As a small business you need a telephone for customers to be able to phone you. And you want good value. Read our guide on choosing a business telephone number.
Geographic numbers start 01 or 02 and they refer to a particular geographic area. For example 01733 is the std code for Peterborough phone numbers.
Geographic numbers are ideal for companies marketing to a local area, or where your physical location is not an issue for a customer.
National, or non-geographic, numbers start 08. For example 0843 is a local call rate number.
National numbers are ideal for companies marketing nationally and do not want to advertise their physical location.
There are now alternatives to BT. There are a number of suppliers of Voice Over IP (VOIP) telephone services.
VOIP uses your broadband connection to receive and make telephone calls. But do not let that put you off.
VOIP telephony has come a long way from when it first started. No longer do you have to have your PC on, or use a headset. Many of the services use a little box that plugs into your broadband router; and a standard telephone handset that plugs into the little box. You use it just like a normal telephone. And some of the services are simple to set up, and do not require you to have any technical knowledge, or know how to configure things.
The best thing about VOIP telephony is flexibility. You can have a telephone number for anywhere in the country. Live in Coventry, but want a Birmingham phone number? No problem. Moving office is no problem either. Unplug the box and telephone in the old office, then plug it in at the new office. That is all there is to it.
Most of the services come with voicemail, and the facility to forward calls to fixed line and mobile telephones. All the facilities that a small business needs.
The service we like here at FindHere is from Vonage. It has some great facilities and it is a cheap service. Click over to Fixed line service for more information.
National 084 numbers are a call forwarding service. When someone rings your 084 number it is routed to a phone number that you specify - this can be a fixed line phone or a mobile phone. The caller is not aware that the call has been forwarded.
The cost of the call to the caller is the standard local call rate. It may be higher if the caller is using a mobile phone, and it will depend on their network. The cost to you is the cost of forwarding the call. In some cases this is free when forwarding to fixed line phones and from 13p per minute when forwarding to mobiles. Actual cost will depend on the 084 phone number supplier.
The service we like here at FindHere is from PhoneReceptionist. It has some great facilities and it is a cheap service. Click over to 0843 phone numbers for more information.
This is a difficult one. It all depends.
Even if you are out of your ‘office’ much of the time advertising a mobile number gives the impression of a small one-man business.
If you want to present an image of a lerger company then you do not want to advertise a mobile phone number. You might decide to put your mobile number on the answerphone message, but that also may give the wrong message to a caller.
If, on the otherhand, your customers will not be put off by knowing you are a one-man business then you can advertise a mobile number. It all depends on what your business is, and the image you want to project.
You may also find that some customers do not want to pay the cost of a mobile phone call if you only advertise a mobile number.
Generally, advertising a fixed line number, or a national number is better. Use the call forwarding option to take the call when you are out.
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