Nextiva

I’ve been using Nextiva as our primary business phone system for a few years now.

Like many business owners, I struggled with finding a reliable phone system that best suited my needs. After testing several VoIP solutions, I decided to give Nextiva a try.

So far, Nextiva has proven to be a reliable solution for my business communications. Although I am impressed with its key features, I faced some challenges when I first started using it.

In this Nextiva review, I’ll share my experience to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your business.

Nextiva Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (My Experience)

When I first started my business, I did what most new business owners do. I used my personal cell phone for business communication. But that caused a lot of problems. My personal calls got mixed up with business calls and there is no way to set business hours.

While local telecom providers offer business phone services, they’re old-fashioned and don’t work well, especially when you’re running a remote team like I do.

Then I found Nextiva, which solved all these problems!

Nextiva is a popular VoIP and virtual business phone service that can help you manage calls more effectively. They offer call routing, set business phone hours, unlimited domestic voice calls, unlimited business SMS messaging, voicemail to text, number porting, caller ID, call forwarding, custom greetings, and much more.

What makes Nextiva special is that it offers a unified platform that bundles multiple communication channels, like phone, video, chat, and SMS, in one central hub.

Essentially, Nextiva allows you to run your own cloud-based call center, with advanced features that can save you a ton of time and effort.

Nextiva Review: Is it the Right Business Phone Service for You?

The right business phone service can help you manage calls more efficiently, no matter how busy you get.

With that being said, let’s see whether Nextiva is the right business phone service for your WordPress blog or website.

1. VoIP phone service

Since Nextiva is a VoIP phone service, it uses the internet to make and receive calls instead of traditional landlines, which can save you a lot of money.

We’ve experienced remarkably consistent uptime that has transformed how our team handles business communications.

What really impresses me is how Nextiva handles our peak periods. Even during our busiest times, the system maintains stable connections without dropping calls.

The system’s automatic failover feature has saved us multiple times.

For instance, whenever I have internet issues, Nextiva automatically reroutes the call to non-Nextiva number or another device. This kind of reliability means I spend less time worrying about technical issues and more time focusing on growing our business.

I especially appreciate that Nextiva’s reliability isn’t just marketing talk. It’s backed by their multiple data centers and redundant systems. While no system is perfect, in our experience, Nextiva has lived up to its 99.999% uptime promise, which is crucial for maintaining professional customer communications.

2. Unlimited Domestic Phone Calls

Nextiva offers unlimited domestic phone calls in the US and Canada, with toll-free minutes. That means you never have to worry about surprise charges or running out of minutes. This can make your monthly costs predictable and easier to budget.

If you already have a business phone number, then Nextiva offers number porting so you can continue using your existing phone number.

They also provide you with additional local numbers for different regions, which can help you establish a more local presence in key markets. This combination of number portability and unlimited calling gives you the freedom to grow without worrying about communication costs.

3. Support for Multiple Devices

Nextiva supports traditional analog desk phones, conference phones, and any other telephone device you want to use.

There’s also a Nextiva ‘softphone’ app for browsers and desktop computers so your team can make voice calls through their computer.

In addition, you can use the Nextiva business phone app on your Android or iPhone device. The app lets me take business calls on my cell phone while keeping my personal number private, which has been invaluable for maintaining work-life balance.

In this way, Netixa makes you less dependent on specific hardware, and gives you the freedom to take your business phone with you.

My favorite thing about their mobile app is that it gives me full access to our business phone system settings. For example, with the app, you can change call routing rules, check team availability, and even pull up customer call history right from your phone.

4. Multiple Business Phone Numbers

Having multiple phone numbers through Nextiva can be a huge advantage for your business.

When you’re starting out, Nextiva will provide you with both a toll-free number and local numbers. This can be incredibly valuable for your business image. Your toll-free number gives you a professional, nationwide presence, while local numbers help you maintain a regional feel in different markets.

The number management system is pretty straightforward. You can add new numbers or make changes through the admin dashboard.

Each additional number comes with an extra monthly fee, and if you want vanity numbers (like those spelling out your business name), they cost even more.

For example, if you want to expand your support team to cover the West Coast, you can get a local California number and set up specific routing rules for different time zones. Keep in mind that some popular area codes have limited availability, so you might not always get your first choice.

