What is a business phone number?
A business phone number is a special line used exclusively for company communications, separate from one’s personal contacts. Having a business number boosts credibility by presenting a professional image to customers and enables the efficient handling of incoming calls to your phones via features like call routing and voicemail. Unlike traditional phone lines that require physical hardware and fixed locations, modern phone numbers operate over the internet; a number for a business offers flexibility and scalability without the need for expensive equipment or long-term contracts. Phone numbers like these allow businesses to manage calls to their phones from anywhere, integrating seamlessly with mobile and desktop apps to ensure the separation of work life and personal life.
In essence, a business phone number serves as the cornerstone of a robust business phone system, ensuring reliable connectivity and professional interactions that foster trust and growth.
Why do you need to get a business number?
- Establish professional identity: A dedicated business number projects a polished image, making your company appear established and trustworthy to clients, even if you’re a solopreneur working from home.
- Separate work and personal calls: Keep your cell phone for private use while directing business number calls to a specific line, reducing distractions and maintaining boundaries.
- Improve call management: A phone number for small business often comes with features like call forwarding and voicemail. You can route calls efficiently, ensuring no opportunity is missed during busy hours.
- Enhance customer experience: Provide consistent access through a single business number, allowing for better organization of communications and quicker responses.
Getting a business number empowers teams to handle communications like larger enterprises, streamlining operations and boosting productivity without complexity.
How to get a business phone number?
Wondering how to get a business phone number? Follow these straightforward steps when setting up, and it will ensure you select the right business number for your needs, whether it’s a local or toll-free option.
1. Select a phone system provider
Choose a reliable phone system provider that offers fast activation, responsive support, and apps compatible with any device. Look for business phone number service providers specializing in company communications, ensuring seamless integration and scalability (and the ability to buy future phone numbers if need be). MightyCall, for instance, provides instant access to business numbers with no hardware required, focusing on user-friendly features that get you up and running swiftly.
“When businesses are just getting started, the biggest priority is simplicity and speed. That’s why we designed the setup process to take just minutes – no hardware, no tech team needed, and full flexibility to scale later.”
2. Choose business number type, area code, and users
Decide on the type of business telephone number (such as a local business number, for community ties, or a toll-free business number, for broader appeal), and select an area code that aligns with your location (or where you want to seem located; this is crucially important for a phone number for a business). Make sure the plan you go with matches your need for features like multiple lines (and see if you need multiple phone numbers). This step helps match coverage to your operations, whether serving a specific region or nationwide.
“Area codes still carry a lot of emotional weight for customers. A familiar local prefix can boost connection rates and trust. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference.”
3. Register with the service
Complete the business phone number signup by providing basic details like email and payment information, then verify your identity through a quick confirmation process. Check your internet connection when using your phone numbers for optimal performance, as these rely on stable online access. Once registered, you’ll get immediate access to your dashboard to start configuring your business phone number so you can start dialing your phones!
4. Set business hours, routing, and voicemail
Configure business hours with your business phone number to automate responses outside of operating times (so your phones don’t ring when no one is going to pick up), directing calls to voicemail or alternative lines. Set up call routing rules for your phone numbers to forward incoming queries to the right team members, and customize hold music for a professional touch. This can improve call management for your phone numbers, ensuring efficient handling and personalized greetings that reflect your company.
5. Test inbound/outbound on mobile and desktop
Don’t just use one or the other when testing your new business phone number. You never know how you’ll be using your phone number for your business. So make sure to run tests on your phone numbers by placing outbound calls from your app and receiving inbound ones across devices. Verify call forwarding and routing to any phone numbers you possess, testing for scenarios like when your phones are ringing off the hook and everyone is busy or when there’s no answer.
This quick plan confirms everything works seamlessly for your phone numbers, from cell phones to desktops, guaranteeing your phones will have a reliable performance before going live.
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Business phone number benefits you’ll get in minutes
Any device calling
Answer business phone number calls on your cell phone, desktop, or web browser without revealing your personal phone number. When you get a strong internet connection, be it over Wi-Fi or satellite (crucial for a virtual phone), the flexibility offered by business phone numbers can let you stay connected to your phone systems from anywhere, ensuring professional interactions on the go.
Smarter call routing and automation
Implement auto attendant features for your business phone number to greet callers and direct them via menus, while call routing sends inquiries to available agents who can answer calls to your business numbers. Get hold music for a more complete experience for when people call your phone numbers. Plus, it can help speed up responses and reduce wait times for better customer satisfaction.
Clear insights with communication history and analytics
Access detailed logs and call recordings and get a review of interactions made with any specific business phone number you may have, with dashboards highlighting key performance indicators like response times (that is, how fast your agents pick up the telephone). This call management tool provides actionable insights, helping refine strategies, and improve team performance effortlessly by giving you a broad overview of how your phone numbers are being used.
Seamless messaging and app integrations
Send and receive text messaging alongside calls using your business phone number, integrating with CRMs for unified business communications, to ensure your team gets all the information they need. Sync data for your business numbers across platforms to streamline workflows and enhance customer tracking without manual effort.
Best way to avoid spam label
Register your caller ID for your business phone number (or any other phone numbers you have) to build trust and maintain an appropriate call cadence by spacing outreach appropriately. This can help prevent your virtual phone calling from being flagged as spam, ensuring your business number reaches customers reliably and upholds your reputation.
