If you thinking of adding an 0800, 0845 or 0870 number to your website, remember that many of your customers will be using a mobile phone to call you
You may have valid reasons for deciding on an “08” number
for your website:
- You
may have nationwide coverage and do not want customers to think you are
limited to a single geographical area. - You
may want to offer a “freephone” service as an incentive for people to call you. - You
may want an 0845 number to give the impression of being a larger company than
you actually are.
My advice is, think very carefully before adding an “08”
number to your site. More often than not, your customers will be calling from a
mobile and will be paying as much as 20p/minute, even when it’s an 0800 number!
They will not appreciate you for having to pay inflated call rates.
These days, “local” is becoming increasingly meaningless.
There are companies who are based abroad and yet have a London dialling code.
At the other end of the scale, there are many international firms that continue
to have a local phone number without if affecting their credibility. And
because of the internet, consumers will assume that you can serve any part of
the country, even if you are a local business.
If having an “08” number is really important to your business, consider including
a local phone number on your “contact us” page. Mobile users will be looking for a cheaper number to call and will appreciate this. Still worried? Remember that your contact us page will usually include your business address so sooner or later your customers will figure out where
you are.
