Tag Archive: non-geographical number
April 16, 2013 8:13 am |
Telecoms regulator Ofcom has confirmed that they plan to change the way some non-geographic numbers are charged, making it clearer for consumers to understand call charging rates.
As it stands, the current charging system can be unclear for consumers to know how much it would cost to call various non-geo number ranges, so these changes aim to ‘tackle consumer confusion’.
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March 14, 2013 10:20 am |
Small businesses have been choosing to use non-geographic numbers for years as it gives them a nationwide presence. But how, and why, does using a non-geographic number help you gain the trust of your customers?
So you’re a start-up business based in a small town and you believe your location is hindering your business’ growth, because potential customers don’t think your services can be stretched for use outside your immediate area.
The easiest and best way you can rectify this and have your services used, and trusted, nationwide is by using a non-geographic number, a number that isn’t location specific, throwing open the potential to serve customers nationwide. Customers will now think that your business is UK-wide so will be willing to call, and more importantly trust, you regardless of location widening the possibility for immediate growth in customer numbers and customer trust.
Not only can simply having a non-geo number as your main business number build trust, but the additional benefits it brings can aid your business growth as well. Once you’ve decided which number you want, you can then choose where you want to receive your calls to, so that you can guarantee every call made to you will be picked up.
You’ll also gain the benefits of a professional call management package, so every single call your business receives is dealt with in a professional manner. You have many elements to choose from, how you set up your number is up to you. You could simply just opt for a voicemail or you can add call forwarding, call whisper, a welcome message or an IVR.
Call management is the perfect way to ensure your customers receive the best service your business can give, in turn encouraging trust amongst you and your customers. It’s widely accepted that a business’ call volume increases when using a non-geo number, so your call management package will help you professionally serve every customer’s call, even at your busiest times of day.
March 27, 2012 2:51 pm |
Making sure you and your staff present a professional image on the telephone is hugely important. Once you have set up your new free 0844 business number from 08Direct.co.uk, your telephone manner could be the deciding factor on whether a potential customer chooses your company, or gets you that all important best price from a supplier.
The steps to take for the perfect telephone etiquette
Remember that the person on the other end of the phone can only hear your voice. This is the lasting impression they will take away from their communication with you. You need to ensure that you get you message across clearly and professionally. Be aware if you have a tendancy to shout, or speak fast, both of these will result in the caller becoming annoyed or confused.
Ensure that you always address the caller by his or her title. Refering to a person as ‘Mr’ or Mrs’ adds to the overall proffesional appearence. This is essential when communicating with an unfamiliar person.
It is very important to make sure that you listen to the caller. If your customer has a problem, take the time to fully understand what they are saying. A good tactic to use to make the caller feel respected is to repeat what they have said you, this always acts a great methond of ensuring you have understand the query.
In a busy office environment it is very easy to get distracted by colleagues. If you do get interrupted while you are talking with a customer, remind them you are talking to a customer and you will speak to them when you are finished.
To perfect your professional telephone manner be aware of your language and your surroundings. Always remember to not use slang words, unless you are familar with the caller. Finally always be aware of your surroundings, if you are in a noisy environment the chances are the caller can hear everything you can. It may be appropriate to end the call and request that you phone back and the earliest opportunity.
October 14, 2011 12:20 pm |
Dennis Ritchie
Steve Jobs’ passing was rightly lamented in the world’s media, but I wonder how many people will note the passing of Dennis Ritchie? Far fewer, I’ll bet, but arguably he was many, many times more important to IT innovation than the Apple founder.
Ritchie’s software creations and their direct descendants run pretty much everything we use online today, including Jobs’ own devices like the iPhone.
When you visit a website and your PC asks you to run Java…that’s based on Dennis Ritchie’s C programming language, a shorthand of words, numbers and punctuation. Successors like C++ also build on the ideas, rules and grammar that Mr. Ritchie designed.
He also came up with the Unix operating system which has similarly had a rich and enduring impact. Unix and its free, open-source variant, Linux, underpins nearly everything online. It powers many of the world’s data centres, like those at Google and Amazon, so much so that 70% of all web servers use it. Its technology also serves as the foundation of operating systems like Apple’s Mac OS, iOS on your iPhone, Android on your smartphone, the base system in your wifi router at home …
So, you may not realise it but Dennis Ritchie’s inventions touch your life every single day and although he may not be as well-known as Mr Jobs, his IT legacy will live on for many generations to come.
Requiscat in Pace, dmr.
October 11, 2011 9:57 am |
Wales take on Bulgaria in their final Euro 2012 qualifier tonight, but it seems that they’ll be playing in front of rows of empty seats.
According to BBC Radio Five Live this morning, a grand total of 11 tickets have been sold for tonight’s match. Yes, 11 tickets… This is astonishingly bad, even for a match where both teams have nothing to play for.
Despite the fact that neither team can qualify for the main tournament, that doesn’t mean the game has no appeal at all and the organisers should still have been able to sell the match to spectators.
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October 7, 2011 9:37 am |
As a business owner, I bet you get several calls a week from companies promising to upgrade your office technology with revolutionary new systems that will transform the way you work.
But when you take the plunge and install this technology, you find that these claims were overhyped, or certainly premature, as the technology fails to work as well as you were expecting, or deliver the benefits that justified the investment.
Phone systems are a classic example of this. With the advent of the Internet and mobile communications, many people have forecast the demise of the office phone as it becomes superseded by newer, more advanced technology.
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October 6, 2011 10:45 am |
In his Party Conference speech yesterday The Prime Minister said that you can’t get out of debt by spending more money.
Of course, I’m paraphrasing, because a) party conference speeches are long and boring and b) in business, you are already well aware of this and that’s why in times of recession businesses seek to reduce costs wherever possible.
In many cases, the marketing budget is often the first casualty, but this has a negative influence on sales and profitability. So although there is some sense in what David Cameron said, we believe you have to cut the right costs and spend your remaining money in the most effective ways.
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October 4, 2011 9:15 am |
I have to confess that I didn’t really want to write this blog, because I fear that I am now contributing to the self-fulfilling prophecy that says we are talking ourselves back into recession again…
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September 29, 2011 9:09 am |
If you visit a McDonalds drive through you’ll notice they now have signs advertising contactless payment. And Barclaycard ran a huge promotional campaign, including an iPhone game, about contactless payment too (remember the waterslide through the city?).
So, it is little surprise that Google, one of the greatest innovators of our time has gone into the market by capitalising on its Android operating system for mobile phones. Here’s how Google explains its new Google Wallet…
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September 22, 2011 8:58 am |
Facebook’s f8 developers conference takes place today and there are plenty of rumours flying around about what the social network has up its sleeve.
In just over a year, Facebook has gone from 350 million users to more than 750 million, so, although to most of us, a developers conference is about as interesting as watching paint dry, F8 is important because of the impact it may have on our businesses and our customers.
Here are three of the key things that, if the rumours are to be believed, will be high on the agenda:
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