Team Partners Telecommunications

Is your mobile number harming your business?

Posted on Mar 10, 2015  | Tags: phone numbers, mobile, voicemail, call answering, calls, home worker

Love it or loath it, there's no escaping the fact that the advent of mobile phones has completely changed our lives. Perhaps not altogether surprisingly there are now more mobile phones than people, with many less developed countries leapfrogging landlines to go straight to blanket mobile coverage. Go to any city in the world now and everyone is hugging his or her mobile.

With mobiles goes the anticipation of instant accessibility; much in the same way as people expect an immediate response to an email, so they think that a mobile should always be answered, and therein lies the first of several dangers associated with using a mobile phone for business, customers expect you to answer...

In fact there are several very good reasons for not using a mobile number to advertise your business, and most of these revolve around perception, expectation and credibility...people's expectations generally, your customers' perception and your own credibility.

Let's start with the point just made. Expectation states that a business phone should be answered, preferably after no more than three rings. Perception tells the caller that someone who can't even answer their phone is themself inefficient and probably runs an inefficient business. If you don't answer your business mobile phone your credibility is damaged...it doesn't matter that you were up a ladder at the time.

Take this another step. The expectation is that a credible business has an office with staff. Perception tells us that anyone without an office and staff isn't a serious business and potentially will do a bad job and run off with your money. Again, if you only have a mobile number your credibility is significantly reduced before you start.

The good news is that none of this is necessary. A good telecommunications provider, can provide you with a 01 or 02 landline number for any area in the UK. This can be programmed to ring wherever and whenever you want it, automatically diverting calls to your mobile or other number as you decide.

They can also be programmed to tell you whether the incoming call is a business call or not, with the option to accept or reject or pass to a professional voicemail.

Importantly with TP Tele you can also programme your working hours, allowing you to divert to voicemail or 24 hour answering service when you decide to switch off/stop working, saving your credibility, making your down time your own and bringing sanity back into your life!

If you would like to discuss your home based business requirements then please get in touch.