How does a 1300 number work?
1300 numbers are extremely popular with Australian businesses. In fact, over 300,000 businesses have a 1300 number.
That’s because they are good for business.
Let’s find out how 1300 numbers work and why they make sense for your business.
In this all-new FAQ you'll learn...
What is a 1300 number?
Advantages of 1300 numbers for Australian businesses
Buying and selling 1300 numbers
1300 number costs
The difference between 1300 and 1800 numbers
How do 1300 numbers work?
In a nutshell, a 1300 number is a 10 digit phone number for Australian businesses. They are an inbound only telephone number, meaning you can only receive call on them, they can’t be used to make calls.
The good thing about a 1300 number is that they can be used nation-wide. They give your business a national profile whilst simultaneously acting as a single telephone number for your customers to remember. It’s important to note, some calls placed to a 1300 number will incur a small fee for the caller.
What are the technical aspects of 1300 numbers?
They're sometimes called ‘virtual phone numbers’ since 1300 numbers don't need a physical phone line connection. You set a 1300 number up to be answered by an existing phone service, such as a landline, mobile number or VoIP. This means you can route a 1300 number in a multitude of ways that is not possible for a local area number.
1300 numbers also give you control over such things as time-of-day settings as well as Interactive Voice Response menus.
When you buy a 1300 number, you create what’s known as an answerpoint. An answerpoint is the landline, mobile phone or VoIP phone serice that will receive the incoming calls. When a customer calls your 1300 number the nominated phone service will ring.
The added benefit of buying a 1300 number is that it allows you to establish multiple answerpoints, and select different call forwarding or routing options depending on such things as the time of the day (business hours vs after-hours). As you can see, 1300 numbers are a powerful phone number solution for your business needs.
Advantages of using a 1300 number for your business
Here’s just four ways businesses can benefit from using 1300 numbers...
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A 1300 number will make your business appear larger and therefore more professional and trustworthy than your competitors
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Offers customers a single point of contact that can be used Australia-wide
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Ability to manage call flows efficiently
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Replaces expensive Private Branch Exchange (PBX) business phone systems
Sales teams
Owning a 1300 number means that you can evenly distribute incoming calls to the different people on your sales team. This will ensure that customers are not having to be put on hold or waiting for a call back because only one salesperson is receiving all the queries.
Marketing insights
Call data is important information that helps reveal the efficacy of marketing strategies. Pro tip: advertising a different 1300 number on particular marketing campaigns (i.e. social media, print, TV, etc.) will let you analyse the efficacy of your marketing plans.
Take a look at the numbers of received calls for each 1300 number per marketing platform. This will then allow you to identify ROI of a particular marketing strategy thereby maximising your marketing budget.
Franchises
The good news is that 1300 numbers can be set up to reveal a caller’s geographic locality. This is great for businesses that operate within different cities, and especially for franchises. Business owners can then route customers’ phone calls to the right local office.
Options for business hours vs after-hours
In order to maximise the efficiency of your 1300 number, you can route incoming calls to different answerpoints (established phone services) based on whether it’s inside or outside of normal business hours. Businesses usually use this option to route incoming calls directly to an answering service outside of business hours.
Businesses which maintain longer hours than the average business day may use this feature to divert calls to different work teams, depending on when teams are on the clock.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
IVR is also known as a Voice Prompt Menu system. IVR plays an audio to prompt callers to press a number on their keypad to navigate to the best option to help solve their query. Most small businesses will use an IVR similar to, “Thanks for calling My Business. Please choose from the following options. Press 1 to speak to our sales department. Or press 2 for Accounts.”
Combining a 1300 number with IVR helps your business gain an edge on your competitors. Not only will your business appear larger and more professional, an IVR will also help to manage the flow of calls, thereby providing a better overall customer experience.
You can analyse your 1300 number IVR call data to better understand your customers’ needs. This information can then be used to inform strategy when it comes to fielding your customers’ queries.
Discover all 1300 number features
The variety of 1300 number providers on the market
Weighing up the pros and cons of 1300 numbers for your business needs can be quite tricky due to the variety of service providers on the market. And to make matters worse, each provider seems to use slightly different terminology!
You may have come across the following:
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ACMA 1300 number
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Telstra 1300 numbers
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1300 Smartnumbers
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1300 Flashnumbers
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Vanity 1300 numbers
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Gold 1300 numbers (and Platinum 1300 numbers)
All these 1300 numbers function exactly the same way. The different terminology is simply for branding and advertising purposes. In other words, they're just using different marketing terms.
Free 1300 numbers
Usually 1300 number providers have a range of 1300 numbers in stock and ready to sell to a business with sans the usual purchase price. The good news is that some of these stock 1300 numbers feature ‘memorable, repeating digits. So, rather than having to pay for one, it’s worth trying to find a great free 1300 number from a service provider.
Flash numbers and Vanity numbers
You might see the terms ‘1300 Flash numbers’ and ‘Vanity 1300 numbers’ being advertised. These are really just re-branded 1300 Phonewords.
The businesses selling these branded 1300 numbers usually only offer to lease the 1300 number to you (instead of you owning it). The downside of this is that your 1300 number is not portable. You can’t transfer your 1300 number to another provider if you don’t like the service you’re currently receiving or the price you’re paying.
Obviously, this can wreak havoc on your business not only in terms of your telecommunications, but also your marketing. That’s why reading the Critical Information Summary is important. You need to know exactly what you’re getting before signing up to any 1300 service provider.
