Businesses that choose to use toll free numbers as opposed to local numbers are doing their clients and customers a huge favor. There are no charges involved with calling the business from anywhere in the country-and from many international destinations, as well.
Toll Free vs. Local
While a small business owner who is just getting started may feel as if a number that is local to the area may promote a sense of hometown pride, they must also consider that people from outside of the local calling area may also be interested in the products and services. This is especially true if the business is situated in a suburb of a large metro area; while it may be local for residents of the suburb to call the business, those who reside in the metro area may incur long distance charges. Toll free numbers are a great alternative as there are no associated long distance charges for anyone in the United States and in several international countries.
Expand into New Markets
If a business opens its doors in a Chicago and chooses a number local to that area, they will face a complicated decision when it comes to opening a new location in a different city. Let's say this same business decides to open a second location in St. Louis. The choices here would be to either adopt a second telephone number that is local to St. Louis or consider the use of toll free numbers that incorporate both locations. When a toll free number is combined with call forwarding, consumers can simply dial the 800 number and select their location. This way, they are routed to the correct office and there are no associated charges. Plus, the business can enjoy a more streamlined telephone experience.
Nationwide Customer Service
Once the business has opened its doors in Chicago and St. Louis and perhaps even expanded into Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Louisville, that business will likely be catering to thousands of consumers across the Midwest. While one customer service option would be to provide a local number in each city for customers to call with questions or concerns, another would be to open a call center in one of these cities. Since it would not make sense to assign this call center a local number as the anticipated calls would be coming from anywhere in the Midwest, toll free numbers will help these consumers avoid long distance charges when they have a concern that needs to be addressed by customer service.
Number Portability
Another example of how toll free numbers can help consumers avoid long distance charges involves small business owners who travel frequently. For this example, consider an entrepreneur who opens a business selling a new vitamin product. This person travels frequently in order to promote their product and may be found in Los Angeles one day and New York City the next. A toll free number can provide a level of portability that a local number simply cannot as the number can be forwarded to the business owner's cell phone while they are travelling. All the while, the personal mobile number is kept confidential; consumers only know they are calling the business number.
Toll free numbers are certainly great ways to save consumers money on long distance charges when they are travelling or when new business branches open their doors in different cities. Consumers who do not have to pay for their telephone calls are often more satisfied overall.
This Article was written by Kevin John, Online Marketing Executive at iTeleCenter. He has extensive marketing experience and is extremely knowledgeable about vanity numbers, 1800 Numbers, local numbers and toll free numbers in conjunction with virtual phone system. He is happy to share his knowledge with small business owners on how to protect company image.
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