Look it up in any telephone directory but you won't find an area code for 0845 numbers. This is because they are non-geographical. That means that they are an established prefix that can be used with any phone number and means that a flat rate is charged from wherever you may be calling from.
This is a service open to UK business people, most usually by their customer services departments and charging for the call will often be split between customer and company. This will encourage more customers to call when they need to.
Companies that want to advertise the fact that they use a number with low cost will also use the 0845 number service. This brings a better service to customers as you don't need the number of an individual local office or store. You can ring the company on a local call rate and be given answers from any store that picks the call up. This cuts down waiting time for callers.
It is possible for businesses to generate income from using 0845 numbers as they have some say over the division of charges. For example, companies that cold call customers will receive a portion of the call costs should the customer ring them back. This way, they can finance their own service and potentially make a profit from the calls alone. This is in no way detrimental to the customer, as they are only ringing back when they want the service or product on offer.
0845 numbers are much easier for customers to remember and in this day and age of people travelling so widely, so regularly, they can take this number with them and call from wherever they are in the country. It will also cover any hour that somebody is available to answer a phone so during the day, calls could be put through to an actual store and out of office hours, they could be sent to a call centre where the staff work nights. This gives the customer a much wider choice of when to call and a better ability to manage their affairs.
The telephone service is now at a point where more companies will use 0845 numbers than local numbers. If one company in the same industry is offering a better after sales service with a telephone service that you can get straight through on then more people are likely to use that company than another. People believe their lives are too short to be kept on hold listening to Greensleaves for what feels like forever.
There are also companies that can offer many such services to businesses, such as converting fax messages to email and also answering services. This cuts down the work on the company itself, making them much more efficient and therefore servicing their own customers that much better.
With a recession looming, it is important for every company to make the best uses of its money and staff whilst offering the most competitive prices to their customers and the best after sales service. Only in this way will they survive the credit crunch.
Author Resource:-
Shaun Parker is a leading business expert with many years of experience in the communications industry. Find out more about 0845 numbers at http://www.blueboxtelecom.com
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