The importance of looking local

Depending on what type of business you have, you might want to portray yourself as a nationwide company, or as a local company. If you want to carry out work nationwide, then we advise that you have one of our non-geographic numbers for your business – either an 0800 number, 0845 number or 0844 number, depending on which one suits your business needs best.

However, if you want to appear to be a local business, even if that is to lots of different localities, then you are best having virtual local numbers. These are ideal if you are based in one area, but want to appear local to lots of different areas. So, for example, if you were based in Bristol but wanted to operate across the whole of the south west, appearing as a local business, then you could have an Exeter 01392 number, a Plymouth 01752 number, a Taunton 01823 number, a Penzance 01736 number, a Devizes 01380 number, and of course a Bristol 0117 number and Bath 01225 number. These are just examples, but they can all be pointed to the same phones in an office so all of your calls still go through to the same place, but appear to be more local than they actually are.

The reasoning behind this is that lots of people still prefer to use a local business for certain trades, and when looking for numbers will only go for area codes that they recognise, as they then know that the business is based locally. With lots of local phone numbers you can appear in lots of different local telephone directories as well. A local area code says to potential customers that you are a business that operates in their area, know the area, and are nearby if there are any problems.