What’s In A Number?

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When you become an entrepreneur you mentally sign an inner manifesto that states, among other things, that you will do all that you can to ensure the success of your venture. For some this will mean making as much money as possible any way they can, whilst others with a more pragmatic outlook will seek to develop their corporate image to build trust and therefore longer-term custom. So when you become an entrepreneur, among the million and one things you’ll need to consider will the potential ramifications of your phone number be one of them?

This article is all about NGNs or Non Geographic Numbers. You’ll know them as 0844, 0845, 0870, 0871, 0800, 0808, 0500, 070, 09 and the new 03 telephone number prefixes. Where in the past people wouldn’t think twice about making a simple phone call, today the public are becoming savvier about the potential costs. So if you are looking to become an entrepreneur you need to understand the message you are putting out there if you’re going to be using one of these NGNs.

Now do you know which are free, which are charged at national rates and which could cost you a small fortune because the organisation is involved in a revenue sharing scheme with the telecoms company? To become an entrepreneur, or at least if you hope to be a successful one, image is of paramount importance. Everything you do conveys a message, some of them designed, some of them incidental, and due to the massive amount of publicity surrounding NGNs, even your phone number will say something about your organisation.

For instance 0800, 0808 and 0500 are FREE from a landline, but did you know that they are often more expensive than a call to a geographic number (01 or 02) would be when called from a mobile. So while to become an entrepreneur who uses such numbers on one hand could be considered generous, on the other the excessive call cost from mobiles has the potential to sully a relationship in the making.

084, 087, 070 and 09 numbers are all revenue sharing NGNs. This means that calls cost more to these numbers because part of the call charge goes to the telecom company and part goes to the company you’re calling. Of course there have been moves by OfCom to get telecom companies to charge national rates only for 0845 and 0870 numbers, but as this is still a request not a demand, not all companies have complied. Therefore the perception you are putting out there by using such numbers is that you are financially benefiting from every call.

So why might you choose to use such numbers when you become an entrepreneur?

1. If your office is the spare bedroom of your home an NGN is a good way of avoiding a “bedroom business” persona.
2. Businesses with multiple call centres may use a routing system that, depending on the time of day or how busy they become can send a call to the fastest responding location. The customer then pays the same charge whether they are routed to Manchester or Mumbai.
3. Revenue sharing. Depending on the number of calls you receive and the amount of time a customer spends on the phone, this can be quite lucrative. For the life of me I cannot understand why government departments, the NHS and GP surgeries are all raking in money through charging us more for calls when our taxes are already paying for their services!

Since the rather bright spotlight of media attention has focussed on the outrageous sums of money some organisations are making from this, and how much they are charging for a simple phone call, OfCom has made some suggestions for regulating the sector. However, public opinion has now changed and not in favour of these NGNs. So if you are looking to become an entrepreneur of note then this is something to consider.

A new set of 03 numbers have been released for businesses to use as NGNs that charge only the cost of a national call and most telecom companies are including them within their call packages. Far more fair for anyone looking to become an entrepreneur and take advantage of an NGN. I mean, have you ever wondered why so many of those organisations have unnecessarily long and boring introductions followed by legal information, followed by a complex and often confusing number selection process before you get through to a human (if you’re lucky and don’t get directed to an automated message dead end)? Speculate all you will about this one, but know that all of the time you are on the phone on hold, if that company is in a revenue sharing scheme they will be earning from you even before they have to speak to you!

So if you intend to set up your own business and become an entrepreneur do consider the impression you are giving with your phone number and do the right thing. If you have to go for an NGN then use an 03 number – you know it makes sense.

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