Getting an online business phone number can be great for your reputation
For a fairly low monthly fee, you can get a landline number that diverts to your mobile
If you’re starting a new business or are on the way to expanding your current business, you may still be using your mobile or home phone to receive your business calls. Not only can this be risky if people are calling with private numbers and you miss the call, and miss out on the job / sale, it can also look unprofessional. It’s annoying when you have a beautifully designed website, full of good quality content, but you know that the mobile number, or your 0845 number, might be putting off customers.
Up until recently the ideal solution was to buy an 0845 number, but these were often expensive and were tied up with your internet contract, you had to buy handsets etc, and of course they cost your customers more than a local rate phone number would cost. There are so many different types of phone number these days that it can be hard keeping tabs on how much they cost to call.
Ofcom have looked into the situation and have decided that 0845 numbers should be phased out as they are unfair to the consumer that has to call these numbers for support, enquiries etc. Ofcom is proposing major changes to how telephone numbers are charged. This includes making 0800 (freephone) numbers free from all telephones. At present some phone companies, such as mobile providers, charge for calls to such numbers.
So what do you do if you want a professional looking phone number and you don’t want to buy a whole new phone system or get in touch with BT?
03 Business numbers
Already widely used by charities and the public sector, trust in 03 numbers is growing across the UK. All conscientious companies should now be looking to migrate to 03.
Calls to an 03 number will cost you no more than 01 or 02 numbers from landlines or mobiles. All calls to 03 numbers are included within any ‘inclusive minutes’ supplied within a monthly package, this effectively makes to call free from most mobiles.
Companies that offer 03 numbers do so from around £10 a month, and that usually includes a whole bunch of minutes in the package. You choose which number or numbers the 03 numbers direct to (your mobile, your landline at home) and when your customers call, they don’t have to pay up to 40p a minute to call your old 0845 number.
You get access to an online portal website where you can constantly update where your calls are diverted to, meaning you’re less likely to miss any calls from prospective online customers again.
Speak to us about more benefits of switching to an 03 number, especially if you are just started out and don’t want your mobile number on your new website!