How Do International Premium-Rate Numbers Work? | CityNumbers

International phone numbers are rising in popularity among UK businesses. 

Acquiring an international phone number means you can offer overseas customers a local number to call, even if you aren’t physically located within that country. As a UK-based company, you could establish a New York phone number that lets clients calling from Manhattan dial a number they recognise as regional. 

But:

• Why should your business buy an international number? 
• How do international premium-rate numbers work?
• How do you go about acquiring one for your company? 

We aim to answer all this and more. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know. 

Why Buy an International Number for Your Business?

Before you invest time and money into an international phone number for your business, you’ll want to know why it’s worth doing in the first place. There are numerous advantages of using a local phone number when trying to build an international presence. These include: 

• Local Confidence and Trust — Customers are more likely to call and answer local phone numbers. This is especially true of businesses. Even if your services are carried out digitally, or the products on offer are shipped internationally, there is still an element of trust associated with local numbers, which can support better client communication. Because of this reason, obtaining a local number can be a powerful tool for increasing sales. 
• Improved Brand Perception — Thanks to the wonders of the digital age, it’s easier than ever to grow your brand and offer products or services on the global stage. However, attracting international clients can be difficult. Your potential customers in Los Angeles, for example, may be deterred from using your company if they notice you are based entirely out of a private residence in Surrey. Acquiring a locally targeted phone number makes your brand appear larger, more well-established and more professional; one that is ready to take on international business. 
• Consumer Testing — Thinking about launching a larger presence overseas? A local number can be a great way to test the waters and discover how much interest there is. Before you make large investments in new offices or service provision, you can use international numbers to track local conversions and find locations where you are more likely to succeed. 

 How Do International Premium-Rate Numbers Work — And How Do You Get One?

International premium-rate numbers might sound like a complicated asset to acquire, but in reality, they are no different to a UK virtual number — except for the fact they are based overseas. 

The concept behind them is simple. 

In order to obtain a local business phone number, you need to have a regional presence in terms of a company premises through which a number can be registered. For small businesses — and even larger firms — acquiring international property is not financially viable for the sake of a phone number. 

But you don’t need to buy or rent international property to obtain an international phone number. 

CityNumbers has the resources available to register local numbers on your behalf. We then use call-forwarding technology to transfer any calls made to the number to your current UK business phone or mobile number. 

It’s a simple process to get started. All you have to do is select the country and city you want your international number to be registered in and we’ll take care of the rest. You can then provide customers and clients with your local number, even if you are actually based thousands of miles away.  

What Countries Can You Buy International Numbers for Your Business In?

If you want to acquire overseas local numbers to project an increased international presence, it’s very easily done. You can acquire an international virtual number almost anywhere in the world. At CityNumbers, we offer numbers in over 95 countries across more than 4,000 cities. These include popular nations like:

• USA
• Spain
• Ireland
• France
• Canada
• Australia 
• Germany
• Italy

What Are the Costs of an International Premium-Rate Number? 

Prices can vary significantly depending on where in the world you’d like to set up your international number. This is due to several factors, from local charges to available networks. 

Your business will be looking at paying the exact same type of fees for an international number, which are:

• Setup Costs
• Monthly Line Rental
• Cost Per Minute from Landline and Mobile
• International Routing

How these costs impact your company will be entirely down to location. 

For example, if you want to establish local numbers in the United States, the fees are very affordable even for very small businesses:

• Setup Costs — £10
• Monthly Line Rental — £7
• Cost Per Minute from Landline and Mobile — 3p/11p
• International Routing (per minute) — 4p

However, if you were to instead buy an international number local to Moscow in Russia, you’d be looking at the below fees:

• Setup Costs — £300
• Monthly Line Rental — £35
• Cost Per Minute from Landline and Mobile — 16p/32p
• International Routing (per minute) — 19p landline/29p mobile

Given the varying costs of an international virtual number, considerations should be made as to why you’ve chosen the country:

• Do you have specific international markets or sales goals in mind? 
• Is your product or service geo-targeted to a particular region?
• Could you achieve the same goals by accessing a different customer base? 

If you are going to see big business from Russia, the high costs of entry are likely worth that initial expense. However, if you are simply looking to expand and reach new markets but don’t have specific nations in mind, you’ll find a number of other great options that can support goals while keeping costs down. 

How do international premium-rate numbers work? They work to boost your sales potential and transform your marketing strategy while being a cost-effective local support structure. Buy a phone number from CityNumbers today and start your international journey!