How To Get a Business Phone Number: Quick and Easy Guide

With the ubiquity of texts, emails, and chatbots, it can be refreshing for customers to pick up the phone and call a business directly. You can take advantage of that fact by setting up your very own business phone number. In the process, you ensure that your personal number stays private.

Setting up a business phone line is a fairly straightforward process, but there are several options to consider depending on the size of your company and exactly what you want to use it for. Let’s get into it.

Reasons to have a business phone number

A business phone number can be a useful tool if you run a small business or an ecommerce store. Here are a few of the main reasons to set up a business phone number:

• Keeps business communications organized. Setting up a business number keeps your personal calls separate, so you don’t have to dig through your inbox for work-related messages.

• Keep your personal number private. Though it can be tempting to use an existing phone line like your personal cellphone, setting up a business number can help maintain your privacy and safety.

• Keep customer-facing communication professional. A dedicated business number projects a professional image and allows you to set company-specific auto-response and voicemail greetings.

• Gives employees access. For small business owners with several employees, it’s not wise (or possible) to run a business on your personal phone number. A separate business number means the whole company can access and interact with customers from a dedicated point of contact.

• Scales up along with your business. Setting up a dedicated number means that you can continue to use it as the business grows, rather than trying to switch down the line.

Types of business phone numbers 

• Local phone numbers
• Virtual phone numbers
• Toll-free phone numbers
• Phone menu systems
• DID numbers
• Vanity phone numbers

Just like there are several types of phones, there are several types of business phone numbers. The one you choose will depend on your budget and how you plan to use it:

Local phone numbers

As the name implies, a local business phone number is a number tied to a specific place. These numbers, which will include a local area code, are great for brick-and-mortar shops, restaurants, and a whole range of services, including house cleaning, construction, catering, wedding services, and more—any business with a local presence. Though a local number is great for local companies, it may not work as well if you’re primarily selling online and receiving calls from all over the country, or even fielding international calls.

Virtual phone numbers or VoIP

Virtual phone numbers, also known as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), are internet-based phone numbers that are not specifically tied to a physical location or device. Though they function like a regular phone number for people calling them, as a business owner, you’ll primarily access your virtual phone service online through a service provider. One popular and simple version of this is Google Voice, which allows you to set up a phone number. It works similarly to an email address, but allows customers to call, text, and leave voice messages. 

Toll-free numbers

A toll-free phone number will typically start with a toll-free area code like 1-800, though that has expanded to other prefixes starting with 8 (like 888 and 877) and more. In the days of long-distance charges, these numbers were free to call. Though most people don’t encounter long-distance fees anymore, these numbers are still free to call and are best suited for companies looking to establish themselves as national brands. 

Phone menu systems

For more advanced business phone systems, services like Twilio offer the ability to set up a phone menu (or phone tree) that lets a caller navigate with spoken commands or by hitting buttons (i.e., “For customer service, press 1”; “For business hours, press 2.”). This kind of virtual phone system can be a little complicated to set up, but it allows you to filter certain types of calls, offer answers to frequently asked questions, or split callers to relevant departments.

DID numbers

If you have a company with multiple departments and employees, directed inward dialing (DID) allows callers to call each other directly without having to navigate a menu. Instead, individuals or departments can set up distinct numbers or extensions so callers can reach them directly. 

Vanity phone numbers

A vanity phone number is a number that uses the alpha-numeric code on the telephone to spell a word or company name. For instance, 1-800-GOT-JUNK. This kind of vanity number can be a great marketing opportunity, and can be particularly easy for customers to memorize, so they don’t have to look it up each time they plan to call.

How to get a business phone number

1. Identify your needs and budget
2. Pick a provider or service
3. Set up your phone number and account
4. Publicize your number

Here’s how to set up your own business phone number: 

1. Identify your needs and budget

The type of business phone number you choose will depend entirely on the scope of your business and budget. Do you have a business with a dozen employees that needs to handle a lot of incoming calls? Do you only occasionally get customer service-related calls? And how much money can you allocate to the service? These are all questions to answer before you can decide on the right choice.

2. Pick a provider or service

If you plan on running a large company with several departments, employees, or multiple locations, you may consider getting an account with a larger phone service provider like:

• Twilio.Twilio offers 10-digit long codes, toll-free numbers, short codes, vanity phone numbers, and national numbers. Pay-as-you-go plans start at 1.4¢/minute after you finish your free trial. 

• Grasshopper.Grasshopper offers toll-free numbers, local numbers, and vanity phone numbers, or you can transfer an existing number for free. Plans start at $18/month and come with unlimited business texting, call forwarding, and call reports. 

• Traditional phone company. Depending on where your business is located, you can get business lines from companies like AT&T (starting at $35/line), Verizon (starting at $25/line), and T-Mobile (starting at $23/line). Plans often come bundled with other features like unlimited texting and Wi-Fi, but you often need to sign up for multiple business numbers to get the lowest price per line.

Alternatively, small businesses and entrepreneurs could use a free service like Google Voice, which you can connect to your Google account and run online. With Google Voice, you can also set up call forwarding to your mobile phone. Though this won’t help you separate your work from your personal life, it will provide privacy and give your clients and customers a separate number to call.

3. Set up your phone number and account

Once you’ve chosen a provider, you’ll need to choose a phone number and set up your account. For simpler lines like Google Voice numbers, this will mainly be setting up your voicemail message, and deciding if you want to forward calls and texts to your personal number or forward voicemails as emails. For a full phone menu through a company like Twilio, this may take some time to learn.

4. Publicize your number

Once you’ve set up your business number, you’ll want to make sure it rings. It’s important to post your number on your business website, ecommerce store, social media accounts, email marketing campaigns, or even local business directories so that people know how to find you. You can also start putting the number on business cards, and if you run an ecommerce shop, you can put those business cards in each package so customers know how to get in touch.