A business’ phone number is important for a number of reasons. Clearly, it allows customers to speak with you or your staff, but the type of number you have also says something about the business you are operating. It pays to choose the right number to inspire confidence among your clientele and make it as easy as possible for them to call you.
Local profile
Many businesses use a number that is local to the geographical area in which they are operating – or want to be perceived as operating in – to make it appear that they are part of the community. Even large national businesses may have local numbers to make it appear as if they have a local presence without the expense of an office and hiring staff.
A local number can be an effective way of building a presence in the community and inspiring trust at a modest cost. Customers may feel more confident about the service they are receiving if they think it is from a local supplier. With business VoIP providers you can have all the benefits of local numbers without having to establish offices, or paying BT to install a fixed business line. VoIP offers tremendous flexibility, even down to choosing exactly what kind of number you want. Calls to local numbers can also be easily diverted to other numbers, including mobiles.
Going national
A national number gives your business a different identity. A national number says large, professional, and reaching into all corners of the nation. A national number is not tied into any specific location, which means you can position your business any way you like.
A VoIP platform can easily establish and service a business that wishes to be seen as a national entity with little cost or effort, and if the business changes headquarters, then you can take your numbers with you. This is easily managed with VoIP as your package can be modified from a website.
Many customers love toll free (sometimes called freephone) numbers, as they can feel confident knowing that even if they get held in a queue, or the matter takes some time to resolve, they won’t be presented with a huge bill. Toll free numbers are independent of geography, so the number will not indicate any particular location. With a flexible VoIP package, these numbers are easy to set up.
VoIP is cost effective and very versatile, and it allows business owners to use UK or US numbers but run the business from anywhere. A VoIP provider with a large global network will make sure that calls from all kinds of numbers are handled competitively. If you are interested in finding the best business VoIP providers then it is important to identify those with an extensive global network and flexible packages such as IDT.
VoIP is the telephony solution of the future that is available today. With the right VoIP package, you can effectively position your business and reap the benefits.
