Choosing the right toll-free number provider can be a daunting task. Learn what toll-free numbers are, how businesses can use them, and how to find the right provider for your needs here.
Toll-Free Numbers: How to Choose the Right Provider?
Toll-free numbers offered by phone service providers make for an easy and free way for individuals to call a business. This is because calls made to these numbers charge the receiver instead of the caller. Large corporations and established companies will have a toll-free business number as their contact number to encourage interested and recurring customers to connect with them and, by extension, promote sales. You can get a toll-free number for the country you reside in. Calls made to this number from within the country will be toll-free.
Virtual Toll-Free Numbers
Virtual phone number providers, on the other hand, have more toll-free number options. Such cloud-based providers offer numbers with an international toll-free forwarding service. This enables your business to get a toll-free number for different countries spread across the world. Calls made to these numbers then get forwarded through the international forwarding service over the internet and are routed to a number of your choice.
Global Call Forwarding, for instance, offers virtual toll-free numbers for more than 160 countries across the world. For example, your business enterprise is based in London but you have clients and customers in India, Mexico, Canada, the U.S., and the U.A.E. You can get toll-free numbers for these countries, making it free for callers to call your enterprise. Calls are then forwarded to your London office for a cheaper rate than international calls usually charge.
Find the Ideal Feature Set
When thinking about which provider to go ahead with, consider the additional features and tools they offer. For example, do you have multiple offices working in different time zones? Then, you may take advantage of a time-related call forwarding service. Additionally, can your business benefit from tracking incoming calls to study where they are coming from, etc? Then, call logs and activity reports would be helpful. Furthermore, would you like to record business calls to see how employees are doing or to maintain compliance with regulations? And so on.
Global Call Forwarding offers the following features along with each plan:
- Advanced IVR: automated voice response
- Black and White Lists: to organize blocked numbers and accepted numbers
- Call Transfer: manual transferring of calls between different departments
- Customer Greeting: personalized greetings with company information
- Dedicated Account Manager: account support to ensure smooth functioning
- Failover Forwarding: forwarding calls to a set number of lines to ensure no call goes unanswered
- Fax to Email: receive faxes in email format
- Local Ringback Tones: plays the signal tone of the destination the phone is ringing in
- Simultaneous Calling: calls multiple lines and numbers at a time to ensure no call is missed
- Time of Day Routing: routes calls to different locations or numbers during certain times of the day
- Voicemail to Email: receive voicemails as MP3 files in your inbox
- 24/7 Customer Support: to provide support and customer care
And, you can get these additional features:
- Call Recording Software: record up to 100% of incoming and outgoing calls
- Rollover Minutes: accumulate unused minutes to be used the next month
- Inbound SMS Plan: receive texts from customers
- Outbound Calling: call local and international customers with customizable caller IDs
Research Providers, Reviews Plans
Once you have an idea of what communication features and tools you want from your international toll-free number provider, research different providers and see what they have to offer. Compare prices alongside the quantity and quality of features offered. Most providers have free trials you can use to test the quality of service before you make a commitment. They will also have different plans based on different business types or sizes. This will give you a better understanding of how much time and money you would need to spend on the service per month.
Toll-Free Numbers: Making Communication Easier
Toll-free numbers are often associated with big businesses. Having a toll-free business number will further solidify your company’s professional image. To learn more about toll-free numbers and how Global Call Forwarding can help with your company’s communication system, call us at 1 (888) 908 6171.
