Freephone Numbers - Good or Bad?

[Parcelhub]

We've tried a freephone number but they don't appear to work on mobile, which kind of defeats the object of 'making your company more accessible'.

Agree or disagree?

 

[HarveyIT]

Not sure what you mean by 'don't appear to work', as they should now be free on a mobile?

 

[Parcelhub]

What I mean is why would you want to cut off your business from all mobile users? We've made it so our local rate number appears on mobile browsers.

 

[StevensOnln1]

It shouldn't put people off now that 0800/0808 are free to call from all mobiles. Most people should have received a text from their mobile provider informing them, although not all will have read it or remembered.

 

[HarveyIT]

0800 numbers should now be free to call from a mobile, so I take it what you mean is that you have an 0800, and you have either tried it yourself or know someone who has, and a charge has been deducted? If so, then maybe there is some kind of delay with the change. Is that what you mean by 'don't appear to work'?

 

[StevensOnln1]

The change only came in 2 days ago. I had no trouble when calling an 0800 number from my mobile yesterday.

 

[fisicx]

It's about perception. 08 = call centre to many people. 01/02 indicates means you will be calling a real person (even if it's a call centre at the other end). People trust local numbers more than they trust anonymous 08/03 numbers.

 

[Simon.P]

I agree with Fisicx. I use a local number because that's exactly the point i want to put across - that i am local to the punter.

 

[adamcooke]

As Fisicx says, we find that many people associated 08 numbers with large corporations and call centres. Many of our customers prefer to use local numbers (01 or 02) which are more enticing and signal you're more likely to talk to a human within a couple of rings.

If you do want to be non-geographic, an 03 number is far more popular than an 08 number. In fact, last year Ofcom ruled that it would no longer be legal to advertise an 0845/0844/0871 number to handle customer enquiries.

 

[cjd]

There's really no use for 0800 even now that they're free.

The fact is that 01 and 02 numbers are universally understood and normally 'free' to the caller anyway as most have some form of inclusive package and those that don't are paying tiny amounts.

Then you've got the fact that they're expensive for the number owner and they may get barred by customers who don't want to be called by companies.

And if you want a 'national presence', 03 does that with none of the downsides.or expense.

 

[bigsie]

Trouble we found with 0800 number is you get the cheapskates who are price shopping, so we ditched it, and just use a local virtual number diverted to mobile.

 

[AlanGuidry]

As others have said. Its more about perception that anything else. Maybe in the past a company saying "we want to pay for your call" was an inviting prospect but with call costs and inclusive minutes as they are today, I'm not sure so many people care these days.

Having said that if you want to portray yourself as a national company business a non-geo number is pretty much the way to go. Case in point are companies like Virgin, BT, EDF you name it. They all use national (or non-geo). As others have said an 03 number can do this just as well, but you'll be surprised just how many people think they'll be charged loads for calling 03 numbers.

We used to have both an 03 number and 0800. Way more calls on the 0800 as you may expect. I believe there's still a bit of confusion for consumers as to how much it costs to call an 03 number due to the many permutations (0300, 0333, 0330, 0345..)

 

[ryedale]

We ditched our 0800 number three years ago and went back to a local number and phone enquiries increased dramatically from all over the country.

 

[HazelC]

I had an 0800 number once, I didn't like it - now I opt for a local number and people then know I'm local. You can then pay for more 'local numbers' to be redirected as you grow your business to different areas.

 

[Emma Fryer]

As most people have commented 0800 numbers and indeed all 08 numbers from mobiles have a stigma and sometimes a price issue attached.
If you are set on having a free or non geographic number an 03 number might be the best way to move forward.
However Geographic numbers are great in my opinion for image and people then have a good idea of where you are located.

There is a short blog post on our website about this if you want a read.
http://answer-it.co.uk/2014/04/telephone-numbers-can-be-confusing/