How to get more from your 800 numbers
I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that your business has at least one 800 number. It might be your customer support number, a line for your sales team, or a number your local business bought for out of state customers (a legacy from when we still paid long distance fees. Remember those?)
But are you getting enough out of your 800 numbers? What if you could get more? I mean, we all love a good value, so wouldn’t some more value out of your 800 numbers be welcome?
Let’s talk about text (baby)
So you’ve got these toll-free numbers, and you know you want to get more out of them, but you aren’t sure how. What else could you do with them and why would you want to do more with them?
Texting.
That’s right — you can SMS-enable toll-free numbers.
“Why would I want to add texting to my toll-free numbers?” you ask. That’s a good question.
Did you know that, on average, a text message is opened within 3 minutes of receipt? They also have a 47% response rate. Email only has a 6% response rate. Your customers also don’t have to download an app to get text messages; their phones are ready for them out of the box.
Why does all of this matter?
Because it gives you the chance to provide a better customer experience by communicating with your customers in the way that they prefer, using numbers that you already have.
Who should use SMS-enabled toll-free numbers?
Do you like talking to your customers? Do you like them being able to talk to you? Do you want them to like talking to you? Then you should text-enable your toll-free numbers!
Whether you’re a contact center, a retailer, an airline, or in the hospitality industry, using your toll-free numbers to text your customers allows you an easy way to send your customers appointment reminders, customer support updates, or tracking updates on a number that your users can text you back on or call you on, all at a volume that local numbers can’t support.
Wait, you can call and text on toll-free?
That’s right, you read that correctly. Instead of having one number for voice and another for texting, or using expensive short codes, you can text-enable the phone numbers that you already have to power both voice and text with your customers, giving them one number to remember, and letting you save on owning (and managing) multiple numbers.
Alright, let’s wrap this up
I know you still have questions, and I want to give you answers. How does toll-free texting work? How can I get started? What is the average airspeed of an unladen swallow? That depends on if it’s African or European. What if I’m under contract for my toll-free voice and can’t move it? You can power texting and voice separately on the same number.
Give us a shout and let one of our experts show you how you can get the most out of your 800 numbers by text-enabling them.