It’s never an easy task to establish a company and keep it constantly improving. Customers should be attracted at any time and calling them is an indispensable part of your business. A phone number helps your customers get to your business and it also helps establishing an image for your business.
When it comes to business calling, three types of numbers are usually called for, a toll-free number, a local number and a vanity number. All the three types of numbers should be owned for large businesses. When it comes to medium-sized or small business with limited budget, comparison should be made to finally select an optimal number that can most boost your business.
Why My Business Still Needs a Phone Number Today?
Do you notice that even though the Internet almost controls the whole world, a phone call is still needed? That’s the truth, owing to the following reasons.
A Phone Call is Still the Quickest Way for Customers to Get You.
Once an emergency occurs such as fire, what do you usually do at the first moment? Yes, call the fire police, right? That’s one of the essential reasons that a phone call can never be replaced by the Internet.
Think about why a customer calls you, either for customer service or consulting. A high-quality customer service helps you keep the customers for sustainability and attracting consulting gets you new customers. When it comes to either situation, speed is the key.
Although social media is also an important way for communication, it can never win as far as speed is concerned. Moreover, a social media only allows people to talk with their social media friends but it stops them talking with strangers, which is also why a phone call is selected by customers when they need to talk with business owners.
There are So Many Risks on the Internet but Phone Calls are Always Safe.
The Internet is fabulous but full of online risks as well. If you shop online or talk with friends on social media, you won’t trust so much. When a phone call is made, however, it’s much more reliable unless you receive a robocall. If a business has a phone call for customers to reach, it indicates the business is true, reliable and reachable.
What Business Benefits Most from Toll-Free Numbers?
Perhaps you’re not familiar with the term “toll-free number”, but you must recognize it immediately since a toll-free number usually begins with 800.
What is a Toll-Free Number?
A toll-free number is a phone number beginning with 800, 888, 855, etc. The feature of being toll free is used for customers who don’t need to pay for calling rates but business owner still needs to pay for the service of a toll-free number and rates for dialing.
Cons and Pros of a Toll-Free Number
Pros of a Toll-Free Number
- Easy to Get New Customers
The essential advantage of a toll-free number lies in its being free of charge, which leads customers to know more about the business due to the absence of calling fees. Customers won’t have pressure to make a call through a toll-free number.
- Easy for Customers Around the Country to Dial
A toll-free number is usually used around the whole country so that any customer in any place of the US can dial the number free of charge. One number can be used to deal with all customers in the same country.
- Easy to Establish an Image of Trust
A toll-free number makes a business look reliable and qualified so that the business reputation can be well established.
Cons of a Toll-Free Number
The main disadvantage of a toll-free number lies in the upcoming of too many unnecessary calls. Each coin has two sides. On one hand, a toll-free number leads potential customers to make a call without any payment pressure. On the other hand, however, the calls won’t definitely bring forward real customers or orders because they just call to know more about the business, not really want to buy.
Bottom Line
A toll-free number is fit for medium or large sized businesses that have already had some reputation in the market and have branch offices in other cities.
What Business Benefits Most from Local Vanity Number?
Local vanity numbers are also a useful tool to boost business and what type of business is fit for will be analyzed below.
What is a Local Vanity Number?
A local vanity number is a local number with easy-to-remember numbers standing for a business, company name, a phrase used for marketing, etc. When potential customers dial a vanity number, they don’t need to try to remember the boring number combination since it’s so easy to remember such as 1800-GoFedEx.
Cons and Pros of a Local Vanity Number
Pros of a Local Vanity Number
- Easy to Remember
The obvious advantage of a local vanity number is its being easy to remember. You don’t need to recite the numbers that don’t have logic relationship between each other but what you should keep in mind is nothing but a business name or repeated numbers.
- Easy to Quickly Spread Reputation
A local vanity number targets branding and marketing in a local community at a high speed. The easy-to-remember number can be spread very quickly and it can be used to market locally so as to boost business in a flashing speed.
Cons of a Local Vanity Number
The essential disadvantage of a local vanity number lies in its limited marketing and branding range, that is, local. It stops customers outside the local range from reaching the business. In addition, if local vanity numbers are used everywhere, it’s easy to dial a wrong number.
Bottom Line
A local vanity number is fit for a small business whose target is limited to be a community, downtown, or a city. It boosts small businesses to quickly spread their brand.
