Pushing Buttons: Picking a Phone Number for Your Business

Many business owners should stop and consider their options when it comes to picking the right phone number. Turns out, it can make a big difference.

Local Business Phone Number

Many business owners have a phone number that was given out when they originally purchased phone service with a local carrier. The 3-digit area code at the beginning of the number links the business to a distinct geographic location. For instance, business owners in New York City (who have been around awhile) have a 212 area code.

800 Phone Number

Known as a toll-free number – because callers aren’t charged for dialing it – the 800 number can also be 877, 866 – and more. Note: Anyone across the United States can have a toll-free number. The numbers aren’t linked to any geographic location.

Vanity Phone Number

A vanity phone number is a number that can be  communicated by using words. For example, 1-800-GET-MILK is a vanity number. Vanity numbers are commonly associated with 800 numbers.

Before we go further into this blog post, we should acknowledge that it draws heavily the ideas and information provided in the article, Business Phone Number.

Reasons to get a 800 vanity phone number:

● Easy to remember. That’s good for marketing purposes. It’s a lot easier to remember 1-800-Get-Milk than say 1-800-498-6455. This is especially true when doing radio and TV advertising.

● Free is great for consumers. People – especially in today’s hyper-connected world – don’t want to use minutes on business calls. Free is a powerful incentive.

● Your business looks bigger. A vanity 800 number says to consumers: Wow, these guys are a big deal with a national reach.

Reasons not to get a 800 vanity phone number:

● Cost. If you have an 800 number, you’re on the hook for the calls made to it. As a pricing example, the popular VOIP phone service Ring Central typically charges business owners 3.9 cents per minute. Along with a fee to set up the 800 number, those minutes can add up – quick.

● Lack of search traffic. Google considers “location” in its search results, which can hurt you (an 800 number isn’t associated with any geographic region.

● The negative connotation. Consumers often associate 800 numbers with waiting on hold and poor customer service. Hence, you have an image issue right off the bat.

Which means more sales?

As far as the local, printed Yellow Pages, ads with local phone numbers receive twice as many phone calls as those ads with 800 numbers. However, can we discount this stat because the printed Yellow Pages are a dinosaur? Maybe – but not completely. A study by CRM Associates – which included data from more than a thousand 800 numbers across a range of business sectors – said that for ads appearing on Internet Yellow Pages, local numbers generated around 33% more phone calls than those with 800 numbers.

Why did customers shy away from 800 numbers? Some of those polled said an 800 number suggested it wasn’t a local business, had a call center, likely meant a long hold time, and meant less-personal service and automated voice systems.

Looking to save your business money on a phone system? Read about the benefits of using an cloud based Voip phone system. If you’re already convinced that using using the internet to transmit phone calls is a good idea, here’s our recommendations on which company to use.