Conducting marketing and advertising campaigns, competitions and quizzes, customer support and service, and even charity events - this is not a complete list of the uses of short numbers. They can be connected both to send and receive SMS, and to connect a short number for incoming calls.
Short numbers have become widespread due to their versatility. They are used by both government agencies and commercial ones. For businesses, this is an additional opportunity to maximize the range of customers, both by attracting new ones and increasing the loyalty of existing ones.
Today we will tell you everything about short numbers of mobile operators MTS, Beeline, MegaFon and Tele2: what short numbers are there, how to choose and connect it to use paid SMS or to inform your clients for free, how much short numbers cost and whether they can be rented.
Advantages of a short number
Short numbers appeared long before the advent of mobile communications and were used in landline networks for emergency calls and for information services to the public. With the development of mobile communications, the range of their use has expanded significantly. Today, a short number can be found both in advertising and on the packaging of products whose manufacturers use them to communicate with the buyer.
Taking part in a promotion, getting information about your order or bank account balance, voting for your favorite artist in a music TV project, congratulating friends on the radio - this is not a complete list of all the possibilities for using a short number. Also, short numbers from cellular operators can increase the prestige of the company using them.
Using a short number brings the company closer to its customers by facilitating communication. They have become so familiar to any user that sometimes their absence can cause confusion. A good illustration of this is MTS Bank, which only recently introduced a short number for its clients to receive balance information, replenish a mobile account, and other transactions. And this is in the presence of the parent company’s ability to build communication with consumers of services. But the bank still does not have a short support number, which makes it much more difficult to contact the bank in an emergency if you need to block a card. A short number is easy to remember and easier to dial from a cell phone.
The client may pay attention to the advertisement, but will not always write down the number. A short number allows you to increase the effectiveness of its use in advertising due to its easy memorability. Along with the advertisement itself, a short telephone number also remains in memory, since a couple of seconds are enough for visual perception, which cannot be said about a regular number.
The convenience of using a short number is not only for the client, but also for the company itself. This allows you not only to obtain a convenient channel of communication with current and potential service users, but also to obtain statistics on requests and conduct research into how popular the launch of a new product is.
You can also create a short phone number to receive payment for your services, which is in demand on many Internet sites. By sending a message to a short number, the user can access certain content without the need to use bank cards, which greatly simplifies this procedure and makes such payment safer.
A short number can not only be purchased, but also leased, which is especially in demand among small companies, taxi services, services for paying for content via SMS, receiving paid advertisements, or if necessary, use it for a limited period of time. Of course, if you need a permanent number, then despite the higher price, it is much more practical to buy the “Short number” service from the mobile operators MTS, Beeline, or Tele2. The number is assigned only to your company, and you can be sure that it is not used by third-party resources.
There are separate advantages to renting a short number for SMS, as well as for calls to it. This will allow you to get a short number for customer calls, or for paid SMS, the cost of which will be significantly lower than buying a number from any operator - Beeline, MegaFon, or MTS. It also saves time, since you can rent a short mobile phone number much faster.
Megaphone
- Use the service (*205#) to find out your phone number.
- Your personal account on the website of this mobile operator allows you to immediately see the number, and at the same time the account balance. Login to your personal account occurs through a login and password.
- In addition, all account information can be obtained personally by calling a short number 0500.
Types of short code
The short number can be either landline or mobile. The most common and popular among users is the ability to register a short number for SMS payments and receiving various information, and such a number can be either purchased or rented. The difference between landline and mobile numbers is from which number you can dial them.
All short numbers for SMS services contain 4 digits, and can be either exclusive for one user or shared among several clients. The first option implies that such a short four-digit number is used by only one company, and accordingly allows you to get maximum benefits. In this case, the options for its use are not limited either for the company’s client or for his customer.
The short number is separated using a prefix. This means that receiving a service using it involves the user typing an SMS text of certain content. It is the text in the message that allows you to determine which client of the operator the SMS sent to a short number is addressed to, and you can order and buy such a short number at a lower price and get more flexible tariffs for its use.
A separate category is short numbers with an asterisk, which are called an alternative to multi-line 8800 numbers. They are used for calls from cell phones, and their dialing is free for customers. The benefits are obvious. Statistics show that conversion when using such numbers for business increases to 20-30 percent compared to conventional multi-channel numbers.
