Why you should have a separate phone number for your small business

The phone number attached to your business is the first link between you and a customer.

In fact, statistics show that 94% of people prefer to contact businesses over the phone. It’s pretty common for small businesses to use their private numbers as contact information for their business. However, it’s a much better idea to get a separate phone number just for your business due to the benefits it offers.

On that note, let’s take a look at why you should have a separate phone number for your business;

A better work/life balance

Achieving a good work/life balance is not an easy task for a lot of employees, but it’s more difficult for entrepreneurs that own small businesses. However, getting an alternate phone number can help you separate your work from your personal life.

For instance, if you own an online store and you get a lot of business calls, maintaining the same line for both your personal life and business would mean that, technically, your office hours never end as you could receive phone calls from customers at odd hours.

Getting a separate phone number for your small business means you can set office hours where lines are open, and customers can reach you, which in turn means that you can now dictate your working hours.

This helps you create personal time for yourself as you are no longer forced to take work home with you because customers would not have access to your private number.

Business numbers are more professional

If you are running a business, it means that you would need a phone number to place on your complimentary card, websites, and other platforms as contact information.

Having a business number makes your business feel professional, which in turn helps with business credibility. If you are trying to scale up your online store, it won’t read properly for clients to see that the listed number is private.

Having a dedicated business number for your small business creates a professional environment as customers believe they are interacting with a business and not a private individual.

Effective customer service

Having a separate phone number also opens you up to other options streamlined towards improving customer satisfaction. You can now automate your business line, setting up automated voice replies, call forwarding to team members, and you could even add a professionally voiced greeting message.

You can also set up a voicemail feature that allows customers to select various options while on the call and get automated answers to suit their inquiries. For instance, if customers make a call to your business line, they can be asked to ‘press1’ to speak directly to you or whoever is in charge of customer service.

Systems like this set up a layer between you and your customers as sometimes there are some inquiries that can be settled with a simple automated voice reply.

The ease of access a separate phone number brings to your small business could even create more time for you to set up and run multiple businesses.

Protecting your private life

Having a separate phone number for your business also protects your private life to a great extent. If you run your business out of the sanctity of your home, you don’t want to let too much information slip to customers.

There are nefarious individuals who could make the worst use of private information like your personal phone number to carry out actions that might not be in your best interest.

Setting up a separate phone number creates a barrier between your private life and your professional life, providing you with some extra security for yourself and you’re familiar.

Bottom line

A separate phone number for your small business works for both you and your customers, it creates a secure and professional environment for business to be carried out while protecting your privacy, separating your personal life from your work life.