How Do You Acquire
A Toll Free 800 Phone Number?
Customer service is one of the key elements in managing a business. The type of service you provide over the phone and the ease of accessibility reaching your company when customers need help can make or break your business. While you probably have one or several local phone numbers for your business, any size and type of business can benefit from having a toll-free 800 number.
What are toll-free 800 numbers, and how can you acquire such numbers? Read further below to find out more about them, including their features and benefits.
Free Calls
One of the major benefits of toll-free numbers (TFN) is that they are a great tool and platform to have meaningful conversations with customers. Being able to provide free calls to your customers increases your credibility, trust rating, leads, and sales.
Toll-free numbers provide free outgoing or incoming calls, such that customers making or receiving calls are not billed. Instead, it is the business owner or the company that is being charged by the telecom provider.
Check the following good-to-know facts about toll-free calls:
- Toll-free Number Combination: When it comes to the number combination, toll-free numbers have popular three-digit codes, including the prefix 800, such as 1-800-NUMBERS, which is an example of a vanity toll-free number. Vanity numbers refer to spelled out special toll-free numbers, such as 1-800-CALLERS or 1-888-FLOWERS. Other variations of 800 numbers include 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, and 888.
- Domestic and International Calls: Free calls are generally free of charge when initiated within the United States or domestic calls. Calls made to toll-free numbers are routed to landline phone numbers. More often than not, international calls are charged unless the business has an international toll-free number that comes with an additional country code (dialed as country code + the US toll-free number). Free calls can be made from countries that have adopted the similar free phone system.
Getting A Toll-free Number
There are different ways to acquire a toll-free number, which include getting one from a telecom carrier and another through auction.
Get Toll-free Numbers from A Telecom Provider
Getting your toll-free number is relatively easy and fast. All you need to do is to choose a telecom carrier, such as Kall 8, purchase the TFN, and then have it ported to your local phone number.
Take a look at the following tips when getting a toll-free number for your business:
- Small Businesses: You can easily get a toll-free or vanity toll-free number for your small business by working with a trusted telecom company and using it on your virtual phone system, which is more affordable than private branch exchange or PBX business phone systems.
- Medium Sized and Large Businesses: It’s important to fully assess the number of toll-free numbers you need to avoid ‘hoarding’ or having more than enough toll-free numbers, which is subject to Federal Communications Commission or FCC regulations. You have to determine at which departments the calls will be routed using automated phone systems.
Get Toll-free Numbers Via Auction
The FCC assigned Somos, Inc. as the toll-free number database administrator, which also certifies Responsible Organizations (RespOrgs). While RespOrgs reserve numbers on behalf of toll-free subscribers and manage their records, Somos is an authorized platform, wherein toll-free subscribers can bid for an 833 toll-free number.
The 833 Auction managed by Somos is an FCC experiment. It aims to determine the effectivity of competitive bidding in assigning toll-free numbers. The major benefit of the 833 number auction system is to protect brands and companies. An auction helps ensure that motivated stakeholders get their desired toll-free numbers to maintain their brand integrity and avoid confusion to customers, promoting excellent customer service.
Mobile Calls
When customers dial your toll-free number using their mobile or wireless devices, they will be charged by their telecom company unless they are on an unlimited call plan. Free calls would only apply to calls made via landline phone systems.
The future of customer service heavily relies on mobile calls since more and more people are using mobile devices. Trends would include using social media as a major channel in providing good customer service. Toll-free number to mobile call integration is also a futuristic goal, along with virtual reality and augmented reality concepts powered via artificial intelligence.
Best Customer Service
You can acquire your toll-free number from a telecom firm. Once you bought the TFN or vanity number, you can port it to your automated phone system so your customers can reach you using landline phones, free of charge. Remember that toll-free numbers are highly beneficial when it comes to improving customer service, so choosing one must be carefully thought in compliance with FCC regulations.
