nabeel08direct started this topic @ 10:19 on 27/07/2009
In the current era a single keyword search on any of the search engines (e.g. Google etc) results in millions of results and the customer chooses one among those million results. Now what makes your customer become your customer in such case is firstly your search engine ranking and secondly is his trust in you. Now, for making your customers trust you, you do different things like making a professional website; so looking professional is the key to gain the initial trust of your customers. The 0800number displayed on your website enhances the ‘professional’ look of your website and so he trusts to do business with you. Specifically for small or medium scale web based business it is very important to look upon all these factors. Other than this since most of the web based business have big geographical target market so here also the 0800number gives you an advantage by not making you look non-geographic (i.e. not restricted to a geographical area).So, looking professional, gaining your customers’ trust and not being restricted to a single area turns your business wheels faster and hence become the reason for getting a 0800number for you business.
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
virtuallysorted | 27/07/2009 01:27 PM
Actually I'd disagree with that.
We run a few trials a couple of years ago about 0800 and other non-geographic phone numbers against local ones. In general terms, people associated non-geographic phone numbers with larger companies, but they were unsure of what the charges for all the different codes were and preferred to speak to a local company. They associated mobile numbers with single person operators and again felt they were less trustworthy because of not knowing where they were based.
Hence why we always recommend, particularly for website companies, that they have a local number on their site.
If you would like to try it out, I'd be happy to set up a free 0845 number for you to see what sort of a response you get compared with a local number or vice versa.
Just fill in the form here:www.virtuallysorted.com/trial
And we'll get either a geographic or non-geographic number set up so you can see the results.
Caroline
------------------------
Caroline Wylie
www.virtuallysorted.com
www.SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
Ian J | 27/07/2009 03:48 PM
<<<< The 0800number displayed on your website enhances the ‘professional’ look of your website and so he trusts to do business with you >>>>
I disagree entirely and don't think that using an 0800 number enhances trust or makes one look more professional at all.
It costs a fiver to buy one of these things and the monthly rental is minimal so I think that most people are wise enough to know that spending such a small amount won't make anyone that much more trustworthy.
------------------------
Ian
Factoring ,
Invoice Discounting ,
Trade Finance and
Asset Finance specialist broker.
Founder member of
Independent Factoring Brokers Association
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
jayguy | 28/07/2009 07:05 AM
I use an 0800 number because I am based overseas and want to encourage people to call, as they probably wouldn´t if they were dialing 0034 pre-fix.
I think an 0800 doesn´t really enhance credibilty but great service, responsiveness and overall attention to improving your customer experience will.
------------------------
Marbella property
Cheap property Spain
High investment return
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
virtuallysorted | 29/07/2009 12:42 PM
Hi Jay
It starts @ £15/month for the number diverted to a landline (worldwide) - we have a couple of people who relocate their business depending on the season.
One is a web designer who wanted to spend the summer in New York, the other is a property developer who likes to spend his summer in Spain. No one knew any different.
You can have memorable numbers but this incurs a set up fee - give me a buzz if you want to discuss further. 0141 423 8255 or info@virtuallysorted.com
C.
------------------------
Caroline Wylie
www.virtuallysorted.com
www.SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
nabeel08direct | 30/07/2009 07:15 AM
Hi Jay
memorable 0800numbers are eaily available from a number of vendors. Please visit the following link if you are interested.
www.08direct.co.uk
Nabeel
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
TFGTV | 24/08/2009 01:41 AM
An 08 number of ANY description SCREAMS dodgy to me.....
I won't deal with ANY business or organisation that I don't have a geographical number for...
------------------------
Matt Quinn.
www.tfgtv.com
Corporate Communication for SMALL Businesses!
RE: 0800numbers for a web based business
EngineerAccounter | 25/08/2009 10:25 PM
I think that there are many alternatives such as help desks and contact forms, and emails.. I cannot justify paying for an extra line. If anything just get a regular dedicated line. With VOIP and cell phones calls are cheap these days.
------------------------
Search Engine Forums - Garden Forums - Food Forums