit from this integration by getting a fully-functioning calling solution that can be used to close deals via the phone.

With clients’ details at hand, well-organized contacts, and a mobile app you can close deals with ease.

LiveChat integration lets you send Callback requests via chat. This feature comes in handy when the issue turns out to be too complex to get solved (or explained) through the chat.

In such situations, your agents can quickly collect a client’s phone number and call him back using Channels.

Lastly, solutions like Integromat and our Internal API let you connect Channels with hundreds of other tools and manipulate data the way you want.

This way you can tailor your experience to the fullest.

Build a helpline for your customers

Channels is a great solution for those who aim to provide 10/10 customer service for their customers.

The main component that can help you with that is an IVR system. Using it you can connect callers directly to the right agent based on their calling intent. If you want to talk to sales, press 1 on the keypad if you want to talk to customer support, press 2… You know the gist.

It’s the easiest way to decrease the number of redirects or times you have to put the customer on hold.

Besides that, Channels offers plenty of virtual phone numbers. This includes international, local, toll free, vanity, and 800 phone numbers.

With such a range you can tailor your communication no matter where your audience is from. Higher contact rate and a higher chance that your customers will contact your company in case of an issue.

Another tool that will help you improve the quality of your service is the ability to record and live-listen to ongoing conversations.

The first one comes in handy when you want to get back to the past call. With Channels, you can go back to, well, as far as you want!

You can also use the best call recordings to teach new hires how to properly do the job. With such a “live” material, they’ll quickly get to know what it takes to provide customer service accordingly to your standard.

Live-listening is also great for dealing with new agents. Using it, you can be a part of an ongoing call without being an active participant. This way you can monitor your agent’s work without interrupting the flow of the call.

An awesome feature that can help you build a helpline of your customers’ dreams is the earlier mentioned Customer Card.

What is it and how can you use it?

With Channels, you can handle phone calls using our Chrome Extension and Mobile App.

If you choose the first option, you can also utilize the Customer Card. Namely, whenever you get a call from one of your customers, you’ll be able to open the Customer Card which consists of all of your customer’s details.

Right when you get a call we show you basic information like the phone number and their full name. Yet, inside the Customer Card, you’ll find their previous calls, past orders, notes, etc.

This way, customer support calls will take a maximum of a couple of minutes to get solved. No more “looking through the system” or asking some other agent for help.

Equip your company with a phone system that has it all

Channels is a great MagicJack alternative because of the plethora of features that it comes with.

A personal phone system is a straightforward solution but businesses require much more robust tools that will cover all their needs.

Here, we’ve got you covered.

A quick look at our pricing page is all you need to get to know that you’ll likely find a feature that your business needs.

For the starter, all incoming calls are free in Channels. Customer support itself is a cost that your company has to pay so we don’t want to take it any higher.

When you sign up you get a free phone number so you can start handling phone calls right away.

As you can see, if your company wants a phone system with everything on board, Channels will be a great choice and certainly will make a good MagicJack alternative.

Why Channels is the best MagicJack alternative

Now that we went through why you should be looking for MagicJack alternative and what Channels can do for your business, let’s summarize all of the above.

There are several aspects of why and how Channels comes on top when compared to MagicJack for business.

Here are some of them.

Flawless 24/7 customer support

At the beginning of this piece, I’ve mentioned that one of the biggest concerns about MagicJack is their poor customer service.

The only way to contact the company is through a lengthy online form or a live chat that works only during a specific time.

Trust me, when a software you use stops working you don’t want to get support the next day but right when it happens.

That’s why with Channels you get a 24/7 customer support that you can access through:

• live chat
• phone
• email
• social media

On top of that, we have a robust knowledge base ready to answer your questions. And, if you want an expert to explain everything that’s inside of Channels, we offer 30-minute free training sessions that will teach you how to best utilize Channels for your business.

Flexible and transparent pricing

MagicJack for Business offers only one type of pricing and it costs $15.99 + the phone no matter which features you want to use.

On top of that, you’ve got various add-ons that are not included in the standard pricing. The cost of those ranges from $5 to $10/month per add-on. It can seem like you’re paying only $16/month when, in fact, your costs might be more than double of that.

With Channels, the pricing is flexible and transparent.

One, no add-ons so you see exactly what you get.

Two, you’ve got four pricing options, and this way you can choose the one that best fits your current needs. Whenever you feel like upgrading, you can do so in the matter of a few clicks.

No dodgy policies

This point relates to the previous one and, to be specific, it relates to the matter of transparency.

When you browse through the MagicJack’s pricing page, you’ll find two symbols. A star and a cross.

The first one (*) relates to the price of the plan. As we can read:

*Annual and monthly fees quoted do not include purchase of telephone equipment and related products or shipping, regulatory fees and taxes as applicable.

$15.99/month seems like a fair deal but the situation changes when things start to add up. This includes the costs of the phone ($49.99+), additional equipment, shipping, and regulatory fees.

The cross relates to one of the features. Namely, the unlimited U.S. and Canada calling. You can see it’s available but it has a little cross. What does it mean?

†Unlimited calling to numbers within the United States and Canada and other services provided by magicJack for BUSINESS™ are based on normal, non-excessive use. A combination of factors is used to determine excessive use, including but not limited to the relative use when compared to the average magicJack for BUSINESS™ user, the number of unique numbers called, calls forwarded, minutes used and other factors. Unlimited calling does not include calls to Alaska or the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada or calls to non-8YY calling card, platform, conference or chat lines, for which additional fees will apply. Additional terms and conditions apply. Visit Terms of Service to learn more.

I understand the need for protection over the abuse of this option but by not being specific it might scare away customers who don’t have anything bad on the mind.

After all, how do I know what is the use of that option in terms of an average magicJack for BUSINESS™ user? Why should I care about that?

No such hidden little text can be found on the Channels pricing page. And that’s another factor that makes it a great MagicJack alternative.

Plus, we also offer Unlimited Calls to the US and Canada 😉

No need for hardware

To build a phone line using MagicJack you also need to purchase physical devices. That’s the only way to make it work.

Why such a solution is a poor choice?

First, it chains you to the desk. You don’t have much flexibility in your work.

Second, it creates additional costs related to the purchase itself but also the configuration and maintenance of such physical devices.

Channels, on the other hand, lets you get a business phone line without having to buy any additional hardware. Thanks to VoIP and virtual phone numbers you can get an up-and-running phone system in a matter of minutes.

What’s more, you can use it from your laptop, PC, tablet, or smartphone.

This way, you’ll be able to take your support center anywhere in the world and make it work just as you like it.

All the features you need

It’s clear that MagicJack has tried to clone the personal version of their phone system and add a couple of business features to it.

Yet, to operate properly your business needs a phone system that’s capable of it all. And that’s what makes Channels a great MagicJack alternative.