What your phone number says about your business
What’s the simplest way to set up a local presence for your business when expanding to a new market?
Whether it’s a town, country, or even a continent, your first point of localized contact with a customer is your phone number.
Sure the destination may be the same, whether you’re on one end of a local, national, toll-free or mobile number. But the impact these different number types has on your customers, staff and partners can be very different.
So what can a phone number say about your business?
It’s a numbers game
The phone number you choose says a lot about your business, and we aren’t just talking about the catchy vanity numbers that you see on billboards and hear on the radio. The type of number you have doesn’t just provide your customers with a way to connect with you – it tells them who you are, where you are, what type of organization you have and what you think about them.
For example, if someone was to ring you on a mobile number you didn’t recognize, with a different geographical code to you, would you pick it up? Probably not. Side note: Outside of the US, mobile numbers often have dedicated, non-geographic number ranges.
But if that number was from the same area code where you were based, you would be much more likely to pick up. 3x more likely in fact…
Outside of your marketing campaigns, your telephone number is the first link between your prospects or customers and your business. If someone thinks that they will incur costs calling you or that you are based too far outside of their region let alone another country, they might be too apprehensive to pick up the phone.
Here is a handy guide to help you choose the best type of number for your business:
Toll-free numbers
Without question, the best way to get your customers to show you love is to let them call you for free. Granted, this means that, as the business owner, you can expect to pay for the calls yourself, but what you gain is highly valuable customer interaction.
Local numbers
These geographic numbers are tied to specific locations or municipalities, and numbers from each of these will have a different area code. There are more than 5,000 different area codes in the US; Dial a number starting with 212, 646 or 332 and you’ll be connected to someone in Manhattan. Geographic numbers are common knowledge. Which is why it might be in your favor to use a local area code if you are looking to establish a local presence in a specific area.
Non-geographic numbers
In many countries, it is possible to have a non-geographic or national number, that isn’t tied to a specific location and doesn’t come with the same sort of added cost to your business as a toll-free number. They are also typically included in consumer phone plans, which is why they are so popular with contact centers and national businesses, particularly in smaller countries.
In the UK, for example, national numbers begin 08 or 03 and provide businesses with a way to have one contact number that can be dialed just the same from any part of the country. If your business does not need a local presence in specific regions or cities, a national number is a good choice.
Mobile numbers
If you’re a business that wants an SMS presence in the countries your customers are in, you’re going to find that you might need specific mobile numbers (e.g 07 in the UK) that can enable voice and messaging capabilities.
Some countries like the US, however, have regionally specific mobile numbers, similar to a local number. This means that if you want to make sure you have a local presence in those areas you’ll need to acquire quite a few mobile numbers.
How to get all your numbers with ease
If you’re interested in getting local, national or toll-free numbers, we can provide on-demand phone numbers in 10,000+ area codes across 65+ countries. That’s 92% of the global economy, just a phone call away.