Free and available 1300 numbers
ACMA 1300 Smartnumbers
A Smartnumber is a 1300 number that spells out a word when typed into a phone keypad, such as 1300 PIZZAS (1300 749 927). All 1300 numbers are actually overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
Gold and Platinum 1300 numbers
Some service providers sell Gold and Platinum 1300 numbers for an increased fee. This is because they deem the 1300 number as more memorable. However, this is somewhat misleading as the 1300 number you are paying extra for is probably just a number that was just sitting on the telco’s books anyway. The reality of the situation is that you can find your own memorable 1300 number without the ‘gold’ or ‘platinum’ price tag!
Telstra 1300 numbers
You might remember the huge marketing campaign Telstra ran a while ago. This was because Telstra became a 1300 number service provider. Some people still think that Telstra 1300 numbers are somehow different to, or better than, 'regular' 1300 numbers. Pro tip: they're not! This kind of old-fashioned thinking can end up costing you more as Telstra is the most expensive provider, and their support when you need help is ...well, we all know about Tesltra's customer service.
1300 fax numbers
1300 numbers can also be used to receive faxes. The way this works is that when someone sends a fax to your 1300 number, it’s converted in the cloud to an email attachment which is then sent to you.
Sounds fantastic, right? However, some 1300 providers actually charge you for this service. If you’re not on an unlimited 1300 fax number plan then you will pay to receive faxes. Think about this: a one page fax page takes on average 1 minute to transfer. Say you receive a 10 page fax, then you will be charged as if you had received a 10 minute phone call. This can really add up!
Find your perfect number
Buying a 1300 number: a helpful guide
In this section we'll take you through the process and give you advice about the important factors you need to consider so that you can buy a 1300 number for your business. We will show you how easy it is to purchase a 1300 number online and start taking calls immediately.
Choosing the right provider is the hard bit. And we’d like to think that we have lightened the workload for you by providing our FAQs. Once you are happy with your service provider, it should only take a few minutes to purchase and set up your new 1300 number and get it working for your business.
Four simple steps to buy a 1300 number for your business:
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Research the best 1300 number provider
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Using the advertised rates of your 1300 number provider of choice, calculate what your monthly spend will be and then choose your pricing plan accordingly
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Select the features you wish to activate
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Set up your new 1300 number so incoming calls are forwarded to your existing landline, VoIP or mobile phones.
Read more about our services
1300 numbers costs
Different service providers use different pricing structures when it comes to selling you a 1300 number. Many service providers use outdated, and frankly unfair, price points. However, typically all 1300 number plans have four main elements:
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A monthly hosting fee
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Call rates (you can either pay per incoming call received or opt for an unlimited call plan)
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Fees to use optional features (again, you can either pay per feature or choose to have bundles of features included in the cost of your monthly 1300 number hosting fee)
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An initial set up fee (of usually $20)
Some 1300 number providers charge minimum monthly fees, plus call rates, fees for optional features as well as support fees if you need to change your number’s routing or cancel your number. That’s why it is essential that you carefully read you 1300 number provider’s Critical Information Summary which outlines all their costs for hosting your 1300 number.
On the other hand, at Telephonic, we sell 1300 numbers very differently. Yes, our monthly fees might be slightly higher than the competition; however, all calls are included FREE of charge to our customers! We think this is a fairer way of delivering not only value but also peace of mind and great customer satisfaction to our clients.
How are 1300 call costs calculated?
Selling 1300 numbers
It is possible to sell your 1300 number. What this entails is selling the Enhanced Rights of Use (EROU) to your 1300 number to another business. Alternatively, you can also lease your 1300 number to another business whilst still retaining ownership. However, the ACMA has strict rules about trading 1300 numbers.
Essential information you need to know about buying and selling 1300 numbers.
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When leasing your 1300 number to another business, 100% of the rights must be traded as partial trading is not allowed.
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There are activation time limits in place. When buying a Smartnumber, it’s important to be aware of much of the three-year activation period remains. This is easily done by checking the original purchase date of the 1300 number. Unfortunately, number activation periods do not re-set when ownership of 1300 numbers change.
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When it comes to trading 1300 numbers, this can only be carried out on the ACMA’s The Numbering System platform where both the buyer and seller have a registered account (an account registration fee may also apply).
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Please also note that the ACMA may charge a facilitation fee for the transfer of the 1300 number.
How to sell a 1300 number
1300 numbers are tradeable products, which means you can buy and sell them as needed.
There are no restrictions around the sale price, but there is a defined trading framework that you need to follow.
The most important thing is that you source a buyer who is willing to buy the 1300 number at an agreed price.
1300 number auction
When first introduced to Australia, 1300 numbers could only be purchased at auction. And the competition was so fierce some numbers even fetched $1,000,000! Thankfully, this is no longer the case.
The easiest way is to buy your 1300 business number from a service provider who may offer you a $0 upfront purchase price when you buy into one of their 1300 number plans.
Free and available 1300 numbers
1300 vs 1800 numbers
In terms of their functionality, 1300 and 1800 numbers operate in very much the same way. However, there are a few minor differences worth noting.
Let's explore more...
1300 vs 1800 numbers: which is right for your business?
Usually, charities and other not-for-profit businesses use 1800 numbers. The main reason being a 1800 number is a freecall phone number, whereas calls placed to a 1300 number from a landline incur the cost of a local call.
If you want to bee 100% certain that your customers don’t have to pay a fee to call you, then you should choose a 1800 number instead of a 1300 number.
Calling a 1300 number vs calling a 1800 number
Some callers may pay a small fee when dialling a 1300 number from a landline. However, most phone calls are placed from mobile phone these days and almost all mobile plans include unlimited calls to 1300 numbers. So the difference between a 1300 number and a 1800 number is negligible.
Different plan fees
Another difference between 1300 numbers and 1800 numbers is that 1800 phone number plans are usually slightly more expensive than 1300 number plans.