Before August 2003, BT held the monopoly on directory enquiries. When Ofcom opened up in the service, they granted figures by lottery, while using 118 prefix. Clearly, every new operator wanted the repeat digits, knowing they’d be easiest that folks remember.
Possibly the best directory enquiries clients are ‘118 118’. (The company is really known as ‘The Number United kingdom Ltd’ and they also bought the amount from Leaf Telecom for almost any reported £2m).
Acquiring the ‘best’ number ensures they are management, once they aren’t always minimal pricey. Their fame can also be because of their advertising campaign with a number of 70s-style moustachioed runners with ‘118’ on their own chests!
When designing an internet business, or creating a specific advertising campaign, the telephone number you choose is connected together with your branding which is reaction to your success.
So what type of number fits your needs?
Non-geographic figures (NGNs)
To own impression the organisation includes a national presence, you may need a Non-Geographic Number (NGN). Through getting an NGN, you can advertise in John O’Groats if you are located in Land’s Finish and customers will not know you are not local. You can create it appears such as your working atmosphere is unquestionably an ivory tower even if it’s your spare master bed room. And you will have continuity of telephone number if you are moving premises, exercising in the serviced office, or even out-and-about and taking all inbound calls within your mobile.
0800 freephone figures
Figures beginning with 0800 is free of charge for calls within the United kingdom landline. Studies have proven you can boost enquiries as much as 300% should you advertise having a freephone number (clearly, you allow the inbound calls). 0800 figures are perfect for much of your order line, are suitable for purchase towards the dimensions business, within the sole-trader having a Government agency.
0845 ‘lo-call’ figures
Should you prefer a national presence but should not purchase inbound calls or earn a rebate, then 0845 may be the prefix to meet your requirements. Callers pay local rate when bringing in the landline everywhere within the United kingdom. Although there is no revenue share to meet your requirements, however that 0845 is becoming depressed through the general confusion about rebate figures (witness ‘saynoto0870.com’), so you might want to consider 03 rather.
0844 and 0871 rebate figures
In case you run a live answering services company, technical helpline, support or customer services, you might want to use a rebate number that earns you earnings all your inbound calls. These begin with 0844 (earning you around 4p for every minute on incoming calls) and 0871 (earning you around 6p for every minute on incoming calls). It does not appear industry sector you are in, using this to retail, the greater calls you receive, the larger the rebate to boost your bottom-line.
03xx ‘freephone for mobile’ figures
With growing figures of people using cell phones, you will probably find they request your 01 or 02 direct line instead of the printed 08 number. 03xx may be the option to 08xx that actually calculates cheaper for mobiles, as calls are billed inside the normal rate for calling an 01 or 02 landline, and is within the caller’s ‘free minutes’ package.
- 0333 figures work for business
- 0300 and 0303 figures work for benevolent organizations, public sector and non-profit organizations
- 0344, 0345, 0370 and 0371 figures work for individuals relocating exactly the same 0844, 0845, 0870 and 0871 (for consistency, you might decide an 03 migration number that ends sticking with the same four digits since the current 08 number)
03 provides you with all the advantages of a non-geographic 08, however, there’s no rebate while using 03 figures, that have been created by Ofcom in 2007 to provide customers ‘confidence in their calls’.
