Marketing numbers, already prolific in the United States, are quickly gaining popularity in the UK. They are emerging as a powerful business tool that many organisations should not be without. These are special telephone numbers which may be used to eliminate geographical barriers, generate revenue and strengthen brand presence.

The major advantage for businesses of marketing numbers is that they are generally supplied with powerful number translation services such as voice and fax to email, time of day routing, call and fax broadcast, follow me or hunt group facilities and other valuable call handling functionality. Information about inbound calls (date, time, geographical area, duration) provides valuable marketing information to the business.

Freephone Numbers

Freephone numbers - typically with the 0800 prefix - are free of charge to callers within UK and to callers on some mobile networks. The charges of the call are borne by the organisation using the phone number, but can be as little as 2p per minute. Research has demonstrated that 61% of UK callers are more likely to call these numbers than standard charge numbers. 0800 marketing numbers offer an excellent opportunity for businesses to dramatically improve lead generation.

0845 Numbers

These have been described as local rate, but were actually introduced as ""LoCall"" numbers. Customers can call them from anywhere in the UK for just 3.95p per minute during the day and 1p per minute in the evenings and at weekends. Though some operators charge the business for inbound calls received on its 0845 marketing number, Numberstore offers 0845 marketing numbers with no ongoing line rental or call charges – a compelling reason for Internet Service Providers and companies to make themselves more accessible to their subscribers and customers throughout the UK.

0870 Numbers

0870 marketing numbers, historically referred to as ""national rate numbers"", offer all the advantages of 0845 numbers, though calls are charged at slightly higher rates. This means that businesses may also share in the revenue earned by the operators from their inbound calls.

Premium Rate Numbers

While these are not necessarily marketing numbers, premium rate numbers (090), are an excellent option for technical support, chat lines, phone-ins and competitions. The market for these services alone is valued at around £2 billion in the UK. Here the charges for the call are borne totally by the caller while the revenue generated from the call is split between the telephone operator and the business receiving the phone calls.

Alpha-numeric Numbers

Any of the ranges described above may be used to generate memorable alpha-numeric numbers – eg 0905 057 HELP for a business support number or 0905 057 CHAT for a chatline.