In discovering the difference, its important to also understand that both 1300 Numbers and 1800 Numbers also share things in common. Nonetheless the cost of 1300 Numbers is not free in Australia, and hence the cost in choosing one of the number types is a consideration. Long are the days when you needed to purchase 1300 or 1800 numbers from Telstra. Instead, 1300 & 1800 Numbers can be purchased from various vendors that specialise in the provision of such services, including Smartcom. (see 1300 & 1800 Number Plans)
1300 Numbers & 1800 Numbers share Traits.
Both 1300 Numbers and 1800 Numbersare inbound national phone numbers that can be called from any location in Australia. As a result, businesses gain the following outcomes;
Single Point of Call – Nationally
Easy to Remember Phone Numbers
Brand Image & Professionalism: 1300 Numbers or 1800 Numbers enhance your brand equity.
Localised Bias elimination: using a 1300 Number or 1800 Number eliminates local bias associated with choosing a service. For instance, its evident that people from Sydney would look for suppliers with an 02 prefix. With a national number, consumers are unaware of your location, and as long as you service the area, your office location, really is irrelevant.
Organisational Reputation: a 1300 Number or 1800 Number displays confidence to the marketplace.
Portable: Completely transferrable business phone numbers from either office to office; or if you change business phone number providers.
The Differences between 1300 Numbers & 1800 Numbers
Consumer Call Costs
Firstly, 1800 Numbers are a free service from a landline. However, calls to 1300 Numbers are not free from landlines, and individuals are charged by their service provider for calls.
Secondly, all callers are charged by their mobile service provider for calls to a 1300 Number or a 1800 Number.
However, deciphering some of the different price models of 1300 Numbers and 1800 Numbers can however be a little overwhelming. The Smartcom price modelon the other hand is built on simplicity. For instance, for as little as $20 a month, you’ll have your very own 1300 Number with 30 minutes of local and national calls included. (see 1300 & 1800 Number Plans)
Call Centres & High Call Volumes
Clients with call centres or other high call volume operations can slash inbound call costs with Smartcom. (see 1300 & 1800 Number Plans)
How to choose between 1300 Numbers & 1800 Numbers
Both number types are similar in price to set-up. However, call costs to 1800 Numbers generally cost marginally more. Other than that, the price between the two is usually nominal.
1300 Numbers are widely used by the business sector, however, some companies prefer 1800 Numbers as they can take the cost to the customer out of the equation. For instance, businesses dealing with the elderly may determine that a 1800 Number is a better fit.
Likewise, 1800 Numbers are popular sectors such as the charities and fundraising, as well as help and support lines as a result of local calls being free of charge.
Increase Revenue with 1300 Numbers or 1800 Numbers
Using 1300 Numbers or 1800 Numbers as a single point of call for your marketing activities is not only highly efficient for your staff to manage, its also evident that national phone numbers increase marketing response rates, and hence is a business-critical tool for generating revenue.
Buy a New Number or Port an Existing 1300 Number
You can either purchase a new 1300 Number or 1800 Number from Smartcom; or alternatively, have Smartcom transfer an existing number you currently have. (see 1300 & 1800 Number Plans)
Cost Savings
Smartcom is one of the fastest growing 1300 Numbers and 1800 Numbers service providers in Australia. As a result, our competitive call plans can slash your phone bill of your 1300 Number or 1800 Number. (see 1300 & 1800 Number Plans)
Professional Call Management
In addition to our standard 1300 Number and 1800 Numbers, Smartcom’s add-on services will add a level of professionalism to your customer-facing activities. Such as the following;
Inbound Call Management & Queuing
Auto-Attendant (IVR) Call Management – ‘Press 1’ for Sales
Standard Call Routing: Call Forwarding, State, Time, Day & After-Hours
Complex Call Routing
Standard & Professional Voice-Over Greeting
Call Recording
Cloud-Based Hosted PBX Business Phone System
Customer Portal – Change Management & Reporting
The Smartcom customer portal provides you with extensive call tracking reports, as well as change management capabilities. Moreover, the portal captures the vital statistics of phone calls as to which marketing sources are generating the most calls and conversions.
Likewise, establish call patterns as to the days and times you receive the most calls; as well as calls answered versus calls missed by your team. Furthermore, gain knowledge as to where in the world your customers are calling from – pinpointed to the suburb.
SmartTrak 1300 is a dynamic call tracking function that adds a new dimension to the value of 1300 Numbers, in giving businesses the ability to track phone calls across both media channels and brands.
Moreover, you’re able to track response rates of marketing campaigns across traditional and digital channels, such as; Television, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, Email, Google Search, Google Ads, Bing, Facebook, and Linkedin.
Incorporating a clever mix of software and telecommunications, SmartTrak 1300 Numbers provides businesses with greater transparency of marketing and BAUactivities beyond merely clicks and online conversions. As a result, business leaders can better measure performance and eliminate cost wastage.
Can’t speak highly enough of our relationship with Smartcom. Indeed, I emphasize the term ‘relationship’. It’s been a great experience dealing with a telco and cloud provider that is dedicated to the business sector and not distracted with the consumer side. The up-side for us has been immense, being the beneficiary of some cut-through business applications that have, without question, attributed to our growth in both Australia and globally.
Jason Edwards
Chief Executive Officer, VaultID
In executing our strategies in Australia, and on a global basis, there was a high reliance on the adoption of the very best communications technology that will deliver both scalability and flexibility to effectively manage our operations. Moreover, its paramount that we adopted cloud-based and internet technology that could adapt to market conditions with both nimbleness and responsiveness. Smartcom have been an absolute delight to engage with, delivering quality, reliable and innovative services that have enabled us to go-to-market with both speed and confidence.
David Robinson
Managing Director, Corium Health
Smartcom proved to be everything we needed from a technology partner. When we first started making enquiries about what was required for our start-up, I was confronted with an ocean of jargon. Pleasingly, this was not the case with Smartcom. Their common sense approach made the whole thing easy...with the Hosted PBX, 1300 number and Call Routing getting the company off to a flying start. Highly recommended!
Stuart Carlaw
Director, GT Works
High praise for the Smartcom team! Our new Cloud PBX and Call Routing service has improved the way we go about doing business. Since its introduction, there’s no doubt we are more efficient, and we are also able to communicate more effectively with our highly-valued client base. That aside, we were able to significantly reduce our telecommunication costs.
