Grasshopper Review: 10 Considerations to Take Into Account

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It does much more than a phone system, it is cloud-based, and it is famous around the world. Its promise is to take your business to the next level, improve its image, and boost its credibility. It’s called Grasshopper! and this is our 10-point review of them.

Forbes made it an example of Fortune 500 CEO thinking, and Inc included it on their list of tools all small companies should use. Over 300,000 entrepreneurs around the world chose it as their business communication solution.

If you’re not sure it is what you need, the least you can do is take a closer look at it, and we’re here to help. We did our research, analyzed the hundreds of reviews available online, and added up our own experience.

The result is a comprehensive list of benefits that will surely help you see the true value of this service. Check it out below, and don’t hesitate to add your own insight in a comment!

10 Reasons to Consider Grasshopper for Your Business Communication

1. Complex Offer, Catering to All Needs

You can set up to five phone numbers and add unlimited extensions and add-ons, in order to meet your business’ communication needs. The phone numbers can be toll-free, local, or vanity, and you can combine them as you wish.

2. Cloud-Based

This means accessibility, security, and flexibility. You’ll be able to access your data online from any device, using your credentials. You’ll enjoy better voice quality than with VoIP system, and you won’t have to deal with the hassles of setting up complex landlines.

3. Minimum, Risk-Free Investment

Grasshopper works over your existing hardware, so you won’t need to invest in equipment. You’ll access it through your existing computer, landline, or smartphone, without needing additional equipment. The company often has campaigns allowing for free trials and a 30 days money back guarantee. If you sign up and you don’t like it, you can just claim your money back.

4. Hassle-Free Setup

Setting up and starting to use the system is a simple four-step process, and this Grasshopper review outlines it in what follows:

1. Choose a phone number and a service plan – Only one number is necessary to go through checkout. You can set up more numbers and extensions later on, from your account.
2. Download the apps – The mobile and desktop apps let you access your accounts and use the system anytime, from anywhere. They are easy to install and use, so you have nothing to worry about.
3. Configure your accounts and personalize your settings – The apps will guide your every step, and you can always contact customer service if you get stuck.
4. Make the most of your new investment – Once your account is ready, you can personalize it and use all the services available. Keep in mind that, on rare occasions, phone number activation may take up to 24 hours, but delays are subject to timely notifications. Also, exploring and learning to take advantage of the numerous features may take a while.

5. Impressive Features

Grasshopper has some impressive features and functionalities, and we have listed them all:

• Number Porting – If you already have a business phone number you are fond of, you don’t have to change it. You can port it and include it in your cloud phone service plan.
• Business SMS – You can send and receive unlimited text messages using your business phone number.
• Desktop + Mobile Apps – Accessing your account and keeping in touch with your clients is now possible from any desktop and mobile device.
• VoIP / Wi-Fi Calling – Make free voice calls anytime, from anywhere an Internet connection is available.
• Unlimited Call Handling – There are no limits to how many calls you can receive or make on your business number. If the phone keeps ringing, you’ll be the one reaping the benefits, as Grasshopper won’t charge you extra.
• Local Numbers – If you target clients in a particular region, you can set up a local business number using the code for that area, and give your clients a sense of community.
• Toll-Free Numbers – They inspire confidence and credibility, and they convince even the cheapest clients to get in touch. If you want a toll-free number for your business, you can get it from Grasshopper without additional costs.
• Vanity Numbers – Are you in the middle of the rebranding process or looking for a phone number that customers will instinctively associate with your business? Grasshopper lets you choose one relevant to your target clients and start using it within 24h.
• Extensions – If you have several people working within the same department, you can add extensions to the department number to make sure you reach or redirect clients to the right person.
• Extensions Directory – As you add extensions to your business account, you can associate them with names, jobs, numbers, or whatever makes sense to allow for easy call and business management.
• Store Hours / Directions / Other Business Details – Informational extensions let you record voice messages for your clients to access when dialing the corresponding extension (ex: press 1 for store business hours, 2 for directions, 3 to get in touch with a sales consultant).
• Fax on Demand – This feature lets you upload any documents your clients may demand and fax them instantly. Think of product sheets, order forms, maps, and invoices.
• Voicemail and Fax Delivery – This feature lets you convert voicemails to MP3 or WAV and faxes to PDF; once you’ve adjusted the settings, you will receive them as email attachments.
• Voicemail Messages by Email – When your clients leave your voicemails, you will receive the mp3 files by email or, if you so choose, the text transcripts.
• Conference Calling – When face-to-face meetings are not an option, Grasshopper lets you engage up to ten participants in conference calls.
• Call Screening – This feature lets you hear the phone number of the caller and decide whether to answer the call, send it to voicemail or redirect it.
• Hold Music – If you have to keep your customers waiting, you can improve their experience with some relaxing music.
• Call Forwarding – Grasshopper lets you forward business calls to any phone number you choose, be it a cell phone, a landline, yours, or someone else’s.
• Custom Voice Messages – You can record a professional welcome message for your callers, a voicemail or an unavailability notification message, and set it to play automatically.
• Voice Studio –To record your custom voice messages, Grasshopper gives you access to their professional studio. In exchange for a $75 fee, you can just send your voice script and have a professional voice actor record it for you.

