As the owner of a business, you've got to maintain a flawless line of communication to reach everyone who matters to your business - even if that’s just you at the start.

Imagine customers, suppliers or stakeholders not being able to reach your business at all, that's essentially the consequence of not having a stable and reliable, digital business landline telephone line.

Whilst this is of utmost importance there are other reasons why a landline number is preferable for small businesses, even if you’re answering it on your mobile phone.

Why you still need a business (digital) landline telephone number

Despite most business being conducted online, telephone numbers and even which numbers, still play a crucial role in the day-to-day running and operations. 

Landline telephone numbers (rather than mobile) are the expected numbers for businesses and should be used for your marketing materials such as business websites and leaflets. 

Giving your business a landline number is part of your new businesses ‘first impression’. Going further, a business landline number establishes your organisation in that location or region. For example, having a 020 number is incredibly useful while operating from London.

Trust and first impressions

Potential customers and suppliers expect to see a landline number to call when contacting a business. The absence of one can make your organisation seem untrustworthy and consequently allow your business to lose out on missed revenue. Make the point of contact easy to recognise with a landline number as its more convenient and comfortable to use. 

Many businesses feel that a mobile phone number is enough at the start but this often translates to ‘fly-by-night’ business operations. There are also other issues in using a mobile phone for your business operations such as lack of professionalism or transparency and even your own privacy.

Privacy

Whilst being professional having a digital landline telephone number can also help with privacy particularly for sole-traders, self-employed contractors and newly formed businesses. If you run operations entirely by yourself this can lead to inevitably giving out your personal number due to no other option. By giving your customers a direct line to you personally can blur the lines between your professional and personal life - think business calls during dinnertime. It's important to put on a professional front at all times and a digital landline number can do that by having just a separate line to deal with business matters. 

Location

Having a landline can also signpost where your business is located without the customer having to enquire or assume. Your telephone number should be directly tied to a geographical location that is connected to your company and trading activity. So if your business is based in London but has a 01 number this is conflicting and could put customers off contacting your services. 

Similarly, using a 0800 number without specifying where your business is can make it look seedy and cast your business in a bad light. Overall, invest in a business-only digital landline number that is geographically linked to where your company is based.

Why you should also consider a digital landline with call flows and professional greetings.

Now that we’ve established why a digital landline number can be advantageous for your small business, investing in a virtual or digital business landline such as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) can make business communications even easier. By switching to VoIP, you can present a more established business with voicemail and custom greetings for callers. 

As for answering your calls, most digital landline use Call Forwarding and mobile apps so you can answer and make calls from our mobile device and while on the move. A virtual receptionist can also be used to tend to customers and set up with custom messaging for when you’re out of the office or on lunch breaks. Voicemail to email service can also make voicemails easier to digest rather than listening to audio messages all day.

Final thoughts

Overall, having a business landline telephone number is essential for staying in contact with the people who matter to your business. This can also be used for brand awareness and showcase the professionalism of your business upfront without the customer getting in contact. The public tends to trust landline telephone numbers more than mobile phones and tend to expect this when getting in contact with a business.

Build a professional front and customer rapport with a cloud phone that's accessible anywhere with 40+ features to enhance customer journeys. To see how a bOnline VoIP phone system can benefit your business speak to an expert on 0203 697 4166.