Choices When Offering a Toll Free Number

When rolling out a toll free number for a business, it pays to know the options that are currently available in the market. Just as phones have evolved, so too have toll free numbers.

Let’s use toll free number provider Global Call Forwarding as an example because the company can significantly benefit any company it partners with.

The first thing to note is the importance of the company’s call forwarding feature. Call forwarding, which routes a number to one or more other phones, offers at least three compelling propositions. First, it lets customers reach the business no matter where the sales team might be located since the toll free number can forward to mobile phones and office phones in various locations. Second, it enables a business to route incoming calls to an office or call center in another part of the world, creating a business that is available 24 hours a day if needed. Third, traveling salesmen can have calls forwarded to local phones instead of roaming cell phones, which helps to save a lot of money.

Thus, call forwarding is a must to organizations nowadays. And Global Call Forwarding, as its name suggests, makes a big point to offer robust call forwarding options to its diverse client base.

The next factor is whether the number is a smartphone number. Smartphone numbers are special telephone numbers that you can activate anywhere in the world, allowing you to forward calls, when, where, and how you want to any other phone in the world.

“The smartphone numbers use a platform with more cutting-edge computing ability and connectivity than any regular phone number,” noted Global Call Forwarding on its site. “The smartphones provide you with a suite of advanced features to customize your call forwarding service to fit your specific needs.”

This offering, in the case of Global Call Forwarding at least, include advanced call forwarding, simultaneous ringing, advanced IVR/PBX (News - Alert), sequential forwarding, black and white lists, forwarding by country, voicemail and VM to e-mail, and fax forwarding. With Global Call Forwarding, its smart numbers work in more than 80 countries.

Then there’s what type of number to choose: 800 number, vanity number or local number.

800 numbers are internationally known for being toll free, inspiring confidence in the business offering the number. They also allow people to call a toll free number in their home country and contact someone in a completely different country at no cost to them.

Another option is local phone numbers. At Global Call Forwarding, the company offers local numbers all over the world that make it simple for customers in a particular part of the world to call. Any local phone number can be forwarded to any phone that is chosen when partnering with the firm, so businesses can receive local calls from around the world on a single phone line wherever they happen to be located.

Then there are vanity toll free numbers. A vanity number spells out a word or phrase, making it easy for customers to remember the number. It also can reinforce the brand of the business, which subtly can drive sales; vanity numbers are ads for the business, basically. Global Call Forwarding suggests the businesses also consider a vanity number as a defensive move so the competition doesn’t grab it first.