Toll free numbers for companies are now accessible for all businesses, big and small through web-based telephone services. Toll numbers are appealing to businesses for a number of reasons: First of all, they are portable, meaning that small businesses who might move frequently can maintain the same toll free number. They also create a national presence for businesses instead of a local one, because being associated with a toll free number makes companies more credible. Finally, acquiring a toll free number will create a memorable image for any company.
It goes without saying that the better experience customers have when trying to contact a company, the more likely it is that they will continue to have relations with that company. While this assertion would seem somewhat obvious, many businesses fail to see that making an effort to provide a better experience for their customers by providing a toll free number, is in fact, in their own best interests. Providing customers the tools they need to reach you, is a matter of smart business. It's no longer difficult for companies to acquire a toll free number, and rates are affordable for the small independent business owner to the larger corporate structure.
A nationwide toll free number can assist a company in providing a "big business image" but most of all, it's a way to ensure your customers are likely to call. Not to mention, the impression it leaves about you, "that you take your business seriously enough to implement tools to benefit the client".
The toll free choice selections for a company (or an individual) are usually 800, 888, 877, or 866 numbers. Vanity numbers are available as well, meaning that companies or individuals can request a toll free number designed to meet a particular marketing need. In most cases, during the registration process, a check is done to see if that number is available for you.
Toll free numbers for companies, and individuals, normally include a number of additional features at no extra cost, such as:
Virtual PBX extensions
Toll free or local number for voice & fax
Voicemail with free email delivery
Call forwarding & answering rules
Call screening with real-time call control
Internet fax with free fax software
Click-to-call from the Web
Route calls to any phone worldwide
You can set your toll free number to appear as your caller ID
Add more numbers as you need - unify your team
Complete enterprise class phone and fax features
Due to this service being accessed and signed-up for online, once a company selects their toll free number, it's activated immediately. No waiting required. Also, most online toll free number services offer a web-based control panel to manage all calls and features.
Acquiring toll free numbers for companies or individuals is an easy process to complete; there isn't any hardware required, there aren't any set-up fees, and a free trial is normally available. Through the smart online interface, companies manage their calls, including the additional features listed above, such as call forwarding, voicemail, call screening and more.
Would you like to have a single phone number represent your entire organization? Whether your organization is regional, statewide, across several states, nationwide or world wide, advanced call routing with Toll Free numbers can give your organization the power and simplicity to operate on a single Toll Free number, even with thousands of locations.
Toll Free numbers have been around since 1967, and from about 1980 on, we've had the ability to use advanced routing. As time has passed, the routing has become more sophisticated and easier to manage. Companies now have the ability to choose from a variety of routing options.
Time-of-Day (TOD) Routing. One of the simplest ways to influence the destination of the call is by using TOD or time-of-day routing. An example of using TOD routing would be a company with a call center on the east coast and a call center on the west coast. TOD routing would enable Follow the Sun routing. The east coast center opens first and calls are sent to that destination earlier in the day. As the time changes across the country, expanded coverage would be offered by the call center in the west. With proper international network connections, this feature can also be used for overseas call centers.
Day of Year (DOY) Routing or Day of Week (DOW). Depending on the day of the week and business practices, not all call centers operate 24x7. Some centers may be closed for weekends or holidays. DOW routing allows alternate routing for calls that arrive on specific days. DOY routing allows for alternate routing on fixed holidays (example December 25th).
Exchange or Area Code Routing. Toll-free traffic may also be routed depending upon the location of the calling party. For instance, when a company has call centers in the north and in the south, they may prefer to have their southern callers speak with people in a southern call center. Studies have shown call centers that can mirror their clients more closely have higher success rates as well as higher customer satisfaction. Companies may also wish to take advantage of the difference in interstate rates versus intrastate rates. For example, the cost of a telephone call across multiple states may be less expensive than a call within a state, and as a result, the ability to route a call originating in Michigan to a call center outside of Michigan can save a company substantial amounts of money. This can also be used for companies with several locations. The calls can be geographically routed to the nearest serving office to the originating caller, allowing a single number to serve thousands of locations!
Percentage Allocation Routing. If a company has several call centers, the company can choose to route calls across a number of call centers on a percentage basis. For example, an online retailer with ten call centers may choose to allocate 10% of all incoming traffic to each center.
All-Trunks-Busy Routing. If at a given time, a company's trunk facilities can no longer handle the incoming traffic, an alternate destination may be chosen. This assists companies handling unexpected call volumes or during crisis times. This also protects the company from being over-trunked and wasting money on unneeded circuits.
Ring No Answer Routing. Some carriers have the ability to pull a call back into the network if the call is not answered. This provides for contingency routing for calls that ring and are not answered at the final destination.
Emergency or Disaster Routing. Companies usually have a disaster plan to deal with both natural (e.g. floods, fires and earthquakes) and man-made (e.g. bomb threats) emergencies. IXCs can provide alternate destinations should any of these situations occur. Many of these options can now be managed online.
Take Back and Transfer / Transfer Connect / Agent Redirect. If a company uses an ACD to facilitate the transfer, the ACD will remain in the call as long as the parties are on the phone. The drawback is that this uses up trunk capacity on the ACD (or VRU). This is called by a number of names including tromboning or hair-pinning. IXCs have the capability to allow a company to answer a call, provide a level of service, and then transfer the call to another location. These IXC features provide a level of transferring that is different from what is available via the ACD. There is usually a feature charge associated with this offering, but it is more than worth it to the right company.
Whether it is only a single one of the above features, or a mix and match combination of several of the routing features, Toll Free routing can help consolidate and streamline operations on regional, national, and international levels. With a single contact number that can be promoted nationwide or worldwide, your organization can have a unified presence and highly utilized resources that have been properly allocated. Consult with your telecom professional to see if Toll Free call routing is a fit for your business.
Both Barbara Cipak & Steve Norris are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Barbara Cipak has sinced written about articles on various topics from Travel Packages, Computers and The Internet and Employment. Author, Barbara Cipak, Site Owner of My-Telework-Tools featuring Tools, such as Remote PC, Computer Phone Ca. Barbara Cipak's top article generates over 5400 views. to your Favourites.
Steve Norris has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Computers and The Internet and Information Technology. Steve Norris is a Texas based Energy Efficient Electrical Contractor and Independent Telecom Broker for over 80 carriers nationwide, and specializes in multi-location businesses with advanced infrastructure needs. Over 90% of his clients are able to imple. Steve Norris's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.