The first option is freephone 0800 numbers, which means the company would foot the bill for the calls received so that the customer, if phoning from a landline, doesn’t have to pay for the call.
The second option is charging the customer a higher rate to phone in, with some of the money from the call going to the company, a helpful top up to a company’s income in a tough economic climate.
However, there is a middle route, which is sometimes forgotten about or overlooked: an 0845 number.
Like the other options, 0845 is a non-geographic number, which means the 08 code doesn’t indicate your geographical location. This therefore gives your company the appearance of a national company, rather than a company that only does business in a specific local geographical location.
Unlike 0800 numbers, you don’t have to pay to receive the call, and unlike premium rate numbers, your customers don’t pay a huge amount to make the call. 0845 numbers are known as lo-call or low-call numbers, meaning the cost to call them from a landline is low, the same price as a local call. Therefore, your customers don’t have to pay much to make the call if using a landline, and you don’t have to pay anything to receive the call. A perfect compromise!
