Geographic or non geographic phone numbers

[MrC]

I will get the royal mail [if not on strike] to distribute brochures for me next year to get new business. I am wondering what type of phone number to place on the brochure [A4 colour folded twice].
In the olden days, advice was that if you gave an 0800 number it made a more professional and larger company image and that people would ring as it was a free call.
If I use a 0845 number at costs of a local number call, the only benefit I see for me is that it is non geographic and people won't make the wrong decision, thinking oh, he lives there, he won't come this far out, or if he does he will be expensive.
I won't entertain 0871.
If i use 03xx numbers, do the public understand them?

My current thoughts are that a lot of my potential customers will call me on their mobiles, so 08xx numbers are an expense as they are not within call packages. 03xx are not understood by most and that with some landline call packages 0845 numbers are costly.

As I cover an area that has many geographic codes I am puzzled as to the best way to proceed. I would welcome your thoughts on this.

 

[AerialSolutions]

We use a free 0800 - but most importantly we also have a local phone number for every area we service. We have 10 in all. Most people like to think they are ringing a local phone number.

 

[cjd]

I've lost count how often I answer this one

Telephone numbers are all designed for different purposes. Telephone companies talk of them as ‘products’ – they are not all equal.

Telephone numbers are also perceived differently by consumers. How they feel about a number and what they think it costs them to dial it, can radically affect what they think about your company and whether they will call you or not.

In short, they are part of your brand and image and they are not easily changed once chosen, so it’s important you consider the type of number to use carefully

Ofcom research tells us that:
1. Consumers know what 01 & 02 numbers (geographic numbers) are and believe them to be the cheapest number to call
2. 64% of consumers know that 0800 are free to call
3. Consumers think there is little difference in cost of calling 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871
4. Consumers always overestimate how much all types of calls cost.
5. Consumers are less likely to call numbers that they perceive to be more expensive to call and/or are unfamiliar to them.
6. 65%-78% of consumers either won’t call, are unlikely to call, telephone numbers used in adverts - even for products they are interested in - if they use these numbers: 0845 (65%), mobile (70%), 0870 (73%), 0844 (76%), 0871 (78%).
Source: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/numberingreview/research/

If you read no further than this; normally, it’s best to choose an 01 or 02 number for your business. Additionally an 0800 should be considered if you actively need customers to call you or are running advertising campaigns.

Unless you have a specialised reason for choosing any other type – don’t.

01 & 02 Geographic – the normal, general purpose, everyday telephone number. Geographic numbers show your location; 020 7, 020 8 and now 020 3, is London, 01273 Brighton, 0151 Liverpool etc. Calls to these numbers from BT landlines used to be charged at either local or national rates depending on where the caller was but now it’s one charge, 3p per minute (day), regardless.
These numbers are universally understood and should be your first choice for a normal businesses number. Their sole disadvantage is that they cannot be taken with you if you move outside the area of the telephone exchange they are connected to. (However, this is no longer a restriction for VoIP geographic numbers which can be taken anywhere without needing to tell your provider; even abroad.)
They are the only type of number that can be reliably dialled from anywhere in the world.
Importantly, 01 and 02 numbers are included as ‘free’ to dial in mobile contract packages.

0800 – Freephone numbers are used for marketing or for sales lines where the strategy is to attract customers to call you. Most people (64%) know they are free to call so they are a good marketing tool. They are often used for short term marketing campaigns; different numbers can be used per advert to help tracking and calculating the relative success of different campaigns.
Costs to you. The numbers retail at a range of prices from £5 per month upwards. Look out for set-up charges and minimum usage charges. As the call is free to the caller, the number owner gets charged for the incoming call usually between 3p and 6p per minute.
0800 is a well understood number but because it is non-geographic ie not tied to your local telephone exchange, you can take it anywhere in the UK when you move. For this reason it is sometimes marketed to you as a number for life.
A major downside is that they are NOT free to call from mobiles and may not be called from outside the UK.

0808 numbers are the same as 0800 and introduced because the 0800 range is running out – these are less useful as people don’t necessarily know they are free to call.

