The reason United Kingdom Radio Stations are Choosing 03 Numbers

 

Non-geographic telephone numbers (e.g. 0845 numbers) have long been popular with UK radio stations that use them for travel hotlines, on-air auctions and as their main studio numbers. There are many reasons as to why they are so commonly used (discussed below) and now it seems that a brand new non-geographic number range is making them an even more attractive proposition.

03 phone numbers offer exactly the same benefits as 08 numbers, but with one crucial difference – the cost for people to call them. 03 numbers cost the same to dial as regular landline (01/02) numbers, even from a mobile phone. Furthermore, 03 numbers are included in the free minutes allocations offered by all landline and mobile network providers. This is important when 40% of all UK calls are now from mobiles (Source: Ofcom). In fact, this percentage is likely to be even higher for calls to travel lines where listeners are inevitably stuck in traffic or on the road. Popular south coast station, Wave 105 in Hampshire found that 89% of the callers to their 03 travel line (0345 230 1050) in May 2009 were from mobile phones.

Up-to-date travel reports are a USP for many local radio stations and therefore encouraging people to call is an integral part of the broadcaster’s role. With a ‘caller-friendly’ 03 number this makes a radio presenter’s job easier as the call costs are not a barrier to stop people getting in touch. It’s perhaps for this reason that the BBC has recently replaced all of its 0870 numbers with 03 numbers (e.g. Radio 1′s main studio phone
number: 03700 100 100)

Like all non-geographic numbers, radio stations can handpick an 03 number that incorporates their frequency. For example, Absolute Radio (formerly Virgin Radio) uses 0330 123 1215 as its main on-air studio line – with 1215 reflecting its frequency on AM/MW. Not only does this make the number more memorable for its listeners, but it also serves as a very effective marketing tool for them to enable people to recall the station’s frequency more easily.

Having a memorable phone number that listeners can recall easily is specifically important for radio as it’s a form of media that people consume whilst carrying out other tasks – e.g. driving, decorating and working! This means they generally don’t have the opportunity to note down the phone number when it’s been announced which makes a memorable phone number even more crucial to encourage listener interaction.

Another reason why 03 numbers are popular with radio stations is because they do not isolate the listeners that live outside of the station’s immediate area.

Many radio stations broadcast to more than one county – locally, regionally and even nationally and by using an 03 number it enables broadcasters to announce a single number that is not location specific (unlike numbers with area codes). This also helps to ensure that announcements are clear and concise without mixed messages.

What’s more, an 03 number guarantees their phone number is future-proof should they decide to broadcast to an even wider audience on DAB digital radio.

A further benefit of an 03 number is the fact that online call management systems can be added to them without the need for additional hardware or equipment. For example, online call re-routing means that calls to an 03 number can be forwarded to another landline or mobile at the touch of a button. Mike Ayling at Wave 105 finds this feature specifically useful:

“At night and at weekends, when the travel centre is unmanned, we often divert the calls to the main studio so that the on-air presenter can take them and broadcast the travel information straight away. This can all be achieved with one telephone call or online and ensures that our travel reports are always up-to-date and it means that all calls are answered – which is important to us from a customer service point of view.”

This instant call diverting is also popular with radio stations that take networked shows as they can re-route calls to their main number to another studio with immediate effect.

To sum up, 03 numbers offer radio stations all the flexibility of 08 numbers – without the increased call
costs for their listeners. These 2 reasons alone will guarantee that you are likely to hear 03 on a wireless near you in the very near future…