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Wherever you look you will find businesses offering toll-free 800 numbers to attract customers with the convenience of a free call. This begs the question "Does my business need a toll-free number for our customers?" and in this brief article we will explore some of the reasons why you should offer this as part of your customer service and marketing strategy. Customers find toll-free 800 numbers simple and convenient to use and a sign that a business is serious about its commitment to customer service. There are also definite benefits for your own company image and customer reputation in using 800 numbers. Bluntly, you are demonstrating your commitment to customers both new and old. Having a toll-free number does have some drawbacks such as people can make calls on your dime that are simply not necessary. On the other hand it is a simple business axiom that the first step in making a sale is to get potential customers talking to you about their needs and how your product or service can help them. If your business is predominantly driven by local trade and custom then there may not be much for you to gain from providing a toll-free number for local customers. If you have a customer base that is highly scattered around the country then the value of a toll-free call to your customers dramatically increases and so does your image and reputation in their eyes. Experience has demonstrated that companies that offer products and services where there is significant support required either during installation or during the life of the product, benefit greatly from offering a toll-free 800 number as part of their customer support package. One other desirable feature of toll-free 800 numbers is anonymity. Nobody can determine where you are based in the country from looking at the telephone number. As such, virtual or vanity numbers lend themselves to marketing campaigns where you wish to convey the impression that your business is located in a particular area, say Hollywood for a film company or Wall Street for a financial service offering. Combining a toll-free number with a mailing service in that location provides you with a virtual presence at a fraction of the cost of establishing a real presence. Of course, you as the business, will pay for the cost of the call and not your customer. The cost will be determined by your service provider and typically they charge you for blocks of call time and the rates for these vary widely. Long-distance call blocks usually are offered in 6, 30 and 60 second units with longer time units charged at a cheaper rate, but you still are charged if you do not use all the time in that unit i.e. the call time period is rounded up to the next whole unit. You can find 800 toll-free service providers as easily as shaking a stick or opening an internet search engine browser and you need not be tied down to just your existing telephone provider either. With such a widespread choice you can be sure of two things, firstly that you will be able to get a competitive deal that suits how you do business and this in turn leads on to the second factor; you need to carefully reasearch the fine print and ensure you are getting what you expected. Customer preference has driven the popularity of toll-free 800 numbers and businesses have latched on to this. While a minority of businesses may not have a need for setting up a toll-free 800 number the vast majority of businesses will benefit. Place yourself in your customers shoes and ask this: "If that company is not prepared to pay for the cost of a telephone call to themselves to discuss their products and services before taking my money, are they really serious about looking after me before, during and after I've bought from them?"
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Further resources: Learn more about using toll free numbers as well as reverse toll free number search methods - click on the links for details.
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