A short “star” numbering is much easier to remember than any beautiful number, which significantly increases the number of customer calls using it. According to forecasts, they can significantly displace 8-800 numbers on the market in the very near future due to the active spread of mobile communications. Today everyone has a mobile phone, and the world is moving towards simplification. It is easier for the consumer to remember and quickly dial a short number than to remember and write down a number in the usual format.
Short numbers differ depending on their regional location. You can purchase a short code for a specific geographic area. This is especially true for large cities, when the company does not need to launch the service throughout the country.
The region is also taken into account if you connect a short city number, regardless of the operator - Beeline, MegaFon, MTS, or regional provider. Such numbers are used only for calls, and have the usual numbering with an area code, but when dialing from a landline, only the number itself can be dialed without a code.
Short telephone numbers differ, like others, by category. A beautiful short number for MTS, MegaFon, or Tele2 is much easier to remember than a simple combination of numbers. The price for beautiful short numbers differs especially depending on the type of number - individual or shared among several users. Separated ones are not tied to a specific user and generate income from several clients, so most often they have a beautiful and easy-to-remember combination.
How to connect a short number
You can connect a short number for calls or receive paid SMS through any mobile operator (Beeline, MTS, MegaFon, Tele2), or you can buy a beautiful phone number from mobile phone partners. Each of these options has both its pros and cons.
Most users who want to buy a short number with 4 digits believe that the operator will purchase or rent at a lower price, the connection procedure itself will be faster, and there will be a larger selection of numbers. In fact, this is not the case, and there are a number of reasons for this. Buying or renting a short number for calls and SMS at a better price is often offered by partner companies.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the number of available numbers from the cellular operators themselves. This is especially true when renting a room that is used according to a system of division into several companies. In the situation with mobile operators, it is especially difficult to expect that the numbering number you need will be available. A certain number of short numbers, although free, are in reserve status. Considering their overall small quantity, this causes a real shortage.
Difficulties may also arise if you need to connect a number for different regions. One short number in Moscow may belong to MTS, and in another city to MegaFon. All this will require agreement on conditions between operators, and as a result, time spent on considering the buyer’s application.
For dealers, the situation is diametrically opposite. From the availability of more free numbers for purchase, and divided numbers, to the coordination time between mobile operators. The tariff that will be used for your short number for calls and SMS directly depends on this.
The advantage of dealers is a higher level of service for short numbers. Unlike cellular operators, they will not only sell or lease, but will also help in the implementation of your project. Companies independent from operators have a technical base that allows them to get the maximum benefit from a short number.
A short number is not a SIM card from a mobile operator that you can insert into your phone and receive calls or messages. To work with it, you need software that will allow you to work with the number by setting and changing its parameters, and obtain statistics on its use, which is especially important when conducting marketing research.
In Russia, short numbers consisting of four digits are mainly used for SMS and calls. More options are offered for calls in numbers with an asterisk. They are available not only in four digits, but also in three and five digits, which also distinguishes them in cost. A choice of numbers consisting of only two digits is available.
To connect a short number, you need to send an application to the operator or their partner. After launching the service, calls to a short number, if it is used for calls, the system redirects to the company phone. Further distribution of calls can be carried out independently using an office or virtual PBX.
The situation is somewhat different with the service that allows you to use a short number for SMS. After selecting a number, the project being implemented is agreed upon, if technical support from a third-party company is required. It is worth considering the technical parameters that can be implemented, so the option proposed by the customer can be adjusted by the provider. After agreeing on all aspects of the service provided, a contract is concluded.
When choosing a room, you need to determine the priority of purchasing or renting. It is worth buying a number only if you need an exclusive separate number for a long period of use. For short-term use (conducting an advertising or marketing campaign), renting will be more profitable. Split numbers are not sold, but you can choose either short-term or long-term use.
Short numbers are the easiest to remember, which is why it is important to consider what consumers might associate the number with. Therefore, when choosing a short number, you need to inquire about its history, since it may be negative, or the number was recently used in an area that is incompatible with your field of activity.
When registering a number, the tariff that will be applied is also agreed upon. The number can be made free for your customers, in which case the cost of sending messages or calls falls on your company's budget.
