My name is Laura de Lacy… and welcome to the very first, inaugural episode of Cyberstart Tradie TV. What this is, is a monthly video that I’ll be using to answer questions that I get from real life trade service business owners. Questions about marketing and the internet, and just business generally, that I get all the time, and I thought this would be a fantastic forum to answer them, share them with you and you can watch whichever ones are relevant to you.

Ok, so… This month I had a question from Travis who runs a plumbing business in the north of Adelaide. He said “I’ve been thinking about getting a 1300 number for my plumbing business for a while now. What are your thoughts on 1300 numbers, and do you think it’s worth doing, or should I just stick with my landline number?” I thought this was a really excellent question because it’s one of those things that we often think about every now and then, but then put it on the back-burner, and don’t actually do anything about it.

13, 1300 & 1800 numbers

So, the first thing you need to know about 13, 1300 or 1800 numbers is that they are known as inbound numbers. What they are is a special phone number that you rent, and then promote to potential customers as the “face” phone number for your business. What’s cool about it, is that it’s not tied to any one particular phone line, so you can direct it to your office landline number or your mobile number, and change it as you need to. You can also do things like directing the number to your office line, for example, during business hours, and a mobile or answering service after hours, so you’re never going to miss a call from a customer.

The pros of having an inbound number…

1. You get to choose your own number (so you can make sure it’s nice and memorable) and then you keep it for the life of your business, no matter what. So you can take it with you when you move, or as your business grows to multiple states.
2. It is also you to take control over where and how you answer your calls (which is excellent for you and your customers, because as I said, you won’t miss a call again).
3. Creates this impression of size and professionalism. There’s a perception that goes along with it, that if you have a really professional phone number like that, you must be doing something right… you must be good at what you do.

6-digit ‘13’ numbers

These are really good for large franchises looking for a way to cut through, in competitive markets. So you’ll find them a lot in fast-moving consumer service type industries – like pizza delivery and taxi services. They’re often tied to a jingle to make them even very memorable, forming the cornerstone for a marketing strategy.

But this doesn’t come cheap… There’s actually a massive government surcharge that’s applicable for 13 numbers. Almost $8000 every year, excluding your number rental and call charges and everything else. So, it pretty much renders it unattainable for most small to medium businesses.

The next best thing to a ’13′ number, is a 1300 or 1800 number.

1300 & 1800 numbers

There is absolutely no government surcharge with these, which makes them surprisingly affordable. There’s a few little setup fees, but nothing major, and then just an ongoing rental/facility fee, which is usually in the ballpark of about $14 – $39. 

The difference between 1300 and 1800 numbers is that when a customer calls a 1300 number from a landline, they’re charged the cost of a local call, no matter where they are in Australia… And that’s good, but… when they call a 1800 number, the call is completely free.

So 1800 numbers can be a really powerful tool, and provide a great competitive advantage. That’s because you can promote ‘Free call’ on all your marketing and advertising, so it can dramatically increase the number of leads that you get. It’s surprising – just those couple of words, ‘Free call’ can make all the difference, in somebody choosing to call you, or choosing to call your competitor.

But 1300 and 1800 numbers aren’t ALWAYS the best option.

If your focus, for example, is on commercial customers (say, building contractors), then having a 1300 or 1800 number might actually deter them from contacting you. That’s because with the phone number (and that perception of being big), they might assume that you’re a larger business, and not contact you based on the fact that they want to work with smaller, cheaper subcontractors with less overheads. So that’s something to just bare in mind.

Another option, in terms of the phone number to use for your business, is just your standard landline number.

Standard landline numbers

What you need to know about that, is that potential clients from distant areas or interstate might be put off from calling you (depending on what your product or service is), either because of the ‘expense’ of the call or because you’re just not local (which they can tell by just seeing that area code and knowing that it’s not the same as their’s).

Mobile phone numbers

The final option is to use your mobile number for business. What you need to be aware of about that, is that some people (such as the elderly, for example, without a mobile phone) can be put off by mobile numbers, due to the expense of calling a mobile from their landline. So that’s something to take into consideration.

Also, having a mobile number as the main number for your business can actually make you look like a ‘one man band’. That can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on what you’re going for.

How to choose the best phone number for your business

When it comes to choosing the best phone number for your business, the main considerations should be 3 things:

1. Who are your best customers, and what would ‘put them off’ calling you? Start by thinking about what your phone number says/implies about you?
2. Where is your target market? If it’s small and local, then mobile or landline can be the better choice.
3. Lastly, what are the intentions for your business? Do you want to stay small, or do you want to grow to become a national company (in which case, a 1300 or 1800 number might be the best choice for you).

Wrap up

So Travis, hopefully that helped clarify it for you. And everyone else, I’d love to hear your experiences with different phone number options or what you’re thinking after watching this video. So, please come on over to www.cyberstart.com.au (if you’re not hear already), and leave a comment in the box below the video.

And if you liked this video, it would be excellent if you could share it. Cyberstart Tradie is on Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn, so we’d love to see you look us up and connect with us there.

Lastly, if you have any burning questions about marketing, the web or business that you’d like me to answer in a future episode, please contact me via the website, send it through, and I’ll do my best to schedule it for a future one.

I’m Laura de Lacy. Thank you very much for watching this very first episode, and I’ll see you next month for a brand new edition of Cyberstart Tradie TV.