800 Toll Free Numbers and How They Work
800 toll free numbers are essential for any business that wants to present its clients and customers with a professional image. It makes reaching you fast, easy and free for your customers. These numbers offer marketing value as well; you're giving them something for free (the call) and you get their business. 800 toll free numbers are important for the entire process from pre to post-selling.
When a person calls a toll free number, the telephone company doesn't charge their landline or cellphone. Instead, the called party (or 'subscriber') pays. Toll free numbers can even be called from pay phones without the caller having to enter any coins. The call comes to your regular local number or VoIP system through call forwarding.
How Many 800 Toll Free Numbers Are There?
There are now over 32 million 800 toll free numbers. The FCC has a database that contains all of them, but the FCC doesn't control subscriptions. Subscriptions were traditionally handled by the telephone companies. Now, independent service providers offer 800 toll free numbers. Since there are so many of these companies, the price has come down considerably. All of them are competing for your business's dollars.Not all 800 toll free numbers are actually '800' numbers. These were the old standard but now there are new prefixes such as 855, 866, 877 and 888. Although the 800 prefix is still the most recognizable, these are quickly becoming more well-known. Since so many businesses have already taken 800 numbers, these alternative prefixes offer more options. It's fairly easy to get a good vanity number with them and they're much cheaper than getting the traditional 800. It is expected that more numbers will be added as demand grows and this will give businesses even more options in the future.
How Do You Pay?
Different service providers offer different types of deals. Most offer a flat monthly rate that includes a set number of minutes, as well as extra services and features. These features include call options like call screening, call waiting, voicemail boxes and more. Packages with more features cost more per month. You can choose a plan that suits your business's needs. Prices range from as little as $10 a month for a simple package to basically as much as you want to pay if you need lots of features.800 toll free numbers help business because they make you more accessible to your customers. People can call you quickly and easily, and there's no charge for them. It's a small price to pay for businesses when you consider how it helps you get new customers. 800 toll free numbers also give your company a more professional image. Anyone can subscribe to a toll free number service, no matter how small your company actually is.