Finally, if you already have a vanity phone number, then you can move it to Nextiva and get access to all their call management features.

5. Call Forwarding

Call forwarding has become essential for our remote team, and I’ve extensively tested Nextiva’s forwarding capabilities over the years.

Setting up basic call forwarding is surprisingly simple. You can do it right from your desktop app or phone in seconds. What I really appreciate is the flexibility. For instance, you can set up different forwarding rules for business hours, after hours, and holidays.

When you’re travelling, you can forward calls to your mobile device, which is a lifesaver for maintaining consistent communication with your clients.

But here’s where it gets really useful – Nextiva lets you create conditional forwarding rules. For example, you can set up your system so that VIP client calls route differently than general support calls.

That means high-priority calls can ring multiple devices simultaneously or follow a specific sequence of numbers until someone answers. You can use this to offer premium support, ensuring your most important clients never go to voicemail.

You can also set up always-on call forwarding, busy call forwarding, or forward calls when unanswered.

6. Toll-free Number

When you sign up for Nextiva, you’ll get a toll-free number and local phone number, so you can get started straight away.

Since Nextiva is completely cloud-based, your staff can simply log into the Nextiva desktop or mobile app to handle all incoming calls.

Nextiva also comes with a simple web-based admin panel where you can add your business hours, configure team extensions, set up voicemail, design call flows, and more. For example, as your company grows you might need additional numbers. You can simply open the admin panel and add these numbers with a few clicks.

Once you’re up and running, your team can instantly dial phone numbers and call new leads with the click of a button. This may not be true auto dialing, but it will still save your team a ton of time compared to dialling numbers manually.

7. Contact Management Features

Nextiva’s contact management features make it easy to do lead generation and schedule follow-up calls so you don’t miss out on leads.

You can also create automated reminders for teams and customers so they never forget to check in, follow up, or perform other important tasks.

Live agents can visually track the entire sales process pipeline, and view detailed metrics through call monitoring. In this way, you can use Nextiva as a CRM app for better lead management.

8. Speech-Enabled IVR

Nextiva’s Speech-Enabled IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system is highly efficient to manage growing call volume. Instead of forcing callers to press numbers, customers can simply say what they need, like “technical support” or “billing,” and the system routes them correctly about 90% of the time.

IVR can significantly reduce the frustration your customers typically experience with automated systems.

What I find particularly valuable is how it handles peak periods. It can provide callers with estimated wait times and offers callbacks, which can notably improve the customer satisfaction scores.

This also means with IVR, your support team can focus on actual conversations instead of just directing traffic.

9. Auto Attendant Phone System

The auto attendant feature can transform how you handle incoming calls. You can set it up yourself by creating custom greetings and routing rules that automatically direct calls to the right department. It’s like having a professional receptionist working 24/7.

With Nextiva, you can easily set up an auto-attendant phone system for your WordPress website by creating call flows.

To build this flow, start by creating a business greeting.

You can then give callers the option to dial specific departments or team members.

You can also set the timeout length, and select an option for dialing the operator.

With that done, you’re ready to assign team members and phone numbers to the call options you just created.

Finally, you can specify what should happen if no-one answers the call.

For example, you might ask the caller to leave a voicemail or transfer them to a different team.

10. Advanced Voicemail Transcripts

Nextiva offers advanced voicemail features including email and text voicemail transcription, so you can receive transcripts in your inbox. Keep in mind that it’s only available on the Enterprise plan.

The transcription service can be a real time-saver for your support team. Instead of listening to each voicemail, which could take several minutes, we can quickly scan transcripts in our email or dashboard.

The best thing is that you can discreetly check urgent voicemails by reading the transcripts rather than having to step out to listen to messages. The transcripts also make it easier to search through past messages when you need to reference specific customer inquiries.

11. Call Analytics and Reports

To help you manage calls and resolve customer problems more efficiently, it’s important to monitor your phone system.

The good news is that Nextiva comes with detailed call analytics that provide real-time insights into phone activity across your organization.

It also has online surveys, so you can get feedback directly from customers.

This lets you monitor call volumes, customer satisfaction, and other important metrics. You can also spot potential problems before they start costing your business money.

12. Video Conferencing

With the rising trend of remote working, many businesses rely heavily on conference calls and group video chat.

