10 Reasons Healthy Sefton is Using an 03 Number Phoneline
In August 2009, NHS Sefton in Merseyside launched a new phoneline for people to call to access free lifestyle information. Healthy Sefton offers details about alcohol, smoking and physical activity that residents of the town can access by calling 0300 100 1000. 0300 telephone numbers are relatively new and are exclusively for public bodies and charities. They are ‘non-geographic’ numbers (like 0800 numbers and 0845 numbers etc.) and offer organisations many benefits compared to standard landline numbers. Here are 10 reasons Healthy Sefton is using an 03 Number:
1) Like all non-geographic numbers, 03 numbers enable organisations to smarten up the way they deal with calls with intelligent features like introduction messages (”Thank you for calling Healthy Sefton”) and options menus (e.g. Press 1 for smoking information, 2 for advice about alcohol etc.)
2) Organisations can handpick a highly memorable number that their callers will recall easily.
3) 03 numbers cost people the same to call as regular landline (01/02 numbers) even from a mobile phone (40% of all UK calls are now made from mobiles – Ofcom 2008). This makes them ethical phone numbers that are not subject to any negative publicity (which is of particular importance to publically funded bodies).
4) Calls to 03 numbers can be easily recorded for training purposes.
5) 03 numbers simply ’sit’ on top of any landline or mobile number. No additional equipment or hardware is needed.
6) Callers can be queued, meaning that all important calls will be answered.
7) 03 numbers can easily move with an organisation if it relocates – they simply get ‘pointed’ at the new landline/mobile accordingly.
03 numbers can be inexpensive to run if you seek out the provider with the most competitive offering on the market (e.g. 30,000 free inbound minutes per month and once they have been used 0.5 pence per minute for all calls received after that).
9) It’s possible to see the geographic location of callers and the busy periods of the organisation using online call statistics packages.
10) An 03 number and their features are fully controlled online. No additional hardware or equipment is needed and settings can be changed at any time and from anywhere with an internet connection.
