The Z Reviews

The first month of the year can be a slow month for the UK business community and the current economic slow down is going to amplify this further.

Many businesses are now looking at various cost effective ways that they can focus the number of enquiries they receive and in turn, generate more through put.

A highly popular way of companies reaching this goal is to offer their enquirers a completely free telephone experience.

0800 numbers are free to contact from a landline and lots of organisations that use them experience a vast rise in the quantity of calls they get. In fact, research by the Institute of Direct Marketing has concluded that a company that provides an 0800 number can increase their amount of enquiries by up to 185%.

This is just one benefit that many UK businesses are gaining by applying 0800 numbers to their business.

Below are Seven more:

1. 0800 numbers are non-geographic - meaning they are not area specific like regular landline numbers. Ensuring, businesses can draw in a greater amount of companies beyond of their physical vicinity as they won’t be restricted by their location.

2. Given the option, 63% of the public say that they would always call a freephone number first (Teleculture 2000).

3. The Henley Research Centre concluded that 68% of the public feel that businesses which offer 0800 numbers are thinking more about their potential customers.

4. 0800 numbers, similar to all non-geographic telephone numbers, help businesses to instantly tidy up their telephone systems with online call handling features - for example greeting messages and call divert.

 5. Online call statistics systems allow company owners/managers/marketers to evaluate the region of callers to their 0800 number, amount of missed calls and busy periods in order to benefit with marketing/customer services and organising staff numbers more effectively.

 6. Companies can manage the area they want to receive their calls (e.g. not in normal working hours and in the case of a disaster). Their 0800 number can be rerouted to any United Kingdom landline or mobile with Call divert features

7. All calls to 0800 numbers can be put in a queue when combined with online call queuing systems. This enables companies to answer a greater number of enquiries and not loose prospective business.

It seems evident that basically by providing a freephone telephone number, businesses can maximise the number of enquiries they receive, deal with their enquirers more effectively, organise staffing efficiently and stand out from those in the same field of enterprise - all areas that are essential in business and vital for businesses to thrive in this time of economic uncertainty.

For business owners, a simple change of telephone number could be the most important resolution that they make in 2009.