In today’s world of cell phones and digital media, many business owners – particularly small business owners – no longer consider an 800 number a necessity to running a successful business. After all, many cell phone plans offer free long distance; and in any case, many customers choose to get in touch for free via email.
Having an 800 number can still benefit a business immensely, however. Although a toll-free number is no longer a necessity for allowing customers to get in touch with you, it definitely makes your business appear more credible. A small business without a toll-free number gives an impression of being run out of someone’s garage – whereas when customers see an 800 number, they imagine a brick-and-mortar business with a storefront, dedicated phone lines, and phone book ads.
Whether or not your business fits the latter example, it is obviously in your best interests to give your customers the impression that it does. Getting an 800 number can be a little intimidating, but it isn’t as difficult as you might think. Here is what you need to know in order to get a toll-free number for your business.
How Does an 800 Number Work?
Years ago, the expense of setting up a toll-free number prevented many small and mid-size businesses from getting their own 800 numbers. Even today, most people think of a toll-free number as unattainable for most small businesses – which is probably why it impresses customers so much. On the contrary, though, an 800 number is relatively easy to acquire – in most cases, all you need is an existing phone, even a cell phone.
Toll-Free Forwarding Versus a Dedicated Line
For the typical small or mid-sized business, the toll-free service provider simply forwards calls to the designated number. Depending on your business setup, that could be your office phone, your home line, or even a cell phone. Some providers will even forward the call to multiple lines at once, allowing you to answer the call wherever you are at the time.
Businesses with higher volumes of incoming calls might want to consider a designated line instead. Basically, you will need to have a new phone line installed, which will be used solely for incoming toll-free calls. Although you will need to pay for the installation and setup, you will get a better per-minute rate on incoming calls, which will more than make up for the initial expense.
The Toll-Free Prefix
It used to be that an 800 number was the only kind of toll-free number. However, as these numbers became more popular for businesses, other prefixes were added in order to increase availability. The benefit is that if an 800 number you want – such as one that is similar to your local number, or one that spells something out – is already taken, you can get it using another toll-free prefix.
The prefixes for toll-free numbers are: