How'd you like to have your customers at hello? A virtual PBX could be just the trick.

I spoke to Steve Adams, VP of Canada-based Protus, about the company's my1voice phone system, out since June but feature-enhanced just one week ago. When prospective or existing customers call on you by phone, my1voice makes it seem as if they're calling into a more complex system, serving as an image-booster for small or home-based business.

"My1voice is an overlay on top of an existing phone service," Adams explained. "Calls can be directed to any phone you specify. It's a cost-effective way to reach more customers and give them better service."

This comes in handy, for example, if members of your team are in separate locations. One phone number brings a caller to a menu from which to choose the person they're looking for or the information sought (store hours, directions, etc.). Another usage example: Assuming you use your cell phone for both personal and business calls, my1voice gives you a separate phone number for those work-related calls. You have your choice between a local or toll-free number, to boot.

"Especially for people who work out of a suburb without a cool name, or if you're running a nationwide business, but it's really eBay out of your basement, that can be an important attribute," Adams said. "My1voice gives you a different level of prestige."

Protus (which also owns the MyFax Internet fax service and Campaigner email marketing service) offers three levels of my1voice service, all of which start with a free 30-day trial and then can be had on a month-to-month basis. The new feature I mentioned above also applies to all three packages -- the free option to have a customized greeting recorded in a professional-sounding voice.

Here's a quick look at the packages:

Basic, $10/month: Recommended for a one-person shop, this includes one phone extension, the ability to access, store, and manage voicemail in the cloud, and a feature Protus calls "Find Me/Follow Me," which is basically call forwarding that you can preschedule by time (for example, say you're away from your desk from 9-11 every morning, so you'd want calls forwarded to your cell then) and by which phones to call. "You can do it sequentially -- try your cell, then the office, or all at once," Adams said.

Essential, $30/month: Tailored for two- to five-person businesses, this service comes with an autoattendant (computer operator), up to five extensions, plus everything in the basic package.

Premium, $50/month: Ditto Essential, but with 15 extensions and call queuing, which helps small businesses manage a larger volume of calls by putting people on hold until an employee is free. "Like tech support," Adams said. "It's for the small business that wants to manage calls like a large call center."

Of note, Protus offers these helpful 10 tips (PDF) that can help you evaluate any virtual PBX service you're considering.