Toll-Free: More Than a Free Phone Call

Toll-free numbers have been around as long as most of us can remember. The original function of toll-free numbers was to give people a way to contact a company without paying call fees. Toll-free numbers still provide this benefit today.

However, the cost of a telephone call has gotten so low that — for most consumers―it’s not a barrier to calling. But, even though footing the bill for the call isn’t much of an incentive these days, a toll-free number still offers benefits that are difficult to achieve through other methods.

Benefits of Toll-Free

Nonrestrictive call costs have caused one major shift in toll-free numbers. The primary function of a toll-free number is no longer to remove the cost of making a phone call. Now, toll-free numbers are a brand recognition and customer acquisition tool.

Toll-free numbers also enable you to take advantage of falling telephone service costs. Toll-free numbers can cost as little as 1$ per number and $.015 per minute. So, a toll-free number is one of the most cost-effective branding tactics available.

Legitimize Your Brand

Even though the way we use toll-free numbers has changed, people still associate them with legitimate companies. Almost every fortune 500 company has a toll-free number.

A toll-free number signals to consumers that your company is a legitimate operation, whether you’re a one-person enterprise or a multinational corporation.

Increase Brand Recognition

A toll-free number turns your contact information into a face for your brand. Toll-free numbers improve recall rates by 84%.

Most customers don’t make a purchase on the first contact with a company. So, having a contact point that’s easy to remember and reminds customers what your business is about and makes it more likely that customers will make subsequent contact with your business. These additional conversations are where most sales are made.

Reach Customers Nationally and Internationally

Toll-free numbers are hands down the best way to get customers that are outside your local area to call you. Local area codes tend to cause hesitation for customers who aren’t familiar with that area. They look up the area code rather than making a phone call.

When people see a toll-free area code, they feel more confident that they’re going to get a response when they call that number. So, they’re more likely to go straight to the phone.

Track Marketing Performance

Digital marketing performance is incredibly easy to track. However, physical mediums like print and billboards are trickier to measure.

Toll-free numbers are one of the most reliable ways to track the performance of physical advertising. Here’s how it works:

A separate toll-free number is purchased for each ad. Calls to each number are tracked to determine which ads are persuading the most people to pick up the phone. Simple as that.

Since toll-free numbers have become so affordable, this isn’t an incredibly expensive performance tracking system.

Communicate Better with SMS

You may have seen commercials that ask you to send a text to a six digit number. These short numbers are called “short-code” numbers. Many of them are capable of two-way text conversations.

However, most people don’t know that. But, people are usually comfortable with sending and receiving texts from toll-free numbers because they’re more like standard phone numbers. So, if you use SMS as a customer communication channel, a toll-free number makes it more likely that customers will read and respond to your texts.

People are 40% more likely to make a purchase after engaging with a company through multiple channels. Using a toll-free number for your SMS messages increases engagement and therefore can have a tangible impact on your sales.

The Most Recognizable Channel for Voice and Text Communication

A phone number is the website URL of telephone communication. You use a custom URL for your website. So it makes sense to use a custom phone number as well, right?

Toll-free numbers create a recognizable communication channel for your customers, build consistent branding and provide a better overall customer experience. Given the cost of a toll-free number, you probably can’t afford not to use one.