Do you need a toll free number service for your business?

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.