6. Affordable Pricing

Businesses can choose from three Grasshopper service plans, and opt for monthly or annual billing. For each service plan, there are several add-ons available. Here is a brief overview of the plans:

• Solo – This service plan costs $26 per month with annual billing and $29 with monthly billing and offers one phone number and three extensions.
• Partner – It costs $44 or $49 per month, depending on the billing period, and covers three phone numbers and six extensions.
• Small Business – This service plan involves costs of $80 or $89 per month, depending on the billing period, and covers five phone numbers and an unlimited number of extensions.

All service plans include:

• Texting
• Call forwarding
• Personalized greeting messages
• Voicemail
• Voicemail notifications by email
• Unlimited voice minutes
• Apps for desktop, iOS, and Android
• Inbound fax
• Wi-Fi Calls

While the upfront prices may seem a little higher than those of some competitors, most of them charge per user and allocate a limit number of voice minutes. Overall, Grasshopper has a very convenient price/quality/features rate.

By the way, they also have a plan for individuals. At the time of this Grasshopper review’s publication, if billed annually, it costs $35 per month and includes one number, with email, text, and phone integration.

7. Excellent Customer Support

This is one of the few services on the market for which customer service is never an issue. If something doesn’t go the way you want or you have questions, you can call 800-820-8210 or 617-395-5700 24/7. You can also send your inquiries in writing at 320 Summer St. Boston, MA 02210.

However, you will most likely find the answers you need in the Support section of the website, by simply typing in your question or browsing through the comprehensive knowledge base. We wish we could see such great customer service accompanying more products and services.

8. Easy Upgrades, Downgrades, and Cancellations

As you may already know, many services out there look good at first sight but are impossible to give up. This is certainly not the case with Grasshopper. First, you will probably have no reason to give it up. Then, if you decide to do it, you will only have to call the customer service. You will need your Master PIN for that.

Keep in mind that if you choose annual billing for your service plan, your contract period will be of one year. However, it will be renewed automatically for another year, unless you cancel 30 days before your anniversary. Downgrades require one billing cycle advance notice as well. The only changes that take effect immediately are upgrades since you’ll be paying more money and buying more services.

9. Good Reputation, Ratings, and Reviews

When you want to know if a product or service is worth your money, you look at what others had to say about it. This particular service is quite popular and liked. Present on the market since 2003, Grasshopper had its ups and downs. However, it is still leading the cloud-based business communication niche,

You’ll find ratings of 4.8/5 stars on Consumer Affairs, and with predominantly positive reviews and ratings on other third-party websites. As a general rule, older Grasshopper reviews tend to have lower ratings, while never feedback confirms the company’s substantial efforts to improve their service. Of course, nothing in this world is perfect, and this is no exception to the rule, even if the weaknesses are not dealbreakers.

10. Few and Small Disadvantages

Although many reviewers had no complaints, after thoroughly analyzing the available feedback, we identified a couple of small weaknesses:

• If you wish to port Grasshopper numbers, make sure all the details of your account are accurate and arm yourself with patience before calling customer service. They will teach you what to do, but it seems there are still a few communication glitches, so the whole porting process may take a while.
• International calls are charged separately, they are not included in the free minutes, so keep the extra costs in mind.
• You can’t mute yourself during calls, so be careful what you say and how.
• Covering the needs of two businesses with one account is not possible, even if the resources allow it. You’ll need separate accounts, and you will switch from one to another by logging in/out.
• To delete messages and voicemails, you will have to use the Grasshopper website.
• You cannot yet receive or send picture messages, but the feature should become available soon.
• Vanity numbers are not available with local area codes, so you’ll have to settle for one or the other.

The Bottom Line about Grasshopper

This cloud-based business communication service may not be perfect, but it does have its strengths. As you can check for yourself, thousands of entrepreneurs from around the world have been using it successfully. If you haven’t yet acquired the services under discussion from a different provider, you may want to give this one a chance. Just remember that, if you’re not satisfied, you can always use the 30-days’ money back guarantee.

Once you’ve formed an opinion on it, don’t hesitate to share it with us and readers of our company/service analyses! Also, if you feel that this Grasshopper review could be useful to some of your contacts, feel free to share it with them! Let’s help spread the news, be it good or bad, about Grasshopper and what it has to offer to small and medium businesses worldwide!

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