Choosing the ideal The appropriate Phone Number In your Online business

Ahead of August 2003, BT held the monopoly on directory enquiries. When Ofcom opened the service, they granted numbers by lottery, all with the 118 prefix. Of course, every new operator wanted the repeat digits, knowing they'd be easiest for visitors to remember.

The most successful directory enquiries business is'118 118 '. (The company is in fact called'The Number UK Ltd'and they bought the number from Leaf Telecom for a reported £2m).

Having the'best'number has made them market leaders, even though they are certainly not the cheapest. Their fame can also be thanks for their ad campaign that includes a pair of 70s-style moustachioed runners with'118'on the chests!

When creating a new business, or owning a specific marketing campaign, the telephone number you choose is part of your branding and could possibly be key to your success.

So which form of number is better for you personally?

Non-geographic numbers (NGNs)

To offer the impression that the organisation features a national presence, you will need a Non-Geographic Number (NGN). With an NGN, you are able to advertise in John O'Groats if you're located in Land's End and customers won't know you're not local. You can make it seem like your working environment can be an ivory tower even though it's actually your spare bedroom. And you'll have continuity of telephone number if you're moving premises, training of a serviced office, or even out-and-about and taking all inbound calls in your mobile.  Free Caller Search Engine

0800 freephone numbers

Numbers starting with 0800 are free for calls from a UK landline. Research indicates you are able to boost enquiries by around 300% once you advertise utilizing a freephone number (of course, you pay for the inbound calls). 0800 numbers are suitable for most of your order line, and are available to any size of business, from a sole-trader to a Government agency.

0845'lo-call'numbers

If you want a national presence but don't want to pay for inbound calls or earn a discount, then 0845 may be the prefix for you. Callers pay local rate when calling from a landline from anywhere in the UK. Although there's no revenue share for you personally, the downside is that 0845 is now trapped in the general confusion about rebate numbers (witness'saynoto0870.com'), which means you might want to consider 03 instead.

0844 and 0871 rebate numbers

In the event that you run a phone centre, technical helpline, support or customer services, you could want to utilize a rebate number that earns you income from your entire inbound calls. These focus on 0844 (earning you around 4p each and every minute on incoming calls) and 0871 (earning you around 6p each and every minute on incoming calls). It doesn't matter what industry sector you're in, from IT to retail, the more calls you receive, greater the rebate to improve your bottom-line.

03xx'freephone for mobile'numbers

With more and more people using cell phones, you might find they look for your 01 or 02 direct line instead of your published 08 number. 03xx is the choice to 08xx that works out cheaper for mobiles, as calls are charged at the conventional rate for calling an 01 or 02 landline, and could be contained in a caller's'free minutes'package.