There are three types of business phone numbers you can choose to let your customers call you.
- Freefone numbers (0800 and 0808 prefixes) and low-cost numbers (03 prefixes) encourage customers to call you. They’re especially useful as customer service numbers.
- Chargeable numbers (0845 prefixes for example) let your business project a national presence.
- Premium rate number (09 prefixes) make you money when people call you. They’re useful for competition lines, tele-voting or technical support lines.
All BT Business numbers come with call management tools to help you get the most from the service you’ve chosen.
Make it easy for customers to call – 0800 numbers
Using a low-cost or free 0800 number encourages customers to call you. By removing, or at least minimising, the cost of calling you get rid of a major barrier for the customer. They don’t have to think of the cost; all they need to think about is ‘what’s your number?’
Using low-cost business phone numbers is a particularly good tactic for customer service numbers. You create a positive experience from the outset that doesn’t cost your customers a penny – especially useful if they’re ringing to complain.
Get a national presence without a big bill – 0845 numbers
While not a premium rate number, the 0845 prefix does carry a charge for callers. The charge is split between you and the caller. 0845 is ideal for businesses who want to project a national presence.
With some low-cost numbers (0844 and 0871 prefixes) you can choose how to balance the costs. So you could set the charge to the caller at a level that generates a profit to you every time someone calls or you might want to eschew the profit in favour of making the call cheaper for your callers, it's up to you.
Make money whenever people call you – 09 numbers
Useful for competition lines, tele-voting, or technical support lines, these business numbers can generate up to £1 a minute in revenue, which could make a real difference to the profitability of your business. And you don’t have to give up your existing landline number either, as the premium-rate line sits on top of it.
Keeping on top of the numbers with BT Business
Business telephone numbers work particularly well for large, complex organisations with very high volumes of phone traffic. With a BT Business number you get more than just a cost-effective or profit-generating way to connect to your customers. You also get two Call Management tools:
1. Inbound Analyst
This management reporting tool lets you analyse data from incoming calls. It’s a free service if you commit to one million minutes of call traffic a year (there’s a charge if you take less than that).
2. Inbound Architect
Use this web-based portal to monitor and adjust your service to make sure that you’re maximising the numbers of calls you’re getting and answering. This is especially useful for call centres handling thousands of calls where it can help improve efficiency and customer service.
Do you have a business phone number? Let us know how it's going by commenting here.
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