It is also possible to connect a conditionally toll-free number for subscribers, when sending an SMS to a short number or making a call, the user pays the standard cost of the message or call. In this case, your company will pay for sending response messages to customers.
The third option is to connect a user-paid number with an individual price. In this case, by sending a message, the user pays not only for sending it and receiving a response, but also for the service provided, and calls are paid at a special rate per call, or per minute. In this case, the provider returns to your account part of the received funds, which is specified in the contract.
Take your million
Often, attackers call from short numbers and report that the subscriber’s number automatically took part in a competition. The prize is always different: someone wins a million rubles, someone wins a new car.
To withdraw your winnings, you need to make a small deposit - a certain amount of money that the scammer will ask you to transfer to the card. As soon as the winner receives their prize, the competition organizers will immediately return the deposit. As you can understand, there is actually no winnings, and the deposit will become the property of the scammers.
How to use a short code
You can use a short number for SMS yourself, or using the services of your provider. Of course, the first option is only available if the number is not rented and its owner has a license to provide such services. Also, when setting up and using the service yourself, you will need contracts with operators who will deliver messages, the corresponding equipment and software, and the place where it will be installed. Don't forget about the additional costs of use - including electricity. It is simpler and more convenient to conclude an agreement with a provider who will not only provide the technical side of the project being implemented, but will also offer an algorithm for communication with consumers of services or goods.
Regardless of which number is used - exclusive or shared, prefixes are used to expand the capabilities within the service. So, when sending an empty message, the user can receive general information, and by indicating “order” in the text of the message, receive information about the status of the ordered service or product.
When using a shared number, only the prefix system is available. There are several aspects to consider when choosing a prefix. On one number that is used by several companies, some of the prefixes may already be in use. Therefore, an individual approach may be required. When choosing a prefix, you need to pay attention to the ease of use for your clients. It should be as short as possible, understandable in its content, and easy to remember, just like the short number itself.
After the user sends a message with a prefix, the system automatically determines its recipient and redirects it to the customer. At the same time, the system configures a response for the user depending on the type of message being sent.
Using a short number for calls is extremely simple, since the number dialed by the subscriber is virtual. A real telephone number is attached to it on the operator's side, to which the call is redirected. To receive calls to a short number, you can use any phone, including a regular mobile phone.
Additional benefits and opportunities depend on the number of calls received to the short number. When using it, all the benefits of a multi-channel number are available. You can not only distribute calls using an office PBX, but also use additional services from the operator.
Among them is the creation of a virtual PBX, which will allow not only to distribute calls to different phones, but also to create a system for automatically informing the caller. This allows you to use a short phone number even more effectively, since you can route a call to different phones in offices, even in different regions, depending on the question of interest to the client. The advantages of a virtual PBX include the ability to control it via the Internet from anywhere in the world, as well as obtain usage statistics, which may include recording conversations.
MTS
- In order to find out your phone number, open the keyboard on your phone, enter the combination *111*0887# and then click on “call”. After this, you should wait for the SMS notification that will arrive immediately after the call is made.
- If you are one of those who prefer to perceive information by ear, then by calling 0887 the digits of the number will be dictated to you by an answering machine.
- In addition, you can use the My MTS .
- Calling the hotline will also save the situation.
conclusions
Creating a paid or free short number is quite simple, and it all depends on the purposes for which it will be used. The most common numbers are for SMS. This allows not only to simplify communication with clients by automatically sending a response to their request, but also the consumer can pay for a certain service using the balance of his number.
Using a short code for calls takes the use of beautiful phone numbers to a new level. This number is even easier to remember and dial, which increases the conversion rate of your business.
A short number can be purchased or rented for the required period of time, which allows you to optimize costs when building communications with consumers of goods and services. Calls and messages to a short number can be either paid for your clients or free. Free options are most often used in marketing surveys.
If you're tired of your operator
We all know very well that mobile operators raise prices and force subscribers to connect to services that the latter do not want to use. Fortunately, now there is an excellent opportunity to switch to another operator at very good rates and get cool benefits when porting a number, for example, 1000 rubles to your account.
One of them is Tinkoff Mobile, which is increasingly being chosen by visitors to our site. You can try the connection for free.
