Choosing the right partners is always a tricky process for new businesses. This is especially true when said partner plays a direct role in helping your business connect with quality leads over a critical marketing channel, like the telephone line.
Naturally, one particularly crucial decision every business owner will find themselves making is their phone number provider.
Your number does more than just provide customers with a touchpoint for them to reach out to you. It can also act as a potent marketing arm thanks to its unique set of business-friendly features, configurable phone line, and built-in analytics dashboard.
Moreover, having a business phone number also boosts a business’s credibility and professionalism due to its unique initial string of numbers. When businesses partner with the right phone number provider, they can benefit greatly from these aforementioned benefits.
That begs the question: how can a business go about finding a trustworthy phone number provider? If you’re wondering about just that, you’re in the right place. We’ll walk you through the selection process of finding a trustworthy phone number provider.
Let’s jump right into it!
1) Know The Different Numbers You Can Get
It’s a known fact that every phone number in Australia is unique. It’s also quite common knowledge that different territories in the country have a unique set of starting digits for their phone number, ranging from 0 to 9.
But many new entrepreneurs don’t realise that they’re not limited to picking a phone number from their usual personal phone providers. There are phone number types that can be called from everywhere in the country at local rates, if not cheaper.
These are called business phone numbers or inbound phone numbers, and they’re provided by speciality inbound phone number providers like Telcoworks.
In Australia, there are three main business phone number types that business owners can choose from.
The first type is a 1300 number. This is a shared-cost national number with a cost that’s shared by both the caller and the receiver.
Another type of business phone number is an 1800 number. This number is toll-free for callers, making it easier for people to send inquiries without worrying about incurring costs.
13 numbers feature a shorter sequence, bolstering consumer memory, but they’re also more expensive due to the presence of government surcharges. Callers are also charged a local rate by calling this number type.
In any case, choosing among these three business phone numbers is optimal as it exudes an air of professionalism for your business. They also come with a set of features that can make them worthwhile additions to your tech stack, like multi-call routing and interactive voice response features.
Just be sure to pick a number that fits your budget and needs. While these three phone numbers are all viable choices for businesses, they come at different cost structures that can benefit or hinder the business, and attract or repel customers.
2) Look into Their Calling Features and Volume
Another way to evaluate a provider’s credibility is by looking at the features listed in their pricing plan.
Different phone providers have different offerings and call volume plans, and it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with various plans and pick the one that best fits your business’s needs both now and in the future.
Some features that may vary across different providers include the analytics, call forwarding volume, and interactive voice response mechanisms. Furthermore, more expensive plans can handle a higher caller volume than more affordable plans, so be sure to pick one based on your projected demand to avoid line congestion.
By familiarising yourself with your current and projected call operations, you can determine the best plan to pick for your business. Your selected plan will heavily impact the flow of your operations, so ensure that you’re picking the best one for your business’s needs.
3) Check their Pricing Model Thoroughly
An important consideration every business should make when starting out is the pricing structure of their plan. Creating a budget as a small business owner can be tough, and this is especially true if the costs of certain functions are variable and shift monthly.
Some phone number providers may offer low monthly rates upfront to incentivise customers to opt in to their services. However, it’s important to see the full picture before signing any contract—you could be locking yourself into a years-long bond if you’re not careful.
While each business phone number type (i.g, 1300, 13, and 1800 numbers) has fundamentally different pricing structures, the calling costs could still differ based on the provider and other add-ons.
Consider choosing a pricing structure that’s usage-based, that is, flexible according to the call traffic volume. Many lower-tier plans have this structure, depending on the provider you choose, so keep that in mind and calculate that alongside your projected demand to ensure you’re getting the most value out of the plan.
Furthermore, check for hidden fees like installation costs, exit costs, and hidden charges. Dealing with a transparent provider is the way to go to ensure that you can sort out your budget without any surprises once you’re deep into the operations.
4) Look into Customer Support Quality
Customer support is a critical component of every successful business. This department helps answer questions and keeps customers loyal and happy.
And considering the fact that business-specific phone numbers tend to rely on hardware and software to operate effectively, partnering with a communicative customer support team is crucial for businesses looking to maintain constant operations.
It’s important to look for a provider that offers top-notch support to its customers. Typically, you should watch for 24/7 support, multiple support channels, and local Australian-based personnel who can provide you with the necessary assistance to resolve your queries.
By picking a provider with a reliable customer support team, you can rest easy knowing that your phone number needs will always be in capable and friendly hands.
5) Read Customer Reviews
There’s no better gauge of quality than looking at what other customers have to say about the service. In particular, looking at customer reviews online is the easiest way to see how real-life customers perceive the service and overall package of the phone number provider.
You should start by looking at review sites for information about the company you’re looking to partner with. Trustpilot tends to have feedback for the most popular phone number providers, but you can also check Google or blog posts on the service for additional research.
You should also look at the content in the review. What are the good and what are the bad? Are there any common patterns emerging across various reviews? Take note of these nitpicks and list them down for a final assessment as you narrow your choices.
You should also consider picking a company that responds to criticism elegantly and gently.
When dealing with a service-based company, you’d want them to prioritise customer satisfaction above all else. If a company seems to be berating customers or pinning the blame on them for their problems, it may be better to look the other way.
6) Consider The Flexibility of the Contract
Another consideration you should make, especially during the early stage of your business lifecycle, is the flexibility of the contract.
Some phone number providers, particularly those selling personal numbers, typically lock people into year-long plans with expensive cancellation fees.
So, before you choose just any provider, make sure that you read the contract to know exactly what you’re getting into. The good news is that most business phone number providers have flexible terms, allowing you to scale or downgrade your plan each month with no questions asked.
Some companies also make it easier for you to transfer your number to another. So if you find yourself likely to switch plans in the future based on your operational needs, then it’s best to pick a plan that grants you the highest level of flexibility, even if it may cost more initially.
7) Look into Its Uptime
Most business phone providers don’t deal with any significant downtime problems—and that’s a good thing. But when they do happen, it’s best that they get resolved swiftly.
Phone downtime essentially translates to missed leads. That’s why it’s critical to choose a provider that guarantees high uptime—ideally 99.9% or higher. To ensure that your provider offers this guarantee, look into your provider’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) contract and see whether they provide that uptime.
Furthermore, if there are system maintenance schedules, make sure that you opt for a provider that’s transparent about it and notifies you when it happens beforehand. This allows you to schedule around the downtime and make alternative plans to keep operations running smoothly.
We hope this guide will help you choose your next phone provider more thoughtfully. Best of luck in running your business!
