What is a toll-free number and how it helps small businesses

Every business today must allow options to its customers to directly reach out to them. When a business is small, the front desk phone comes in handy for that purpose, yet, it is a chargeable option.

When businesses grow, they need to find an option that doesn’t cost customers and makes them reach out to the business.

Having a toll free number allows businesses to show their customers that they are available 24/7 without charging a penny.

A successful business runs highly on various working components. One of those components – customer service, has seen its share of growth in the past.

The competitors today are ready to snatch away customers at the sight of customer disappointment. Any business that fails to provide solid customer service is going to falter.

What is a toll-free number?

The toll-free number also called freephone number is used for calling the company without being charged for the call. Toll-free phone numbers work with all types of phones and landlines.

You might have seen these numbers on billboards, handouts, pamphlets and even on businesses websites. Common prefixes are such as 800, 888, 877, 866, 855 or 844.

The incoming charges on such connections are paid by businesses so that the customers can reach out to them free of any calling charges. In simple language, the cost of making a call to the toll-free number is charged to the business and not the customer.

Benefits of having a toll free number for every business owner

There is no point in making something part of your business if it doesn’t come with any benefit. In this part, we will explain the benefits of having toll free numbers for every business owner.

1. Toll-free numbers improve customer retention

Many times, customers end up finding out that there is no way to get in touch with the business directly. The idea of not being able to reach out leaves a bad impression on the customers and hampers credibility.

The modern business world is all about providing a mode of connectivity to your customers because that’s how business gets conducted today.

In such a modern era, if you do not provide your customers with a medium of connecting, they will feel ignored and unappreciated.

Having a toll free number helps businesses to improve their customer service as it enhances customer satisfaction. With a toll-free number in front of them, they will never hesitate from reaching out to you.

The more they reach out the more things you learn about your business and can improve upon them. The advantage of making a call to the business at any time without paying is like a bonanza for customers.

2. Toll-free phone numbers are easy to remember

An 1800 number for business is easy to remember when compared to any other number. When it’s easy to remember a business toll-free number, customers are more likely to get in touch with the business.

Toll-free numbers can enhance customer experience and in turn, increase the revenue of the business too.

3. Toll-free numbers help increase the credibility

Toll-free numbers are a great tool for companies of all shapes and sizes, especially startups. Being a newcomer, if you provide a toll-free phone number to your customers, it will help in building better credibility.

4. Toll-free numbers offer portability

Let’s take a short jog down history first.

AT&T was the first telecommunication service provider that introduced toll-free phone numbers in 1967. Only 1-800 prefix was available at that point in time.

Soon, businesses started realizing the potential of a toll-free number. However, portability was a major issue in those days. If a business faced any inconvenience with a service provider, they had to change the entire toll-free phone number.

To have a common ground in this issue, FCC (Federal Communications Commission) decided that toll-free numbers must be made portable.

What portability does is, it allows the business owners to retain their old toll-free phone numbers even if they change the service provider.

Businesses can continue to receive calls from their customers even if they are planning to relocate as the toll-free number is portable.

5. You can easily monitor your campaigns

Let’s say you are running a few marketing campaigns. Many campaigns might be running on billboards or other print and digital media. Once you assign these campaigns with their allotted toll-free numbers, you can start tracking multiple details about your campaigns.

You can track the details of the customers reaching out to you for all those individual campaigns. Also, their geographic location and their most preferred hour of making calls.

These are some of the advertising channels where toll-free numbers can be incorporated:

• broadcast ads,
• direct response campaigns,
• email campaigns.

How small business owners can get their toll-free numbers?

I hope the benefits that I have explained were able to convince you that toll-free numbers are beneficial to any size of business.

Building trust and credibility is the need of the hour for startups as they need to scale quickly. That can only be done by having the complete trust of your customers.

As a business, if you are looking for a toll-free number, then you can get in touch with a phone system provider. You can also access a smart tool that comes with a built-in virtual phone system.

To conclude

Many modern sales vendors realized that instead of providing features via integrations, built-in development is much more fruitful.

Salesmate CRM is one such software that comes with built-in telephony and offers SMBs with local and toll-free virtual numbers at affordable rates.

If you get a toll-free number, you can uplift the reputation of your business. You can stay connected with your customers and take complaints or feedback that will help you improve your business.

Toll-free numbers for businesses has become an absolute necessity, what will you decide for your business. If you want more assistance regarding acquiring your USA toll-free number via Salesmate then do get in touch with us.