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One of the best ways to strengthen the power of your vanity toll free number is to use it in all your marketing materials. That includes putting it in your telephone greetings. Think about it: Clients dial “1-888-PET-CARE” and the greeting they get is “Hi, this is Johnson’s Pet Supplies.” But they could be hearing “Hi, you’ve reached 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies.”

This is a no-cost way of helping customers recognize and remember your custom toll free number, increasing the likelihood that they’ll call your business again in the future. Here are five ways to use phone greetings to turn those vanity number calls into sales — and increase customer satisfaction.

1. As often as possible, have a live person answer the phone and present your message during business hours. Studies show that customers expect and prefer it, and it’s the ideal during a sales campaign when you want a sales person to have immediate access to a prospect. After all, studies show that customers who make purchases over the phone order more merchandise, and 95 percent of the time they order more expensive merchandise than customers who are ordering from print or online catalogs. If you are using your toll-free number for non-sales purposes, it’s not as critical that the live person greeting the customer be on your team. A good answering service can handle the caller and then send you a convenient email message.
2. If you need to use recorded messages, be sure to record separate ones for business hours and for after-hours. Why? See tips 3 and 4.
3. When your callers do get a recorded message during business hours, it should mention your 1-800 number and your company identity. Then tell the caller, quickly, how to get to the department they’re calling or the information they want. Example: “Thank you for calling 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies. A representative will be with you in one minute. If you need to reschedule a delivery for tomorrow, please press 3 for the shipment desk. For all other business, please stay on the line.”
4. The message callers get after hours should (again) reinforce your business identity by mentioning your toll-free number and business name. Then let people know when you’ll be back in the office and what they can do to get a message to you in the meantime. “You’ve reached the after-hours line for 1-888-PET-CARE, Johnson’s Pet Supplies. We’ll be back in the office at 8 a.m. Please call back then, or press 2 to leave a message with our answering service.”
5. If you have a website that allows people to view products or schedules, place orders, or send email, be sure to mention that website in your phone greeting. For some callers, this is a plus. But keep in mind that many callers to your toll-free number prefer to talk directly to a live person.

Sales, customer service, and survey research — all these departments in your company can boost their effectiveness using toll free numbers. And a vanity toll-free number that helps prospective callers remember your company’s name, services, or products, will have an even greater effect.

Quite simply, vanity numbers are easy to remember. A distinctive toll free number, or even a funny toll free number, sticks in people’s minds. Whenever your product or service in mentioned, your custom toll free number is right there with it.

The prescription for success is not difficult to follow: While many 10-digit 1-800 numbers are already taken, there are a wealth of great toll free numbers available that begin with the newer prefixes 1-888, 1-877, and 1-866. Check out our Available Tollfree Number Search, and contact us at our own vanity toll free number, 1-800-CUSTOMIZE. We can help you find a memorable, effective number that will maximize your return on investment.

For years, companies have used toll free numbers to boost sales and streamline customer service. But today an increasing number of firms are getting toll free numbers to manage the costs of calling for their telecommuting workforce.

An estimated 25 percent of the U.S. workforce is involved in full- or part-time telecommuting. Companies have discovered that telecommuting helps them save a bundle on office space, comply with local government “trip reduction” requirements, and attract and retain talented workers who would be reluctant to make a long daily commute.

Toll free numbers are helping these companies manage their telecommuting workforce. Rather than handling complicated reimbursement paperwork for employees trying to use a cell phone for both personal and office work, many corporations are simply setting up toll free numbers for business calling.

Control calling costs for off-site employees

Some companies set up toll-free numbers that allow employees to call into the office switchboard from anywhere they might be. (In a survey of telecommuters reported at CNN.com, 40 percent said that their companies had were providing them with such toll-free numbers for internal calls.)

Many agencies in the U.S. government rely on toll-free numbers for telecommuters and field workers. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s telecommuter guidelines require that employees use the toll free number when calling in from any long-distance location.

Still other companies are employing toll-free numbers as part of the computer network services for telecommuting employees.

Connect customers with your home-based agents

Companies such as Peak Travel have assigned individual toll-free numbers to each of their  home-based agents. Calls from customers are routed directed to those travel agents, helping the company manage costs and record keeping.

Find out more

If you are setting up or revamping your telecommuter program, contact Custom Toll Free to find out more about toll-free numbers and how they can help your organization and your bottom line.

With all the many companies out there, consumers are wise to evaluate what will help them get fast, seamless and reasonable phone packages. Here are some reasons to access Custom Toll Free:

Real-time, real cool
Companies or individuals have access to real-time call reports. You are never in the dark when you have an 800 number through us. We will let you see just how many minutes you’ve used to the minute.

Harness bulk-rate plans
Every company has different needs when it comes to phone services. Some clients need to get bulk-rate plans. This can be done easily with help from one of our agents who can offer pricing for special services.

Branded advertising
Sometimes it’s all about name recognition. By using a toll free vanity number you can set your company apart from the rest. Being consistent means tying in all your creative elements from your logo and business cards to your vanity number and signage.