0845 was introduced as a Lo-Call number as callers are charged at local rates (when called from landlines) no matter where they are. Unfortunately, there is no longer a different charge for local and national calls to ordinary geographic numbers so the marketing distinction has been lost.
They are however cheaper to call than geographic numbers 2p rather than 3p pm (day). I doubt that anyone knows this – did you?
Ofcom research tells us that they are generally thought to cost the same as dialling 0870.
BT no longer really promote these numbers and they have been undermined by the growth of mobile as they are not included in mobiles inclusive calling minutes and charged for at various rates, always more than a national call.
Being non-geographic they have the advantage of moving with you if you move. They are often not dial-able from abroad.

0844 is a revenue sharing number ie the owner of the number - usually the service provider – gets a small proportion of the income generated from the call.
They are a confusing number group as it is necessary to know the 5th digit to know what the call charge is.
Unless you have a specialised service, don’t use them.

0870 were introduced as low cost, revenue sharing numbers for companies providing a service to their callers such as a help line.
In January 2008 the revenue share element will be removed by Ofcom and the call charge to the customer reduced to the cost of a standard national call rate..
As a result, 0870, which was often offered as a free number to small businesses will be abandoned by the industry.

0871 is similar to 0870 but with higher call charges. They pay a revenue share too but are now regulated by ICSTIS and if you use them you are obliged to notify the customer of the cost of the call which rules them out for normal use.
As true value added services though, they have their place – but please do not even consider them as a normal ‘contact me’ number.
They are non-geographic so can move with you but often can’t be called from abroad. Calls from mobiles can be charged at any rate at all.
09xxx are real premium numbers with rates that can be £1+ per minute and are designed for valuable information services like pornography. To get one you need to apply the ICSTIS.

Useful web sites:

http://www.icstis.org.uk/
www.ofcom.org.uk
Cost of calls to specialised numbers:
http://www.downloads.bt.com/pricing/SpecialisedNos.pdf
Area code look up table
http://www.ukphoneinfo.com/section/home/introduction.shtml
International Telephone number wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_dialling_codes
How to get a telephone number for your business
http://www.voipfone.co.uk/How_to_Get_A_Telephone_Number_For_Your_Business.ph p

 

[MrC]

I think my solution is to use an 0800 number to attract those using landlines and to include a 5 digit text number for those with mobile phones, everybody should be covered

 

[cjd]

If you're doing a mail shot I imagine that the 0800 number is fairly safe - most places with letterboxes also have landlines

I still favour the geographic number, but I take your point about people not thinking you'll get out to their location if it doesn't match their own geo - but maybe a map showing your reach would cover that?

03 will be a solution at some point, but like you, I don't think anybody knows what they are yet.

 

[robert@numbuz]

Whichever premium rate service you use, make sure that it is a personalised number (eg 0800 DESIGNERS). People will are much more likely to remember a name rather than a number. A phonename also improces your brand presence.

 

[MrC]

Phone numbers to names. Not sure that it works in the UK.

 

[cjd]

It works but it's largely unknown here - if you just use the 0800 DESIGNERS on your van, most people won't have a clue what you mean.

 

[robert@numbuz]

I think people will know exactly what you mean. Just look at the numbers such as 08000MUMDAD (which is being advertised nationally on TV at the moment), and others like 0800HANDYMAN and 08080DIAMOND. It's not that people don't know what they mean, or how to use them. It's just that marketing companies aren't telling clients about th opportunities that are out there.

 

[robert@numbuz]

As CJD says in an earlier thread, your phone number is part of your image and brand, so it's important to get it right. Here is an extract from an article on why alphanumeric mobile numbers are a really cheap marketing opportunity for small businesses., which i thought you might find of interest.

1 Because people remember names much better than they remember numbers. And when a potential customer remembers a phone name, businesses are far more likely to get a call from a customer next time they’re in the market for services. In studies conducted about phone names, 76% of people were able to recall a phonename compared to 7% that were able to recall a set of numbers.

A mobile number spelling the name of your business can be bought relatively inexpensively, and if you just use it for inbound calls, you won't have to pay the premuim charges of an 0800 service.

2 Case studies in Australia have shown that using phone names in place of phone numbers can increase advertising response rates by 300%. The increase in response rates is even greater when phone names are used in radio and outdoor advertising.

3 As advertising response rates go up, the cost of generating each lead comes down. As such, phone names can save advertisers considerable amounts of money in lead generation. For instance, if you double your advertising response rate, you’re halving the cost of generating each lead.