Compliance, security, and reliability made simple
Enable any business phone numbers you have for E911 for emergency routing, set roles and permissions for secure access, and rely on high uptime guarantees. These virtual phone features simplify compliance and protect sensitive data, offering peace of mind for your operations.
Types of business telephone numbers you can obtain
Local numbers: build community presence
A local number for a business features area codes tied to specific (often smaller) regions, signaling closeness to potential customers.
- Local phone numbers are ideal for businesses targeting neighborhood clients, like retail shops.
- Enhances trust by appearing familiar and accessible.
- A local business phone number can be cost-effective for regional marketing.
- Supports community engagement without seeming like a bigger, national conglomerate.
Toll-free numbers: national reach for your company
Toll-free numbers start with prefixes like 800 or 888, allowing callers to connect without charges.
- These business phone numbers are perfect for companies seeking a nationwide presence.
- Toll-free marketing campaigns are more effective at helping people to memorize your number.
- Toll-free numbers are free to call, ensuring more inquiries from distant customers.
- Toll-free numbers project a larger, more established business image.
Vanity numbers: memorable, professional branding
A vanity number for a business incorporates words or patterns, like 1-800-FLOWERS, for easy memorability.
- Vanity phone numbers are great for branding in ads and promotions.
- A vanity business phone number increases call volume through simple recall (plus, these can also be toll-free)
- Strengthens professional identity.
- Useful in competitive markets for standout recognition.
International numbers: virtual presence without offices
International numbers provide local dialing in foreign countries.
- Virtual phone international numbers help create a global reach for support and sales.
- International business phone numbers build trust with overseas clients.
- Reduces costs compared to physical offices.
- Facilitates 24/7 availability across time zones.
How much do business phone numbers cost?
Business phone numbers typically range from $10 to $40 per user per month in the market, depending on features like unlimited calling, integrations, and support. Costs include base subscriptions, additional lines, and potential add-ons for advanced analytics or international calling. Total cost, however, should include setup fees (which are admittedly often waived), mandatory purchased hardware (which is often nonexistent for virtual systems), and scalability as your team grows.
- Solo entrepreneur: Around $15/month for basic call forwarding and voicemail.
- 10-seat team: $20-30/user/month, including ring groups and CRM sync.
MightyCall’s phone system price plans start at $15/user/month (Core plan, annual billing, 3-user minimum), offering unlimited minutes and texting, and all advanced VoIP features, with higher tiers like Pro ($23) adding additional team management and auto dialer features.
Porting and migration: how to obtain and keep your current business number
To port your existing business number to MightyCall (instead of going through the hassle to get a business number anew) without interruption, follow these steps:
- Gather details like your current provider’s account info, the number to port, and a recent bill.
- Obtain a port-out PIN from your old carrier, if necessary for authorization.
- Submit a signed Letter of Authorization (LOA) to MightyCall, including verification of ownership and the invoice.
- Schedule a window for the transfer (to be safe, keep it to 7-14 days) to minimize downtime.
- Set up temporary forwarding from your old provider to your new MightyCall setup during the porting process.
Finally, have a checklist: confirm the number is active, unlocked, and matches billing details to avoid delays. This ensures seamless migration, retaining your established business number for continuity.
The best way to choose a phone number for a small business
- Match type to needs: For local focus, opt for area code numbers; toll-free for national appeal; vanity for branding—align with your customer base and growth plans.
- Consider team size: Solo owners need to ensure their systems offer simple lines with voicemail; 5-20 person teams, who have an easier time picking up the phone, benefit from ring groups and shared access; larger setups require multi-site analytics.
- Prioritize mobility: Choose providers with device-agnostic apps for remote work, contrasting fixed desk systems that limit flexibility.
- Ensure compliance: Look for E911, security features, and reliability to meet regulations, especially in sensitive industries.
- Evaluate features by workflow: Mobile-heavy teams favor getting a business number to allow for call forwarding, which emphasizes auto-attendants.
- Assess scalability: Before getting a business phone number, select a system that grows without major overhauls, factoring in integrations like CRM for efficiency.
Use cases by business stage
Solo owner: one business phone number, pro voicemail, basic routing
As a solo owner of a small business, set up one business phone number with a business builders phone system like MightyCall for professional voicemail that transcribes messages and basic routing to forward calls during off-hours. This simplistic configuration of your phone number for small business can keep you responsive without overwhelming you, integrating texting for quick client replies and logging for easy follow-ups. Plus, you can have a phone numbers for business set up all in minutes for seamless operation. Any small business you have ever called probably has small business phone numbers – and it’s not hard to see why!
5–20 person team: shared lines, ring groups, CRM sync
For a 5-20 person team, MightyCall’s business phone system offers shared lines and ring groups to distribute calls evenly, plus call recordings for training. Companies this size that get business phone numbers sync with CRM to track interactions and use analytics for performance insights, ensuring collaborative call management that scales with your growing operations.
Multi-site business: local presence numbers and central analytics
Unlike small business phone numbers, multi-site businesses can use a phone number for business from MightyCall to establish regional credibility, while central analytics provide unified dashboards for monitoring key performance indicators across locations. A business phone number supports distributed teams with consistent routing and reporting, optimizing communications without on-site hardware and allowing your agents to answer their phone from a wider variety of locations.
Need a business phone number? Choose MightyCall
If you’re ready to get a business number, get a business builders phone system like MightyCall. It makes it simple with a quick turnaround time, wide compatibility, insightful analytics, and a plethora of other features. Tailored SMBs, MightyCall delivers professional communications that grow with you. So start today and start making efficient, reliable connections.
