How to Benefit from an 1800 Number

If you’re new in business, you may not have considered the benefits of having an 1800 (or one-800) number. You may not have even considered the possibility of having any sort of toll free or free-call number.

Of course whether to or not – get a toll free number that is – will be determined partly by the type of business you have. If you’re selling something it’s a must. If you don’t want to encourage people to call you, then it’s probably not going to work as a business tool.

About Toll Free Numbers

Before you decide whether to go for an 1800 number, you need to know why people in business bother with toll free numbers at all.

First off, they’re nothing new, having been introduced to the UK and USA in the 1960s.

Essentially, all they are is a tool that makes it easy for customers and potential customers to get hold of you or your business. Instead of the caller footing the bill for the telephone call, the person who “owns” the telephone number pays the cost. This varies depending on the prefix of the number you are assigned, as well as the monthly fees and possible set-up costs that the different providers charge.

Initially the idea was to reduce the need for collect (or reverse-charge) calls which involved operators answering and relinking each call.

While the actual operation of toll free numbers has changed quite radically over the years, their usefulness has simply grown and improved over time. For instance, initially the numbers weren’t portable, which meant that if you switched providers, you had to get a new number.  Nowadays you get a number – and you keep it. This is hugely useful in the business context, maintaining continuity for your customers and clients. And that really IS important.

You will also find that calls can be forwarded to any number at all (including cell numbers, office telephones and PBX systems). Also, you get call logs, so you can keep track of the calls you get; and if you wish, voicemail messages can be converted to text and emailed to you.

Choosing a Prefix for your Toll Free Number

Having decided that you want a toll free number for your business, you are going to need to find a provider and decide which prefix you want.

Even though numbers are supposedly “international”, you’re going to find that toll free numbers are not created equal. First of all, 0800 numbers are found in many countries, while 1800 numbers are only valid in North America. Either way, there are only so many variables that can be used with 800, so what has happened is that additional numbers have been introduced for toll free calls. The main ones in the US are 866, 877 and 888 – which are generally supplied free.

But of course an 800 or 1800 number is considered by most people to be preferable (even if they settle for less)… and so there is usually a fee for these.

Where to Get your 1800 Number

There are quite a few providers around, and it’s important for you to shop around and establish how much the service is going to cost you. For instance there are different setup fees that are charged, and monthly fees differ. There will also be additional setup fees if you opt for a vanity number – that’s when you have a 1800 number that uses words. For instance, 1-800-687-7483 would translate to 1-800-OUR-SITE! These “vanity” numbers are much easier to remember, which is why they have become incredibly popular over the years.

As an aside, a disadvantage of vanity numbers is that not all phones have the letters indicated next to numbers. So if you don’t know what O and U and R are in numbers, you’re not going to even bother to try and phone the number. For this reason companies usually list the numerical number as well as the clever wordy one!

So now you’re convinced that it is a good idea which companies can supply the goodies?

• RingCentral is more expensive than most, and they do charge setup fees. But even if you get a vanity number, setup’s not going to set you back more than $45 in total. So even expensive is cheap at the price! They charge a monthly fee of just less than $10, but do offer an annual prepayment discount.
• Phone.com has smaller setup fees, but they charge a higher monthly fee.
• Virtual PBX is kind of on a par with RingCentral in terms of monthly fees, but they don’t do discounts and don’t charge setup fees, except for vanity numbers
• eVoice is cheaper than Phone.com monthly, but they charge for setup and and…
• One Suite is another option that has good write-ups like those before. Cheaper all round, but you’ll need to see if they have what you need.
• At&T has the most expensive monthly fee, but everything else seems to be free.
• If you’re not in the USA, TollFreeForwarding.com is a particularly good one to look at. They also offer true 800 numbers for businesses in the US of A.

One thing that IS certain, with a 1800 number, you’re going to be up there with the big boys and winning women! And since costs have decreased dramatically over the years, you’ll be incredibly surprised how affordable (if not cheap) your new number is going to cost you.