Grasshopper vs. Shape Software

Grasshopper is well suited for basic needs of texting in and out as well as calling out if you would like to avoid using your personal line. It also eliminates the need to have a dedicated land land in your office or business. You can obtain a vanity number and forward calls through grasshopper.

Incentivized

Shape Software is well suited when using "mainstream" ad platforms that have robust integrations. It also works well when budgets are set less frequently and are allowed to run unchanged for a set period of time. Shape Software gets less accurate when frequent budget changes need to be made and when using ad platforms with little to no support built into Shape Software.

• I like that there are differing voicemails for each extension, to keep up with the image of calling a separate line.
• I love the voicemail text emails. I believe we pay a little extra, but worth every penny for those urgent calls while I am in a meeting.
• The cost is very reasonable for the value added to our company.

Incentivized

• Platform integrations
• Pacing accuracy
• Automated notifications

• It would be nice to have the ability to transfer some calls to another Grasshopper IVR, for those customers who mistakenly dial the wrong number (we have two incoming numbers, one for corporate and one for sales).
• Likewise, it would be nice to have the ability to forward to a toll-free number, which would have allowed us to work around the inability to transfer between IVRs (see above).
• Lastly, it would be great to have an 'emergency' switch setting (default off but could be toggled on) that would let us override all IVR settings and transfer all incoming calls elsewhere (either to a direct dial or toll free number) for those rare times when we cannot take any calls (such as a weather emergency OR the one time each year we take all of our staff on a retreat) - that would allow us to send all calls to a backup answering service rather than just voicemail.

Incentivized

• Automated budget pacing could be more sophisticated - it tends to conflict with platform best-practices in my opinion.
• Integration with LinkedIn leads would give more accurate picture of conversion volume I believe.
• More customizable alerts

The admin functions are kind of confusing in the old interface which was my most recent experience on the admin side.

Incentivized

Shape Software is very easy to set up and use. The core functions and features require little explanation. The options and settings are easy to find and the capabilities of the platform are apparent to the user after just a few minutes of use.

When I was setting up my account I contacted support a couple of times. They were also very professional, personable, and helpful. Their response is prompt and thorough. I'm confident I can get any question answered as well as help with any issue I might have. That's pretty important to me.

Incentivized

I never had the need or opportunity to work with support.

I have not used any other phone services like Grasshopper. I know that there is another option out there called Ruby, which is more like a virtual receptionist but since I did not try it out I cannot compare the two. When I started my company I found the services that Grasshopper offers to be perfect. It still works for us and we have no need to change to anything else right now.

Incentivized

Shape Software is very user-friendly and easy to set up. The controls and settings are very straightforward and the core functions (onboarding new accounts, creating new budgets, managing budgets, etc) are easily understood. The customizable alerts and budget intervals provide modularity for different situations and provide significant peace-of-mind. The automations are less impressive in that they generally conflict with ad platform automation in my opinion. Automated bidding and budgeting is hindered by third-party automations like Shape Software and the performance Shape Software features provide doesn't justify forgoing that technology in the ad platforms in my opinion.

• It's allowed us to keep cost down. Other phone systems can seriously get outrageous in implementation and monthly fees!
• It's allowed our team the confidence to work in locations outside of the office and still be seen as professionals.
• It's decreased the amount of time spent on unwanted sales calls via the call screening application.

Incentivized

• Reliable protection against overspend
• Precise budget control
• Cross-platform visibility