4 If a potential customer hears or sees a members ad, then goes to the Yellow Pages or the internet to look for the phone number, they may end up calling a competitor. But if they see the ad, and can recall a phone name – you’re almost guaranteed to get the call.

5 Think how easy it is for a customer to recommend a company’s services when they use a phone name: “That company called BUILDERS did a great job for me. You should give them a call. Just dial 079 BUILDERS (079 28453377).”

6 As consumers are becoming increasingly aware of phone names, many will simply guess a company’s phone name when they need particular goods or services. This is known as predictive dialing in the USA and has been proven to generate leads and sales long after a particular ad campaign has stopped.

7 Every time someone dials a phone name, they're dialing a company name, a brand name, or a word that describes the goods and services they're looking to buy. As such, dialing a phone name will reinforce a brand far more than dialing a random sequence of numbers

8 When an existing customer can remember your phone name, they’re more likely to call more often and order more products and services.

9 Research conducted in Australia indicated that across a variety of advertising mediums (TV, radio, print, and outdoor) the recall of a phone name is, on average, 450% greater than the recall of a phone number.

 

[cjd]

Can you post the Australian research please

 

[robert@numbuz]

The URL of the Australian research and case studies is at

www phonenames .co.au

There are more stats at www phonenames com , who are a UK based company.

You can find what words your numbers can spell, and find mobile numbers for sale that match your brand, at www numbuz com

Hope these are helpful

 

[cjd]

Unfortunately, it starts with the piece of information that:

Research conducted by Roy Morgan in May 2008, indicated that a large majority of Australians are aware of the 1300 & 1800 phone words concept.

Awareness of phone names concept: 93%

As I said, I suspect awareness in the UK is very low - but I'd be very interested to find out whether that is the case.

The rest is obvious - of course a name is more memorable than a number and will therefore be more effective for use in adverts.

 

[MrC]

That has certainly given me something to think about although costings on a web site mentioned earlier are prohibitive

 

[robert@numbuz]

Mr C.
A cheaper option would be to have an inbound only alphanumeric mobile number. Many of these cost as little as £30. Google " buy sell mobile numbers" for a range of companies and websites that might be able to help. PM me if you want any help on this. Regards

 

[Call Tracker]

Have you thought about using a geographic telephone number specific to your mail out that can be tracked to analyse response rates? The benefits of this are similar to that of using google analytics for web traffic as every call that comes in is tracked and you can accurately measure the success of your campaign.

You can use 08 or geographic numbers for this exercise and it can also be used to give you a clear idea of how the inbound calls are being handled with a call recording feature.

 

[MrC]

I have considered a seperate non geographic number for my 2010 campaign. I am concerned that i may cause confusion due to other non geographic numbers and one new geographic number on top of my existing geographic area, plus i hope to secure the services of an answering service with diary function to handle of the calls. Perhaps the confusion is with me.

I think simple is best, one non geographic number [i don't like the ideas of mobile phone numbers being used in campaigns, although that is possibly an out-dated veiwpoint], with an option to text to an enquiry service. I do like the idea of the 0800 dial this idea, but the number/name i am looking for is out of my pocket

 

[MrC]

Have you considered telemarketing to get your business out to people, being more pro-active rather than re-active.

my businees is aimed at the domestic customer. In my experience tele marketing really p!sses people off.

 

[Citrus Telecom]

With an 0844 number, the person calling the number pays the standard rate no matter where the organisation is based. The cost is the same as a standard local call.
The real benefit is that you "own" the number, and you are able to route the call intelligently wherever you are.

Benefits of 0844 numbers
Lowers risk of misuse by callers, as they have to pay for the call as well. 5p per minute.
Intelligent, flexible routing options available.
Cheaper to operate than "Freephone" numbers.
Earn money on 0844 numbers

 

[jossecarr]

Toll free vanity number is easier to memorize, in return creates higher response rate from customers. This digit-letter combination is used as a marketing tool by many small businesses.

 

[williamjone]

If you are looking for information from a cell phone number, then you most likely will not find it for free. I have conducted reverse phone lookups using http;//reversecellphonedirectory.net/ in the past and have been satisfied with the results.