Most small business owners never consider the benefits of having a toll free 1800 number available to their customers and clients, and more importantly (far more importantly), potential customers and clients. In fact, having a 800# is one of those small nuances with the potential to yield great rewards. Making a toll free number available to the public may be the difference between staying a “small business” and growing into a larger one. For the sake of conversation, we’ll take a look at a few advantages of having a 1 800 number.
National Appeal
By removing the local barrier inherent when showing a local phone number with an area code, assuming you have national ambition for your business, having a toll free phone number is the fastest way to communicate the message that your business or practice is national in scale. This is especially true if you have a website as website access is not limited to localities. Anyone can pull up your website, and people do not pull up websites that aren’t relevant to them or their needs.
By having a toll-free phone number available, this potential website visitor from the other side of the country could become a conversion. Conversions are good for the bottom line. This is important.
Image Projection
Let’s be honest, the television is a great mind control tool and anyone capable of relative cognition should be able to understand where I’m going with this. Ever since 1982, when the first 1800 number was deployed by AT&T, and before the age of the internet, the advertisement based media apparatus has hammered out thousands of commercials justifying the importance of having a toll free number, and telling people that businesses with 800 numbers are important (hint: credible). Most national advertisement campaigns are only relevant because they have a 1800 number which allows anyone anywhere to connect at no cost to themselves.
In the days of cell phones, unlimited calling plans, and the absence of phone booths, 800 numbers may seem unimportant, however, entities of the Fortune 500 don’t see it that way, so neither can you. Keep in mind the media has been telling people for years that 1800 numbers make you credible. Credibility is all that matters. For one cannot profit, if one is not credible.
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800 #’s Benefit The Customer
At the end of the day, offering a toll free 1800 number is a customer benefit. It’s something to make the customer subconsciously feel they are in the right hands. It’s a tool that eliminates barriers for the customer when it comes to contacting you. It’s something every business looking to pull in profit from beyond their neighborhood should have.
A hidden benefit could be giving your website credibility. Let’s face it, websites with phone numbers are taken more seriously than websites without. Websites with toll free numbers are taken more seriously than those without. Giving your customer more comfort from a mental standpoint, is a customer benefit. Customer benefits benefit the business.
Increased Sales
If the aforementioned are true, then we can expect increased interaction with new customers, increased understanding of our marketing environment, advancements in product growth and development, and increased sales ala caller to client conversion ratios. 1800 numbers are simply going to bring in a different form of business. The business you haven’t been getting.
1800 Numbers are Inexpensive
Offering a toll free number is relatively inexpensive. In fact, for less than the price of a tank of gas (assuming you are paying between 30.00 and 50.00 to fill up the tank) per month, your business could sit perched behind a full functioning phone network based on your 1800 number. It’s true. For pocket change you can project the image of being a major player in your niche.
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