With Nextiva, you can set up video conferences with ease using a virtual business phone number, and enjoy HD audio. These calls also come with screen sharing, file sharing, and webinar support. You can even log and record your calls, to share with team members who couldn’t make the meeting.  

13. Online Fax Service

Faxing is still one of the most secure ways to send and receive information. However, traditional fax machines have their limitations.

The good news is that Nextiva offers an online internet fax service that combines the power and ease of email with the security of traditional fax machines. This allows you to send and receive fax documents via mobile, desktop, and tablets without being in the office. You can even send online faxes to a traditional fax machine.

Nextiva automatically saves all your incoming and outgoing faxes for 6 months. They also have built-in file sharing, so you can easily download and share your faxes with customers, partners, and team members.

14. Run SMS Marketing Campaigns

There’s evidence to suggest that open rates for SMS messages are significantly higher than email marketing. This means it’s a great way to increase blog traffic, boost user engagement, and get more sales.

Nextiva allows you to send text messages to large groups of people, so it’s perfect for launching an SMS marketing campaign.

Nextiva can segment your contact list and send targeted SMS messages to different groups. You can also personalize your text messages by including the customer’s name, purchase history, or other relevant information. That said, you can easily send personalized SMS messages to users with Nextiva.

You can also schedule your SMS marketing campaigns in advance, which is ideal if you run lots of different campaigns.

15. Set up a Help Desk

Beyond phone support, Nextiva offers a complete multichannel support solution that can replace your help desk software.

It lets you talk with customers across multiple communication channels from a single dashboard, including phone, voice, SMS, live chat, video, team messaging, and social media. You can also respond to inquiries from the same dashboard, no matter how the customer contacted you.

Customers can submit tickets, track their progress, and manage their accounts from a self-service portal. Nextiva’s ticket management system is straightforward, so you can easily set priorities, send reminders, message your team, and more.

16. Integrates With the Best CRMs and Apps

Nextiva integrates with a ton of apps and services you may already be using on your WordPress website, blog, or online store.

The Nextiva team has ready-to-use integrations for all the top productivity suites, team communication apps, automation tools, and more.

Nextiva also seamlessly integrates with all the most popular small business CRMs, including HubSpot, Zendesk, Zoho, and Salesforce.

If you do use these integrations, then you can organize and segment the lists within your CRM, then make calls by clicking a button. Essentially, Nextiva can turn your current CRM into an outbound call center solution.

Beyond that, Nextiva offers APIs and SDKs for specific users so you can set up automated workflows with ease.

17. Community and Professional Support

Nextiva has a user-friendly admin panel and dashboard where you can manage all your business phone numbers, configure team extensions, set up call forwarding, and perform other essential tasks with ease.

However, sometimes you may need some help to get the most out of your new phone service. If you prefer to research yourself, then Nextiva has a collection of downloadable PDF guides and user manuals.

There’s also a support portal where you’ll find video guides, a community forum, quick start guides, and much more.

If you want to speak to the Nextiva team directly, then all the plans include email, phone, and live chat support.

Nextiva Pricing and Plans

Nextiva offers multiple pricing plans that cater to different sized businesses and the specific features they may need.

For example, small teams can get started for $30 per user each month (paid annually) for features like inbound and outbound voice calling, video meetings, business SMS, and more.

If you have a growing business and need more advanced features like call center and queuing, a toll-free number, and a website chatbot, then you can get started for $40 per user each month, when paid annually.

This allows you to only pay for the business phone system features you need and upgrade your plan as your team grows.

Plus, with our Nextiva coupon, you can get started for only $21 per month per user (40% OFF).

Conclusion: Is Nextiva the Right Business Phone Service for You?

After looking at the features, pricing, and support options, we’re confident that Nextiva is a great business phone service for WordPress users.

It’s simple to use, and allows you to stay connected with your customers and team, even when they’re away from the office. Plus, it offers mobile, desktop, and tablet apps, so you can easily handle calls, host video conferences, and provide a great customer experience.

With its affordable pricing model, Nextiva is a perfect platform for businesses of all sizes. In particular, you can experiment with different users, payment duration, and features, to find the right price for your budget.

We hope this Nextiva review helped you decide whether it’s the right business phone service for you. You may also want to learn how to track website visitors to your WordPress site, or see our expert pick of the best AI chatbots software.

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