1-800-Your-Biz: Affordable Toll-Free Numbers
Crystal posted this on February 5, 2008
“He who chatters with you will chatter about you.”
~ Egyptian Proverb
If you live in a remote location or seek clients from a wide geographical area, you can inspire new customers to call you with a toll-free number. Distant customers may not be interested in paying up to place an order or ask a question, but many will eagerly reach for the phone if you offer a convenient, no-cost method of reaching you.
Connect Outside the Internet
E-mail has become the best way for many customers to place, confirm and inquire about orders, ask questions about a service, or seek support about a product. But there are still plenty of people without access to the Internet.
Despite big leaps with technology, only 71% of Americans use the Internet—and not all of them are comfortable with providing credit card information online. But pretty much every American household has a phone (95%), and they don’t need computer skills to use it!Customers love toll-free numbers
Big Impact with a Vanity Number
Also, a toll-free number that relates to your business or spells your company name will increase recognition and add credibility. If you doubt the value of a vanity toll-free number as a promotional tool, look at the success of 1-800-Flowers!
The Response Marketing Group found that 1-800 number ads performs six times better than local phone number ads. Also, radio ads with a vanity 800 phone number drew fourteen times more calls than those with a numeric 800 phone number.
Cheaper than a pizza + pennies per minute
So a toll-free number can be a simple way to make yourself available to almost everyone, present yourself as top-notch, and draw more business. Customers can call from anywhere in the country and place orders for free, while you pay pennies for this profitable contact.
And don’t let the big phone companies fool you: Web and telecom technology make it possible for any small business to have a dedicated toll-free number for $12/month and only 10c per minute—without extra phone lines. uReach provides a service called u800 Plus that:
- Rings to your existing phone line
- Includes voice mail that you can access by phone or the Internet
- Works with your existing voice mail or answering machine
- Includes talking caller ID, telling you the number of the caller
- Routes incoming calls to your business, home or wireless numbers
- Automatically directs calls to voice mail outside of business hours that you select
For a few dollars more…
uReach provides a toll-free number when you sign up, but click “select your uNumber” for dozens of other numbers and some fee-based options. For a few extra dollars, you can have a number that starts with 800 instead of the new 877 or 888. There are also memorable and easy-to-dial Preferred numbers and a vanity number selection service for an extra fee.
TIP: You may not need to pay extra for a vanity number. Type the fee-free suggested numbers into PhoneSpell to see if they spell something interesting.
Got a toll-free number for your micro-business? Leave a comment with your number and a bit about what you offer!
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Toll free number system its a great idea to enhance business.If a customer have anything to ask or if they want to place a order this toll free service will be affordable to all because no one will be interested in paying up to place an order or ask a question.