Top Five Reasons For Having a Local Phone Number Listing For Businesses

It’s true. There are multiple ways that customers can reach your business. In fact, your organization may even have a preferred way.  However, having a phone number demonstrates a level of credibility. Even if most modes of communication come from alternate methods, having the presence of a phone number provides a direct line to your company that can provide reassurance for consumers.  

With how many choices for how customers can communicate with you, options for phone numbers are just as abundant. From having a local phone number to a 1-800 or toll-free number, or even a vanity number, you have options. 

As hybrid work has become the latest trend, thanks to the pandemic, many organizations are opting for VoIP business solutions that allow a business to scale to meet the industry changes while giving their employees the flexibility to work remotely. Utilizing VoIP services in conjunction with a local business number means your employees can move to any location but their phone number can remain local. How? If your business is utilizing a VoIP solution, a VoIP number does not get assigned to a location, but instead, to the user, so your company remains agile while your organization establishes a brand presence and builds its reputation in the market. 

Five Reasons For a Local Phone Number Listing

Many organizations are seeking a local phone number listing for credibility and to give a sense of security to customers. As you look to determine the best phone number option, here are the top five reasons for having a local phone number listing for your business.

• Brand Image: Even if it is not the primary way the customer chooses to communicate with your organization, a phone number is part of your organization’s brand. It is another way of providing your company with an image within a given market. Having a local number increases the reputation, especially amongst local consumers. Pending the number you choose, it also has the possibility of becoming part of your company slogan. 
• Personal: A local number may instantly give the impression that a customer will be getting a person not a machine. Often, consumers that see a 1-800 number think they will be met by an automated response or that they will be speaking with someone not even within their same area code.   With VoIP numbers, employees are able to keep the personal connection no matter where they are physically working. Because numbers are assigned to the user, an employee doesn’t have to be in the same city as the caller to have the same area code as their customer.
• Community Focused: Because residents take pride in their community and are becoming more eco-conscious, many prefer to invest in a local business rather than a large global corporation. Having that local phone number listing over a business with a 1-800 number may be the difference in first time call. 
• Advertising: Local numbers are useful for two reasons:
  • For marketing and sales, people are more likely to answer if they see a local phone number. With VoIP services, you can take this a step further by using call recording features to make sure you are capturing important lead information that you may need for customer data details.
  • Local numbers increase the likelihood of avoiding being blocked by spam filters. 
• Consistency: The more consistent you are with your customers, the better. This includes phone numbers. Even if all your employees work in different locations, even different zip codes, they can still have consistency with their phone numbers is a VoIP solution is used. You can have local numbers assigned to all employees so that your customers see consistent numbers and a consistent brand image all the while allowing your employees to work from wherever they need to be.  

Your organization has evolved or perhaps is evolving. Many things have changed and with that, you have learned what business systems continue to work well for your organization and your customers, and what office systems may need to change to meet the demands of not only business but also your employees. Using a VoIP service with a local phone listing is just one example of how your organization can mix traditional with hybrid to be successful in today’s market.

With VoIP solutions, you can offer your employees geographic flexibility and, by using a local phone number listing, you can continue to offer your consumers a consistent, brand presence in the market that they trust.  If security and consistency are important, giving your customers peace of mind is a top priority, and if allowing your employees the option to be geographically flexible is a need of yours, talk with the team at NewEra about how you can utilize a local phone listing and VoIP business solutions.