Member Article

How to choose the right telephone number for your business

Whether you’re at the beginning of your business journey or you’re well established and simply looking to improve, the task of selecting the right business number to complement and enhance your business image can be a little daunting. Which one do you choose?

A telephone number is vital to your business. It is one of the best ways for prospective and current customers to get in touch with you as it gives them a direct line to you. Your chosen number range also says something about your business, it just depends what you want to say…

If you’re a local business happy with serving your local community then using an 01 or 02 geographic number would be a great fit for you. With a virtual geographic number, you can select a number for your desired area and connect it to your current landline or mobile, as well as having the option to add call management features.

Larger companies use non-geographic numbers to centralise their telephony so that they’re able to handle their calls easier, something which is widely known. With this is mind, why not adopt the same type of numbers so that you can appear larger? By using a number such as an 0800 or an 03 number, your small business instantly appears much bigger so you appeal to thousands of new potential customers.

An 0800 number is one of the most well-known non-geographic numbers as they’ve been around for years and are deeply embedded in the business world. As they’re Freephone, they are completely free to call from landlines as the business pays the call costs, which pleases the consumer greatly. The bone of contention with 0800s is the price from mobiles as this can cost up to 40p per minute – but, Ofcom has ordered that from June 2015, calls from mobiles will also be free.

An 084 or 087 number is great for businesses wanting to earn money from their calls, as a rebate is available from each minute of your calls – but this may not be as consumer friendly as other number ranges as some customers don’t like that the company is able to make money from them calling.

If you want a number that promotes you nationwide without any negative connotations of higher call costs or rebate earnings, then an 03 number is for you. 03 Numbers were introduced by Ofcom to offer the same benefits of an 0800 or 084 number, yet with one major difference – low cost mobile calls. By law, calls from mobiles to 03 numbers must be included in monthly minute packages, making these calls effectively free and when not included in a monthly bundle, the calls are never charged above the cost of a call to an 01 or 02 number.

03NumberShop’s senior account manager, Adam Brett, said: “Each number range has its own benefits so businesses have a lot of options. For those looking to be conscientious and give consumers a number that won’t cost them above the basic rate, an 03 number is the right decision.”

For any further information about 03 numbers, give 03NumberShop a call on 0330 111 0300 or email info@03numbershop.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 03NumberShop .