All you need to know about Toll Free Numbers
That is one of the first questions we should ask to ourselves when starting a business. In order to succeed in our new venture, we need to develop a marketing plan, that includes a communication strategy with our future customers, and it is one of the main reasons why we have to study all the different options available in the market, and the 1 800 number is one of them.
I am sure that you know what a toll free number is, and that you probably have called to one of these numbers in the past. Anyway I am going to explain what it is. A toll free number or "800 number" is usually setup by a company so the customers can contact them free of charge and then the recipient of these calls get billed by the phone company. The local calls you made to this vanity number are "free" because the company paid for the service. All these calls are already paid by the company and have no cost for the customer. The original area code of a toll free number was 800 but as time went by, phone companies were adding new area codes like 888, 877 and 866. A lot of people ask, is a 866 or a 877 a toll free number? The answer is yes, they are free, and probably new area codes will be added in the future. Well, now that we know what a toll free number is, we must find out if it is really necessary to get one for our company.
In my opinion an 800 number can be one of the best tools to increase your sales and you should have one, especially if you are a consulting services company. You can use it to teleconference with a group of clients, to offer training to your customers and it can also be used to accept credit cards, many people do not feel safe about using their credit cards online and they prefer to do it by telephone. Of course, you can use it to give customer support that adds a great value to the product you are trying to market.
But one of the most important reasons to have a toll free number is that it can give your small home based business the image of a large company and it is an effective way to communicate with people from all over the country, they get to know about you and your products and services in an easy manner and free. You can get voicemail services if you want and record a message with information about your products and services, then put your vanity number in ads, and sit on the phone to wait for the calls to come in. If you are a large company, you can use a toll free number to setup a call center for your customers. These are great toll free services that can improve business and gives you the possibility to attain a better image. Of course not everything is positive, you will have costs to cover and some people only call on your toll free number because it is a free service and might not be not interested in your company or your products, making you waste time and resources, but I truly believe that the good things surpasses the bad ones.
