How small businesses benefit from using Freephone numbers

A general misconception about Freephone (or toll-free) numbers is that these are mainly used by large, big budget corporations. Did you know that many small and medium-size businesses successfully use Freephone numbers?
In this article, we take a look at the advantages that Freephone numbers offer organisations such as yours.

Be easier to reach

One of the biggest advantages that Freephone numbers offer, compared to
Premium Rate numbers, is that calling them costs nothing! For
(potential) customers, this makes picking up the phone and making that
call a no-brainer.

But even if they don't call you, your Freephone number sends a clear
message about your organisation’s customer friendliness. Callers are
shown to be more inclined to dial a Freephone number than a paid phone
number.

Improve your customer experience

With a Freephone number, your clients can call you to ask questions,
get information or even place an order, at no cost. If their experience
during that call is good, you will have no problem making that sale or
getting that conversion.

Also, a positive pre-sales experience with a free call signals to
customers that they can likely rely on your after-sales support.

In short, a Freephone number improves your client experience a great deal.
Have a telephone number that is scalable
Expecting or experiencing a sudden spike in incoming calls? With a
Freephone number that is hosted with CallFactory that is no problem at
all. Your monthly subscription remains the same, regardless how many
calls you get or how many agents you deploy. Scale to your heart’s
content!

Besides deploying additional ring-to numbers, or switching your ring-to
number to a call center, there is a host of features to help you deal
with all the extra incoming calls.   By setting up a virtual
receptionist, a call queue and Voice2email, all incoming calls are
handled perfectly.

Be location-independent

Small companies often juggle to respond to incoming calls. Using a
Freephone number gives you the flexibility to change its call-to number
at any moment. Take calls on the go on your mobile, or even switch to a
message handling service in off hours.  And whenever your business grows
or moves to a new location, you just take your Freephone number with
you. Even if that new location is in a different part of the country or
abroad.

Stand out
Every one of your competitors has a telephone number, but how many do
have one that is free-to-call? In times when businesses have to fight to
attract and hold on to clients, something as seemingly small as
providing a free-of-charge contact method can make a world of a
difference.

As you can see, there are many advantages to registering your own Freephone number. Why not get yours today?

Once you have registered a Freephone number,
you’ll have to have it connected to the network by a provider so that
you can start receiving calls. How do you know you picked the right
provider for your number? We’ll show you.

How do I choose a provider?
Picking the wrong provider and having to move your number from one
provider to another can be a hasle that will take time and cost money.
To help you make prepare to choose the provider that suits your needs,
we’ve compiled a list of important things to consider.
Reputation

This is probably one of the most important considerations. With
providers coming and going, you’d want to pick a stable provider.

Check how long this provider has been in business for? Which well-known
brands have trusted this provider with their telephone numbers? Do you
know other entrepreneurs who have chosen this provider? References help
you get a clear image of exactly who you are dealing with. Make sure you
check if people have complained for example in online forums about that
provider.
Price

This can be a tricky issue, because of the number and amounts of hidden costs.

Check what the monthly subscription fees are. But also, ask if the provider charges installation costs.

Providers with lower monthly fees often tag on additional fees once you
start adding features that come free of charge with others. A typical
beginners mistake for Freephone number owners is to think that they
won’t need additional features like a advanced call statistics, a
virtual receptionist, or call queueing, voice2email or other intelligent
routing options. Even just adding 2 of these features, can with some
providers more than double your monthly costs.

And there are, of course, the costs per minute for calls to your
Freephone number. The total costs for calls will increase with increased
incoming calls, so they can add up.

Extra features

Having a Freephone number is a great start, but you will only make the
most of it if you set up it to suit your needs and your organisation.
For this, you’ll need access to additional features, such as routing
options, the ability to quickly change ring-to numbers, recorded
messages, call queueing, voice2email and more.

We already mention that that some providers charge additional setup and
monthly fees for every feature you use. But there is more to it. Not
all providers provide the same set of features and not all Interactive
Voice Response systems are created equally. Some providers provide
unique features that are not found elsewhere, like our extensive graphic
statistics dashboard, our iOS apps for number owners and for agents, or
our online agent login panel.

Make sure you spend time to investigate what will happen if (or when)
your company faces rapid growth or changes. Will you be able to respond
immediately? How much will that cost? There are important issues to
consider up-front, because once you face them, it will be too late.

Persistant Service quality

A good sales pitch is easy, but will the provider still be as
interested in investing time in you once you have signed your contract?
Can you call your provider at any time with questions? Is there an
online knowledge base with answers to frequently asked questions?

Some providers seem to focus all their efforts on attracting new
business. Other providers attract clients through word-of-mouth. A good
measure for the quality of a provider’s service is any reviews or
recommendations online.

Take the time to do your homework and thoroughly investigate a
provider before signing up. If you come across something you do not
like, don’t be afraid to complain. A good provider constantly invests in
its service and uses complaints and suggestions to improve its customer
service.