Over 300,000 Australian companies operate with an inbound phone number as their main point of contact.
If you are weighing up whether to join their ranks, you will undoubtedly have some reservations.
Well, in this post, we aim to put them at ease. Here are seven reasons why your business should get one.
What is an inbound phone number?
Before we reveal the reasons, it is worth clarifying what exactly an inbound phone number is.
Essentially, inbound phone numbers are cloud-based virtual numbers that enable you to forward incoming calls to any mobile device or landline. This makes it easier for people to reach you wherever you are in the world, whether it be in the office, at an off-site meeting, on the way to and from work, or whilst sunning yourself on a beach on holiday!
Typically, they are offered by companies like Telcoworks and start with prefixes like 1300 or 1800.
Reasons to invest in an inbound number
Now that you know what an inbound number is, here are seven reasons why you should invest in one.
- Gives your business more credibility
Arguably the main reason for any business to get an inbound number is because doing so will give them much more credibility.
By dialling a 1300 or 1800 number, callers will have more confidence that the company they are contacting are successful, organised and reliable.
At the same time, potential customers should gain the confidence that their order will be fulfilled or queries dealt with in a professional manner.
In short, to put it crudely, if a business has an inbound phone number, callers are less likely to think they are dodgy.
- Suggests your business operates across Australia
The great thing about inbound numbers is that they work across Australia. Therefore, it is implied that companies that have one can service customers across the country.
For instance, customers in Broome who dial a 1300 number should have more confidence that a business in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast can fulfil their order request than they might otherwise do if they dialled a 07 prefix.
This, in turn, should better motivate them to place an order with you.
- Easier to remember
Another big benefit of having customers call a 1300 or 1800 number is that they are much easier for them to remember than normal ten-digit numbers. That is because, given that the first four digits are fixed, you effectively only need to recall the last six numbers in the sequence.
To make it even easier for people to remember, you can even customise an inbound number to form a word, such as 1800 Coffee or a numerical pattern like 1300 246246.
Doing this will undoubtedly give you a greater competitive advantage over your rivals who don’t have an inbound number.
- Less disruption when you relocate
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to relocate your business, whether to upsize, downsize, pay cheaper rent or move to an area of higher foot traffic, having an inbound number makes the relocation process much smoother.
Not only can you save a lot of money and resources in having to reprint your signage and marketing materials, but you will also eliminate the risk of customers phoning out-of-service or incorrect numbers.
The latter can be very beneficial in terms of retaining repeat customers, who otherwise might think your business had closed.
- Allows for easier growth of your company
If your business is successful enough to open new offices, having an inbound number makes the transition process much more effective.
For a start, you won’t need to fund separate landline phone numbers for each field office.
Additionally, you can seamlessly direct the 1800 or 1300 to the relevant department in a matter of seconds, therefore saving the caller the hassle of trying to find which local number to call.
- Better flexibility
If your employees regularly working from home or at other remote locations, inbound numbers make it easier for people to get in touch with them when they are not in the office.
As previously mentioned, calls can be diverted to any device, anywhere in Australia, which ensures they remain contactable in a professional way, wherever they are.
If they are not in a position where they can take the call right now, it can be rerouted to SMS or an answering machine to be dealt with at a later time.
- Excellent analytics for marketing
As the inbound numbers are customisable, you can use the analytics data generated from specific numbers to enhance the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing campaigns.
For example, businesses can assign a specific to a particular campaign and then work out the degree to which it was successful in terms of the number of calls that were received. They can also establish what part of the country the calls came from and how long the average call was.
Doing this enables businesses to streamline their promotional activities to increase their profitability and ROI.
James is the head of marketing at Tamoco
