Are 08xx Numbers the Way Forward?

Are 08xx numbers the way forward for businesses and sole traders. The answer simply is yes - If you are running a business you will have to give your clients a point of contact to be succesful. With a point of contact comes trust and building of rapor.

Lets just take a look at the different types of 08xx you can obtain for your company and the benefits of them. Firstly the all mighty toll free 0800 and 0808 codes, this shows your clients that you mean business as you are willing to pay for there calls. It has been proven that infact the 0800 number raises queries by more than 40%. There are distinct disadvantages of using this sort of toll free number such as if you are getting a high volume of calls per day it may cost you a small fortune. This can be easily avoided though by finding a reputable low priced company.

Next we will have a look at the 0845 code this again offers an ore of professionalism for your business, it shouts out to potential customers "Look at us", the main advantage to a 0845 number over the previous 0800 is that it costs you less to maintain aswell as offering your clients cheap call rates. The disadvantage of this sort of number is that some clients may well think that it is a premium number, as there is a wide range of confusion with 0845 numbers

To summarize both of these are great for your niche and if you are running a call centre or accepting incoming calls in any form then an 08xx is a must for your business and may well give you a little push over your competitors. You can also avoid the hassle of changing your number when area codes change and best of all they are super easy to get setup, you wont need any special tools or equipment. Just find yourself a company that will setup your account and get the calls diverted (most companies are now also offering free setup) and your ready to go.

Premium Numbers

Premium numbers are something to be wary of when setting up your business lines as it will make clients feel as you are trying to avoid them calling by charging them high rates - It may infact reduce sales by upto 60% by having a premium line in place as clients will also feel that if they have a problem with there product they will have to pay excessive rates to get advice.

So finally the three main tips are to Find a good reputable company that offer good rate both yurself and the clients and try to avoid obtaining a premium line.