Who does not want a phone number that is easy to remember, easy to pronounce, and feels professional? Many companies strive for a geographically unbound number with as many zeros as possible! Here are some things to keep in mind when choosing a business phone number.
What makes a good phone number? Depends on your business!
Like most things, there are trends in business phone numbers. For local businesses, local area codes are more common. If you have customers throughout the country, use geographically unbound numbers. But what your business does should be what determines what type of number you should choose.
For companies with customer service or support, you should use geographically unbound numbers, preferably ending with many zeros. The number should be easy to remember and easy to pronounce – both for customers and employees.
Read more: Why your company needs a telephone policy.
For companies with many outgoing calls and salespeople, the exact opposite is true. Many get continuous calls from telemarketing companies and have thereby learned to recognise specific numbers.
That usually means they do not answer when that number appears on the screen. If you show a personal mobile number for outgoing calls instead, it gives a more personal feeling. There's a bigger chance that the person at the other end will answer then. (But as with all other trends, this may change, too.)
The most important thing when choosing a number is to do the following:
- Look at the target group: Who calls us? Who do we call?
- Define where you are active – locally or nationally?
- Make sure it feels uniform, professional and safe.
The idea is for your phone number to represent the company as well as possible!
A uniform number series indicates seriousness (and looks nice)
One of the most common mistakes when choosing a phone number for the company is that they don’t buy enough numbers. You may be eight employees now and plan to hire one or two more, so you buy ten numbers in total. That should be enough, right? Actually no, because before you know it, the company has grown to 15 employees. Then the operator does not have any of the following numbers to give you.
All your future colleagues will then get scattered numbers. Phone numbers contribute to the internal community more than you might think. If everyone has different numbers, it can affect you internally – but above all, feel scattered and unclear to customers. Thus, make sure to buy a comprehensive number series that will be enough for many years, right from the start!
A uniform series of numbers can create better cohesion between colleagues in a larger company, primarily if they work in several locations. Besides, it also shows professionalism, seriousness, and structure to the outside world.
Business phone numbers are crucial for ALL companies
Regardless of the size of your company, the telephone number fulfils a significant function. Many small-business owners, such as craftsmen, often provide their number to customers – striped on the company car, for example. But even if you work on your own, you should always have a fixed number for public use. When a customer wants to reach you, it is not the private person Steve Anderson they look for, but the business owner!
Here, the PBX number gives the outside world a feeling of seriousness. It sends professional signals to customers and represents your company. If you are an entrepreneur, you should always have a company number!
Get a company phone number – for free
The Telavox Free service offers entrepreneurs, with around 1-10 employees, a free telephone number and PBX. There are hundreds of numbers to choose from – which may cause severe decision-agony. With the PBX function, everyone in the company can answer incoming calls, and no one will get a busy signal again.
