There are many things to think about when starting up a new business, including sourcing capital, producing a website, and attracting your first customers. One of the most important things you can do in the initial phase of any start-up is to buy a business number, and doing so from the outset can be one of the smartest moves you could make.
Why should you buy a business number?
Why? When you buy a business number for your enterprise, your new company will look more professional. Rely on email correspondence and a mobile phone. Conversely, your enterprise will be small, not yet fully formed, and unprofessional.
As well as being able to publish a proper business telephone number on your business cards and social media pages, buying a business number provides start-ups with additional benefits like focusing on what they call business text messaging .
The significance of the business number
According to a leading British supplier of business telephone numbers, Cleartone Communications, start-ups that buy a business number are more likely to generate inbound calls from potential customers. In short, people – whether they are individual consumers or working for a company – are more willing to call businesses for the first time if they have a business telephone number to call. As such, buying a business number can be a crucial way of developing a sales funnel. After all, the more inbound inquiries a start-up can generate, the more it can convert into sales. Buying a business number is simple and can be done online in minutes.
Another important aspect of owning a business telephone number is that it can operate geographically and non-geographically. For example, start-ups that invest in a 0207 business number can seem as though they are based in central London even though calls to it might automatically be redirected to Swindon, Leeds, or Colchester. Of course, the same goes for 0131 numbers in Edinburgh or 029 numbers in Cardiff. Equally, start-ups providing a local service to their customers will often benefit from buying a business number in that location even if calls to it are redirected to a mobile phone. A mobile car valeting service in Worcester, for example, would undoubtedly benefit from a 01905 business number on its sales literature as inhabitants of the City would be more likely to call it.
Equally, non-geographical business numbers work for start-ups because they convey a sense of national coverage and even greater professionalism. For instance, if you buy a 0800 number for your start-up, you will expect to generate even more inbound calls because everyone who dials the number will know they won’t be charged for the call. When start-ups buy a 0800 number or opt for a 0333 business number, they will often come across as much more established in the marketplace than they are. This is very important for some new companies that want to convey a sense of permanence and reliability in their brand.
Of course, when you buy an 0800 number or any other type of business telephone number, you can redirect calls to it in any way you see fit, automatically transferring to a mobile, a landline, or a voicemail, for example, at different times of the day. This means that SMEs and start-ups get the flexibility they need as they grow.
