Someone asked recently on post at Marketing Profs whether anyone really needed a toll free number any more since most people can either afford the cost of the call or their long distance is free. I couldn’t help but respond and I relevant and helpful so I figured it was worth adding here too.

The benefits of a toll free number go way beyond the fact that it’s toll free for the customer. If that was the only benefit they would certainly be less in demand and of less value than they were years ago. But in fact the opposite is actually true. And while there isn’t really very much unbiased research about toll free numbers because the research is always done by people trying to promote toll free service, the fact that practically every large business uses them (more than ever).

Some of the Benefits of Toll Free Numbers

They make you look larger, more successful, and more customer focused. They add credibility and make customers feel more comfortable, like you will be there if they need help. They give you more control as to where the calls go. If you print a local number and you want to use a different call center or have someone different handle the calls you wind up having to forward the calls to a different number which costs more than the 3 cents per minute it would have cost for a toll free call. How about the benefit of getting a list of all the calls you received each month which can be used to generate leads or do follow up mailings to.

These benefits don’t even count the increased response rate you’ll get from a more memorable vanity number that includes the name of your business, your website or your brand. How much of an increase in your response rate does it really take to cover the couple cents per minute that it costs to have a toll free number. The benefits go on, but you get the point. And the value is even higher for a small business starting out since they only pay for the amount of calls they receive small businesses pay an average of about $12 a month for their toll free service.

I admit that I’m biased because I’ve helped tens of thousands of customers get toll free vanity numbers with the Toll Free Search Engine on my website. We’re like the GoDaddy of the toll free business and I’m literally the only one in the toll free industry not trying to sell you the ongoing service.

For most people, your phone number is the front door to new business. And asking if a toll free number will work is kind of like asking if a good domain name will help your business. That’s really not much of a question any more. If you’re spending money to get customers to call you, you need a toll free number. Because using anything else, is like running the air conditioner with the window open. You can still get cool but your advertising will be more effective and give you a higher return if you close the window.

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