Make Toll-Free Service Work for Your Business

Toll-free numbers can be a powerful sales and marketing tool as well as an essential part of your customer service effort.

Toll-free numbers allow callers to contact your business without having to pay for the call themselves. They can be a powerful sales and marketing tool as well as an essential part of customer service that many consumers have come to expect.

Consumer research shows that customers who search phone-book listings, when faced with a choice of several similar businesses, are much more likely to call a business with a toll-free number than a business with a long-distance number. In addition, toll-free numbers boost consumer confidence. Consumers assume that businesses with toll-free numbers are larger and more stable than their competitors.

Toll-free numbers are also useful as an internal communications tool, giving traveling employees an inexpensive way to call the office or access their voice mail when they're on the road. Inbound toll-free service is often less expensive than calling card rates.

Toll-free numbers generally begin with the numbers 800, 888, or 877. Since the public is not as familiar with the last two prefixes, any of your marketing, advertising or promotional efforts using those numbers should clearly indicate that the number is toll free.

Number Portability
To create a more competitive market for toll-free services, the FCC ruled that toll-free numbers be portable. This means a particular number belongs to the toll-free subscriber - not to the carrier. Thus a company may change its toll-free service to another carrier without having to change its current toll-free number.

Another advantage of number portability is that it allows a company to split traffic on the same line between carriers. This allows you to use the same toll-free number for your local toll calls as well as for interstate calls.

Toll-Free Services
Anyone may sign up for toll-free service, even residential customers. Service is available from most long distance and local toll providers. In general, toll-free rates are slightly higher than regular long-distance rates, and there is usually a monthly access fee. Rate plans generally vary based on a customer's call volume and on where a customer's calls usually originate.

There are many additional options available for toll-free numbers:

Call blocking. Blocks calls from areas where you don't provide service.

Call tracking. If you have multiple toll-free numbers directed to the same location, the dialed number identification service (DNIS) specifies which toll-free number the caller dialed. This can help you track responses from particular ad campaigns that use one of your toll-free numbers.

Caller ID. The automatic number identification (ANI) service provides caller ID for toll-free numbers.

Coded access. You can use access codes with your toll-free number, allowing access only to callers who input the correct code. This is helpful when you have a number reserved for specific clients or for employees calling in from the road.

Equipment
You can use your existing phone lines for toll-free service. The calls will ring directly into your office phone system, just like calls on any other business line. But businesses that experience a high volume of calls usually can benefit from purchasing a dedicated line that only receives inbound toll-free calls. Although you'll pay custom installation charges for a dedicated line, lower per-minute rates may help offset the cost of a dedicated line.

If you're in the market for the hardware for your telephony, read more about where to get information on the right phone system for your business.

Another way to expand your customer-service options is through unified messaging. This bundles several means of communication, including phone and live Web chat, into one service. What Is Unified Messaging? explains the technology and the basic service options.

Visit AllBusiness.com to get more advice on business phone systems and cell phones to meet your office telecommunications needs.

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