Simplicity: looking for a number is 1-2-3
First, all you have to do to get a toll free number is do a simple search. At Custom Toll Free, this is a very easy process. Simply use the search bar at our “Available Toll Free Number Search” page and find the ideal toll free number for your business.

select the “industry” to view what numbers are accessible; for instance Computers/Internet, Sports or Travel.

Finally, you can filter the choices by prefix such as 800 or 866 only. You can also use the slider to indicate your projected price scale.

Contact Custom Toll Free today for more advice about getting your personalized phone number.

Whenever you think of the toll-free number market, you think flowers, contact lenses, or safe autos. But today, many parents are using personal toll free numbers to keep tabs on their kids. Parents worried about their college-bound youngsters are resting better at night with toll-free numbers.

We all know it’s hard to get little Suzy or Johnny to call home everyday, but if the call is free you might have a better chance of hearing that phone ring. While normal cell phone plans were once the popular route, they can be highly expensive.

In fact, research shows that 90 percent of people in the United States are dialing toll-free numbers. Additionally, response rates increase an average of 14 percent when advertisements contain toll-free numbers.

Who are the regular people using toll-free numbers today?

•    Parents and grandparents
•    College students
•    Parents of teens and tweens
•    Military families
•    Frequent travelers
•    Those in a long-distance relationship

Custom Toll Free can design a minute plan that is just right for your special toll free needs. You just might bond with your kids, friends and other loved-ones better. Well, maybe or maybe not, but you WILL save money!

Setting up a business can be an overwhelming experience. And the thought of handling all your calls can be somewhat nagging, too. But what many do not realize is that obtaining a toll-free number is a relatively simple and seamless process.

All you have to do is request one from a company who can access them. When it comes to pricing, this can vary. The factors that affect costs include the geographic region you are located in and of course how many calls you get a month.

Why a toll-free number is an asset
Simply put: easy access. Having a toll-free number increases your communication with everyone. So whether you want to have more customer calls or better access to staff and business associates, it’s within your grasp.

Image counts. In business and marketing, image is everything. Having a toll free number speaks volumes. It says your company is professional and established. It can even imply that a company places a high priority on customer service and client satisfaction.

Not to mention a toll-free number can save on operating costs and helps you to monitor your incoming calls, too.

Setting up a business can be an overwhelming experience. And the thought of handling all your calls can be somewhat nagging, too. But what many do not realize is that obtaining a toll-free number is a relatively simple and seamless process.

All you have to do is request one from a company who can access them. When it comes to pricing, this can vary. The factors that affect costs include the geographic region you are located in and of course how many calls you get a month.

Why a toll-free number is an asset
Simply put: easy access. Having a toll-free number increases your communication with everyone. So whether you want to have more customer calls or better access to staff and business associates, it’s within your grasp.

Image counts. In business and marketing, image is everything. Having a toll free number speaks volumes. It says your company is professional and established. It can even imply that a company places a high priority on customer service and client satisfaction.

Not to mention a toll-free number can save on operating costs and helps you to monitor your incoming calls, too.

There is more good reason to harness the power of a toll free number: you save customers money. Let’s face it, the economy is first on the minds of consumers. If they have the option of two phone numbers in front of them, they are going to be more apt to call the toll-free one and save money.

There’s even toll free directory assistance. It is accessed by dialing 1-800-555-1212, of course this is a completely free call to make. But not all phone numbers are subscribed to the service. So if you have a toll free number, make it available for customers to look it up through the toll-free assistance service.

To reinforce my point, not all toll-free numbers are listed in the directory, only the ones that subscribe are listed. However, the FCC has a plan in the works to review the promotional aspect and competition among multiple providers, such as directory assistance options for toll-free numbers.

Custom Toll Free can help you learn more about what’s on the toll-free horizon.

Be sure you closely review your minutes and service options when you go with a toll free company. At Custom Toll Free we keep our customers closely abreast of all of their monthly minutes. And by offering a wide variety of minute plans, we can help customers better service their clients, too. 100 minutes per month completely free of charge to all our customers.

Friendly e-mails
Communication is everything in this business. Along with extensive minute plans, Custom Toll Free can supply you with a helpful courtesy email to alert you when getting close to your minute cap. In this hectic world, this is a good idea for those who don’t have time to monitor their minutes and need a little bit of extra help.

For example, you could get an e-mail alert when your calls reach 75 percent of your limit. Then, you can get an additional courtesy e-mail when you reach your per-month limit.

Signature minute plans
A toll free number is not hard to figure out. Really, it works very much like a regular cell phone plan. What toll free number holders have to realize though is that a number won’t work if there are no minutes left on a plan.

But at Custom Toll Free we don’t want anyone to miss a call. That’s why we are able offer a special “automatic minute increases” to our customers. When you go with a custom toll free number, you have an easy way to navigate the minutes used. Always remember to look at the plan options for your phone package. Anytime you want to upgrade, a company should be able to help you navigate what is best and how to do it.