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Why You Need a Business Phone Number for Your Company

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Dora Sharon
Why You Need a Business Phone Number for Your Company

Around the world, founders start millions of new companies every year. But according to Investopedia, in 2019 the failure rate for start-ups was about 90%. Indeed, almost a quarter fail in their first year alone – with the rates rising significantly as time passes. For most, the reasons for failure are simple: a bad business model, lack of research, existing in the wrong market and lack of expertise.

But one of the most common reasons businesses fail is ineffective marketing and a lack of professional appearance. Being unable to differentiate your small business from your competitors and reach your audience effectively is critical for securing new customers, and a custom business phone number can make all the difference. In fact, a toll-free local number allows you to split your personal from your business life and prove to your customers that you are professional and reliable.

A Vanity Phone Number Is Memorable

People have busy lives these days, and with the speed of business increasingly picking up it is more important than ever to provide as many points of contact for your customers.

Choosing a custom business number with a repeating set of digits helps your customers remember how to contact you after they see an advert. It is also simply what most customers expect these days – they expect businesses to go to the effort of making their life easier, and a set of custom digits is the first step in that customer service journey.

A Separate Number Makes You Credible

No one gets a good first impression of a business if they call to ask about a product and the person on the other line answers like they were speaking to a friend or relative. Or what about if they call and it goes through to a personal voicemail?

Getting a dedicated business number establishes your credibility as a business. It lets people know that you have a fully functioning business model and that you have enough money coming in to warrant a company number.

It Gives You a Company Voicemail

It is important that you have a voicemail listing your opening hours and alternative methods of contact for when you cannot pick up the phone. This is impractical if you are using your personal phone number as your business line.

A Custom Number Is Professional

Put simply, the most trusted businesses in the world all have their own dedicated number. It completely changes the way customers perceive your business and adds a professional touch to your public image.

You can also staff a custom number properly, setting business hours and phone number operating times. And with a custom number, your customers will not have to rely on email communication if they need to get some information from you quickly. This can make the difference between securing their business or losing them to a competitor that can answer their questions fast. There are also some people who simply do not like communicating through a chatbot or email!

It Helps with Your Taxes

If you want to deduct your monthly phone bill as a business expense, then it is a good idea to have a separate number. If you use the same number for business and personal calls, then you could end up facing financial penalties if your company is audited.

You might think you can just label some calls as personal and some as business when doing your tax returns, but do you really want to go through that process for a whole year’s worth of calls? And the IRS or relevant tax authority may not accept this as valid. To be safe, just get a business phone number!

A Toll-Free Number Saves Customers Money

Not only is a custom number easier for the customer to remember, but it also saves your customers money. By creating a toll-free number, your customers will always be able to reach you without worrying about the cost of the call.

You Fend Off the Competition

If you do not have a business number, your customers will be most likely to turn to a search engine online to find your company. But unless you have a very specific company name or have paid Google to promote your company, it is likely that a competitor’s name will be listed above you in the ad spot of the search rankings.

This leaves you vulnerable to losing customers to bigger companies with more of a budget for advertising. But a custom number means instant connection for a customer and prevents the opportunity for your competition to steal them away from you.

It Lets You Keep Business Hours

If you use your personal phone number, you have to be available for business calls 24/7. There is no way to know whether a call coming through is personal or business, and if it is late at night, you may answer the phone sounding tired.

But having a custom number lets you set an out-of-office voicemail that sounds professional and lets you stop worrying about a potential business call interrupting your evening or weekend.

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Dora Sharon
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