Buying a Business Phone Number

• What number would make my business memorable?

• Would having a national number help my business?

• What are the benefits of having a business phone number?

In this article, we will cover the core points you need to acknowledge when buying a business phone number.

Why would you need a business phone number?

A business phone number is essential to any company that wants an open dialogue with its customers. A virtual phone number can be the hub of your sales department or just a place from which your customers can complain or voice their grievances. A channel for your clients to communicate with your business is paramount.

But getting the right number is about how your customers perceive you. By choosing the right type of phone number, you can give new customers the right first impression.

Picking the right phone number for your business

So how exactly should you choose the right phone number for your business? There are multiple types of phone numbers that can all be useful in different ways.

Local Numbers

Local Numbers are a great way to appeal to an area your business has a large influx of business or orders from. If you want to target a very specific area, choose a phone number local to that area and create a virtual local presence. This can be a great way to build trust with your customers.

Imagine that a van hire business seems to be receiving most of their orders from Birmingham, but does not have any office space in the city. Acquiring a virtual Birmingham number would make the business look more appealing to locals as they would assume that the business is based in Birmingham when that might not be the case.

If you're looking for a phone number local to a specific area, look no further than Virtual Landline's local numbers.

National Numbers

National numbers can be a great way to expand your businesses' presence in the eyes of a client or customer. National numbers are non-geographic numbers that start with 0330, and are normally occupied by large organisations that operate throughout the entirety of the UK.

Using a national phone number is a great way to create the impression that your business operates at a national level. Take a look at Virtual Landline's national numbers and access some of the best prices on the market.

Freephone Numbers

Typically used for helplines or customer service calls, freephone numbers are a great way to support your customers in having their concerns heard by allowing them to call you for free and accept the call charge yourself.

Freephone numbers can be a great option for start-ups or smaller businesses that do not currently generate a high volume of calls but want to offer their customers a good service.

Memorable Numbers

Memorable numbers are known for their repeating digits, consecutive numbers or memorable sequences. Perhaps the most famous of these in the UK is 0800 00 1066 from the Hastings Advert.

Also regarded as golden numbers or vanity numbers, these landlines are a perfect addition to your business if you're wanting to expand your marketing opportunities or just want a number that your clients can easily remember.

Find more information about memorable numbers today.

What extra features do I need?

Once you've chosen what type of phone number you need, you should consider how you want your phone system to work. With virtual number providers like Virtual Landline, you can choose from a range of extra features designed to make your phone system work perfectly for you.

Voicemail to Email

Never miss a business voicemail again with our Voicemail to Email service. Easily have all voicemail messages sent to your preferred email address. Can also be used in conjunction with a sales team or complaints team so that they can receive work calls whilst working from home or on the move.

Time of Day Routing

Choose when and where your business calls are routed with Virtual Landline's time of day routing. Simply use this feature to determine the time or day when calls should go to a specific number or device.

Bespoke Mobile App

Designed to give you the flexibility to go along with your virtual landline number, our Virtual Landline app's main function is to allow you to use your virtual number. All that is required on your end is reliable Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G/5G connection.

More information regarding our Virtual Landline App can be found here.

IVR Auto-Attendant

Our IVR Auto-Attendant feature is what you would typically find when contacting a large business. This benefit is an automated greeting service that would introduce the caller to your business and then direct them to the right sector of your company by using the customer's number pad.

What plan do I need?

Once you know the number and system features that your business needs, it's time to consider which plan you should go for. Virtual phone number systems are available to suit organisations of all sizes, so at Virtual Landline we offer a handful of plan types.

Single User

Our single-user plan is perfect for a business that only requires one landline. Choose from one of four great tariff plans and reap the benefits of a Virtual Landline today.

• From £4.50 per month
• Local, National, Freephone numbers are available
• Monthly rolling contracts
• Welcome call credit gift when you sign up

Virtual Landline Office

A Virtual Landline Office package is designed to enhance your businesses' telephone line by giving you the flexibility your company requires. From £9.95 per month, take control of your phone line by buying a feature-rich, business phone number.

• From £9.95 per month
• Main business telephone number with additional numbers per user
• IVR auto-attendant menus
• Online management portal

Why choose Virtual Landline?

By choosing one of Virtual Landline's business phone systems, you can build a phone system that is perfect for your needs. We have hundreds of local, national and freephone numbers available across all our plans. If you are looking for a number that works harder for your business, look no further than Virtual Landline.

Browse our virtual numbers today, or get in touch with our friendly team for more information about what we can offer.

Benefits of a Virtual Business Phone Number

Cost Savings

Using a virtual phone number for your business means that all the calls that you give and receive will be hosted virtually. This removes the need for expensive landline fees, such as long contracts, instalment fees and capped usage. Using a virtual business phone number will only ever be limited by your internet connection, but if you have access to a steady Wi-Fi connection or a strong 3G/4G/5G signal, you should have no issues taking calls on our bespoke virtual landline app.

Pick Your Number

As we have mentioned before, using Virtual Landline for buying your business phone number, it also means that you can pick which type of number you believe fits your business best. Have a large swell of clientele in one specific location? Buy a local number for that city or town. Want to appear as a large, national business? Buy a London number or national landline number. Virtual Landline has the best number for your business. Contact us today for more information.

Higher Scalability

Using a virtual business phone number can also mean that the possibility of scalability is endless, compared to a standard telephone landline. One major disadvantage of using a traditional landline is that only so many connections can be created from the telephone line that they initially installed. If your business expands and requires more extensions for the sales department, or customer care, you could find your business in a communication bottleneck that can affect sales and customer satisfaction.

Using a virtual business phone number, this issue is removed, giving you complete flexibility when it comes to the scalability of your business.

Flexible Salesperson

With virtual phone numbers, callers can be routed to smartphones, tablets and other devices. This can allow employees that work in mobile departments, such as sales staff, to be more hands-on with their day. An example of this would be a salesperson receiving calls from the office, directly to their phone after coming out of an in-person sales pitch.