Is It Time to Ditch Your Company's Toll-Free Number?
For decades, having a toll free 800 number (now often an 866 or other exchange) has been the mark of legitimacy for small businesses. But now, in 2011, just about all the technical reasons to have a toll free number have pretty much gone the way of the dodo bird.
So, does it still make sense to pay the phone company to have a toll-free number for your small business?
My initial inclination is NO, and here’s why:
First: Almost nobody pays for long-distance charges any more. And if they do, the cost is pretty close to marginal. Almost all cellphones come with “free” long distance, putting the limitations on total time spent on the phone, not where you are calling. And Internet calls typically don’t charge for long-distance connections either. Even many home phones now include unlimited long distance, or charge just a couple of cents per minute. And, of course, it’s always free if you call from work!
Second: Toll-free numbers are actually a barrier to callers from outside the continental United States. International callers typically can’t connect to 800 numbers, so if your business doesn’t want to drive away global business, you need to publish a regular phone number as well, and that can be confusing to everyone.
Third: For everything from sales to customer service and support, telephone calls are increasingly being supplanted by websites, social media, and online chat. Calling the company on the phone is now pretty much a last resort when all else fails.
Fourth: As toll-free numbers got more common and less expensive, their cachet has faded. When it doesn’t cost much to get an 800 number, there’s little customer security in knowing that a company has one.
And yet…
While all of those reasons stand, there’s also a flip side.
First: If your business caters to low-income consumers, the cost of a telephone call could still be a barrier to contacting you. Why bother alienating them? After all, no one will hold it against you for having an 800 number.
Second: It’s not THAT hard to offer alternative means of contact to customers outside U.S. borders. And offering two numbers and specifying that the regular number is for international callers may make your small business seem larger and more impressive.
Third: While it’s often cheaper and more effective to handle everything from sales to customer service online, some people think it’s safer to read their credit card numbers over the phone than type it into a website. Even if it’s not totally true, would you rather conduct an online safety education seminar or make the sale?
Fourth: A recent J2 Communications eVoice survey said that even in 2011, 56 percent of respondents thought an 800 number made a company appear larger.
But the eVoice survey also lauded the importance of having a local area code to connote legitimacy (more important than a local zip code, apparently). That’s ironic, since eVoice lets your company use a number with any area code, no matter where you’re actually located. And the eVoice study also revealed that 70 percent of respondents most often used their mobile phone to conduct business, making toll-free numbers redundant.
In the end, while I’m convinced that 800 numbers are no longer relevant, they’re cheap enough to continue making available to serve the decreasing number of customers who prefer them – and garner a little extra credibility in bargain.
But don’t sign any long-term contracts. It won’t be long before toll-free numbers will be completely out of the picture.
