A phone number can say a lot about your business...

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1 10 TOP TIPS FOR BUYING A BUSINESS PHONE NUMBER

2 A phone number can say a lot about your business... By choosing it correctly you can leverage yourself above your competition. Ensuring that you are on the right type of package is also very important, particularly if telephone communication plays a big part of your day to day activity. To help you in your quest to get it right, we ve put together these 10 top tips.

3 1 Know your numbers Make sure you know your 01s and 02s from your 08s; as your phone number says a lot about your company.» A local number suggests you re a specialist business and operating in a specific geographical area.» 030 numbers are designated for charities, non-profits and the public sector.» 033 numbers say you re a professional business and can be highly trusted.» 0845 numbers gives you a national and professional image.» 0800 are free to call from any landline, give your company a national identity and can improve response rates.» 084 or 087 numbers can help you earn additional revenue as you ll accumulate money from every inbound call that you receive.

4 2 The cost of your number What s the cost to me? That s one of the most common questions from businesses looking for their perfect number. The price you ll pay will depend on the types of calls that you need to make and the features that you need. At Windsor we are competitively priced, offering free connection on all numbers with monthly charges from 0 and revenue shares of up to 4p per minute - so we can really help to save you money.

5 3 Know the costs to your callers It is important that you know how much your chosen phone number will cost you and your customers. If your business relies on customers calling you, consider a free or reduced rate number such as a 0333 or 0330 number. These numbers are included within many call packages and are cheap to call (often costing the same rate as a 01 or 02 number), letting customers know that their call is important and that you are an established and professional business. Equally, you could be looking to offset the costs of your services with a revenue generating number such as an 0844 or 0871 which will bring in revenue share of up to 4p per minute. Whatever your goal, knowing the cost to your callers plays an important role in choosing the perfect telephone number.

6 4 Know what you need Ensure you have a clear view about what call handling features and capabilities your business requires. How many staff will be using the system? Do you need conference calling capabilities, auto-attendant, voic , call forwarding or integration with ? Deciding on what s important to your organisation is a very important step in deciding which business telephone number and related package you ll require. Plus by knowing what s essential to your organisation, can help save you money in the long run.

7 5 Plan ahead for all the features you may need Plan ahead and make sure your package is scalable so as your business grows you can add extensions and features as you require. Find out about handling features such as call rerouting so you can route calls to another landline or mobile, useful if you relocate or work from different locations such as in the office and at home. If you are going to get a large volume of callers, think about call queuing or a virtual switchboard which is ideal if your organisation has a number of different departments or offices. When you do need to upgrade, just speak to us we ll be able to help.

8 6 Make the number memorable Handpick a memorable number of your choice and make it easier and more convenient for your customers to contact you, giving you an advantage over your competition. The most memorable numbers are patterns: Repeats of single numbers 1111 Repeated Pairs 1122 Double repeats 1212 Consecutives 1234 Step up or step down 1232 Mirrored numbers Try saying potential numbers out loud if they sound catchy then it s more likely that your customers will remember it in the future these numbers could even become part of your branding (think of ).

9 7 Alpha-Numeric numbers Why not look at using an alpha-numeric number that spells out a memorable word on a keypad - perhaps the name of your company or a relevant service. These numbers could help increase your brand recognition as your number will stick in the mind of your customers, making it easy for them to call you. Alpha-numeric numbers are particularly useful in TV & radio advertising where there is a need to embed in the consciousness of customers quickly. Again, these numbers could become part of your marketing campaigns in the future.

10 8 Get statistical Once up and running, keep measuring the performance of your number by using call statistics. Call statistics can give you valuable real time information about your customers and the quality of service that you re giving them. Reports can show a whole host of statistics about missed, engaged or answered calls - very helpful for planning staffing and making your business more efficient. Our Vision call statistics package is extremely easy to use, and is included as standard in all of our call packages helping to save you time and energy, as well as aid future business growth.

11 9 Help and support Check your service level agreement so you know what you are entitled too and whether you ll be supported if something were to go wrong with your system. At Windsor, all of our telephone numbers have a disaster recovery feature which comes as standard just in case your landlines go down. We also have a dedicated team of people who believe in going the extra mile - not just in answering specific questions but by giving you helpful advice and predicting your individual needs.

12 0 Get advice from an expert Before signing up to anything, make sure that you speak to an expert. At Windsor, we provide numbers for thousands of organisations across the UK, including the RSPCA, the BBC, Ebay and countless SME s. For a free information pack or to find out more about how we can help you, please [email protected] or call

13 Windsor Telecom plc The UK's leading provider of special business numbers Windsor Telecom plc 1st Floor, Tilford House, Farnham Business Park, Farnham, GU9 8QT. Join us online: Published March Copyright Windsor Telecom plc 2014