You’re setting up your business, you’ve got your finances sorted, your business plan is in place, your website is set up and you’re ready to begin. But what about your telecoms? It’s one part of a business that is vital to have in place but is rarely reviewed, you usually choose a package or system and then you stick with it through business life, so surely it pays to ensure you make the right decision from the off?

In every business sector, it is vital that you give off the right image to your customers with an emphasis on ensuring that you look professional at all times. Looking amateurish, whether it’s through your website, your marketing material or your telephone system, could be the key factor in deterring customers from trusting you enough to give you their business.

So how can something as simple as a telephone number or system be that important to a business?

When you start a business, you need to encourage customers to willingly approach you from your own advertising and marketing as it’s unlikely that you’ll get referrals from day one, so you need to ensure you give off the right impression for your target customers. Advertising a mobile number may be good for a mobile beauty business, but not so much for an accountancy firm, so you need to decide what telephone setup is the best fit for you.

 

Choose an 08 or 03 business number

A non-geographic number lets your business immediately appeal to the whole of the UK without causing any major disruption or cost to your business. Because the numbers are virtual, they can be connected to any existing mobile or landline numbers instantly, without any costly installation fees or detriment to your existing telephone setup, so you’re able to carry on receiving calls from your existing number as well as calls to your new 08 or 03 number.

 

Make it free for customers to call you

This probably doesn’t need much explanation, 0800 numbers have been around for years. Calling an 0800 number from a landline is completely free for your customers, as you pay for the calls within your monthly charge. 0800 numbers are proven to increase sales enquiries by up 175% as they are trusted numbers and customers recognise that you value their custom. If you expect that most of your customers will call from mobiles, the 03 range could be for you. Calls are always charged at the same rates as calls to 01 or 02 numbers, and are even included within most monthly minute bundles.

 

Earn a rebate from your calls

If you expect to receive a high volume of calls to your business, then an 0844 number is a perfect fit for your business. Calls are charged at low rates, with the revenue earned from every minute being shared between you and your provider. 08 Direct offers up to 4p per minute rebate, letting business generate revenue from something as simple as their inbound calls.

 

Manage your calls professionally

Call management features help businesses to deal with each and every call efficiently and professionally, at all times. Using a call whisper lets businesses differentiate between call sources, letting numerous numbers being connected to the same destination. This is perfect for home businesses who keep their existing landline number for personal use yet have their business number connected to the same phone. Voicemail, auto attendant, fax to email, call forwarding and a welcome message will all ensure every call is handled with the highest level of customer service.