by Tom Senkus
You may have heard that you need a toll free number for your business, but you haven’t really considered why you need it in the first place. In this article, we’ll cover five reasons why your small business needs toll free numbers.
Accessibility
One of the biggest frustrations that customers have when contacting a business is that they can’t. It can be a frustrating experience to not have an easy way to reach a business, especially if there are important, time-sensitive issues to resolve. This may be due to the customer’s service provider not allowing long-distance calls or by being charged by the minute to call your business. Worse, the customer may be looking to purchase goods and services from you, only to have a block in communications — and you’ll never know, right?
That’s where toll free numbers offer the advantage of opening lines of communication and customer satisfaction, as the subscriber (your business) foots the bill for the call, not the customer. Customers appreciate having less hassle and costs to handle normal business, and this obstacle-free way of communicating can mean more sales and a better customer opinion (especially if your competition doesn’t offer toll free numbers of their own).
Easier to Remember
Staying in your potential customer’s minds long after the initial impression is the secret to successful advertising. Remember that a toll free number is more than just a telephone number: it is part of your company’s overall marketing. By purchasing a toll free number, you already have an easier-to-remember number than one tied to a specific area code. Better yet, if you decide to purchase a vanity number (think 1-800-FLOWERS), callers are more likely to contact you simply because they’ve tied your phone number to a product or service they want.
Credibility
When you have a toll free number attached to your business, you instantly separate yourself from your competitors that don’t use toll free numbers. Of course, toll free numbers are not only reserved for large corporations and government organizations. Instead, they are essential for companies of any size that want to give off a professional image, especially those just starting a small business or bootstrapping a startup. Even if you’re working out of a spare room in your home, the recipient wouldn’t know where the call is being placed.
Targeted Campaigns
As we’ve mentioned about marketing and advertising efforts tied to toll free numbers, did you know that toll free numbers also have the ability to help you monitor your marketing efforts?
Suppose you have a website with the toll free number listed. When a caller reaches your business, you can easily assume (with good accuracy) how callers found out about your company. Similarly, if you decide to create a time-sensitize marketing campaign, you can actually get an idea of the conversion rate of your advertising, including ROI, and your perceived brand value in the marketplace.
Added Functionality
Considering that modern toll free numbers use the functionality of virtual numbers, they now come with a number of add-ons and features that can exponentiate the results you receive from callers.
This can include call forwarding, where calls may be routed instantly to a call center depending on the time of day. There’s also the ability to purchase call recording services, which can record and store the communication between customers and your staff. This has the benefit of ensuring that quality standards are met, while also ensuring customers provide accurate information, and it offers extra security in the event scammers need to be traced. There is also the option of ITFS numbers (short for “International Toll Free Service” numbers), which allow businesses to allow international callers to reach your business without incurring charges.
Author’s Bio: Tom Senkus is a small business owner and a freelance writer. For a complete list of his services, visit tomsenkuswriter.com for more information.