landline vs mobile vs 1300 number for businesses
Jan 01, 2020
If you’re starting a business, it follows that you’re going to need a dedicated phone number for that business. Nobody is going to argue with that! But which business phone number you should get: landline, mobile, or a 1300 number?
If you’re starting a business, it follows that you’re going to need a dedicated phone number for that business. Nobody is going to argue with that. The question is what kind of phone number you should get. There are three types to choose from: landline, mobile, and 1300. In this article we’ll take a look at each of them.
Landline
For obvious reasons, landline phones are a lot less common than they used to be. Everyone used to own one. Now, you might find that, at most, less than 50% of your friends and acquaintances have a landline phone in their house.
But some people still swear by them, and landline phones are not necessarily a bad option for small start-up companies. If your company’s business is confined to your location, and you don’t have plans to branch out any time soon, a landline number is probably adequate. In fact, it may help to give you credibility among your fellow locals. Many people are still nostalgic for local brick-and-mortar stores, and they will be happy to give a local company their business.
Having said that, landline numbers have a couple of big disadvantages. For example, you are only able to answer calls when you are in the office. Again, that’s fine if you’re actually running a storefront with set business hours. But if your business is digital, as so many are today, this restriction is a liability. On top of that, customers from outside your area may be discouraged by a landline number, taking it to mean that your business is geared toward the local population only.
Mobile
The pros and cons of using a mobile number for your business are pretty straightforward. On the plus side, using a mobile phone means that you are pretty much available to take a call as long as you’re awake. This is important, as people are becoming increasingly accustomed to having 24-hour access to more or less everything, from shopping to banking to news. So in that regard, a mobile phone is good.
The downside of advertising your business with a mobile phone number is that it seems, for lack of a better adjective, amateurish. It’s fine if you’re using one as a stopgap while you build your brand, but eventually you’ll want to have something more official or professional. And of course, you can only ever answer one call on your mobile at a time, so if you’re expecting a business busy phone line it’s just not practical to use a mobile as you’ll have to send many calls to voicemail.
Business 1300 numbers
That’s where a business 1300 phone number comes in. Advertising your business with a 1300 number immediately lends it legitimacy. There’s a reason 1300 numbers are referred to as “business numbers” - you would be hard-pressed to find more than a handful of successful companies that don’t use one.
1300 numbers have several key benefits, the most significant being their flexibility. A 1300 number is essentially a landline and mobile number rolled into one. This is because it allows you to route your calls to a number of different lines depending on the time of day, where you are, and where your customer is calling from.
One of the most attractive features of a 1300 number—for both company and customer—is the ability to customise it. You’re able, for example, to purchase a Smartnumber in order to make your company’s number unforgettable. This can take the form of a phone word, such as 1300 NUMBER, or a memorable number pattern, such as 1300 202020.
All things considered, if you’re determined to get the most out of your business venture, a 1300 number is your best bet. It combines the positive aspects of landline and mobile numbers while providing an automatic boost to your company’s reputation and credibility.
Keep reading here for more information on the key benefits of a 1300 number for Australian businesses.