Do you think toll-free business numbers drive business enquiries?

For a company that takes orders over the phone then perhaps the investment is worthwhile particularly if the business is national or if it is trying to establish a national brand.

If you are running a direct mail campaign or another campaign to an older population then perhaps it could still be a viable option to test.

The branding issue and appearing larger than the business actually is could be a deciding factor.

For local companies who are using online marketing to drive people to their business then I would think not.

I'm sorry I can't quote the sources for my assumptions but I have read and also noticed from PPC campaigns and analytics that there is a growing number of mobile users who are doing research on their phone.

Those mobile users not getting any benefit from a toll free number may actually look for a local number if they are searching for a local business...

However...

The portability of a toll free number may be another consideration.

Testing for the business type and trying to find statistical data would be the best course of action.

One of my businesses is primarily B2B nationally in OZ and we don't seem to have too many problems restricting growth without a toll free number. Many of our prospects submit enquiry forms or email if they have questions and they only call if they require something urgently.

So perhaps the "urgency" could be an indicator as to whether a toll free number is necessary.

Whatever the number a customer should call it should be prominent if you want them to call it.

A number of the major businesses we regularly buy from dropped their toll free numbers over the last few years if that is any indication.

Best regards,

Ozi

Completely agree with Ozi.

I had em. Worked great. But after the HYPE of Y2K came and went, consumers were more drawn to the Internet and how easy it was to contact businesses. These days we all search online, from our cell phones, and click a link to connect. (Who really knows if its a toll free number or not?)

But let's break it down to dollars and cents, because at the end of the day, that is really what a business owner wants to know. Can they really afford the extra expense to gain a client.

$1200 a year (Your stated number)
$100 a month (12 months)
$23.08 a week (52 weeks)
$3.29 a day (365 days)

Those are your hard numbers. When I look at those number I can digest the expense easier. When I compare it to an average cup of coffee being sold in Perth which is $3.87 ea. I'd say "How soon can I get a number?"

Your approach shouldn't be it's $1200 a year, rather it's only $3.29 a day, less than an average cup of coffee.

Remember the client(s) told you they want to look bigger than they really are, but I'm a business owner and don't buy the logic.

It's always about...

1. How much extra do I have to pay?
2. Will it work?
3. Do my competitors use it?
4. Will consumers really use this new service?
5. Can I get it cheaper elsewhere?

If your client(s) do move forward, take a reference from Joe Polish of Piranha Marketing. In his carpet cleaning ads he used 800 numbers to qualify/disqualify callers when they called to listen to a prerecorded message.

That was how he built his list and generated real warm carpet cleaning leads using his 800 number strategy.

For local service type businesses, my experience and others have shown
local numbers out perform 0800 numbers, or whatever free call number in your location is.

Here's a before and after YP ad...



Of course there were a number of other factors that lifted revenue for that ad.

When I was part of Jim's Mowing, now the largest franchise of it's type
in the world, they tested toll free numbers as well as local numbers.

Local numbers out performed.

For example, in Auckland they have numbers for
north
west
central
east
south

When running my ads for lawnmowing I often got asked if I was local,
even though a local number was used, because they wanted a local person.

Best,
Ewen

P.S. A electrician took that YP ad model, placed it in another media,
in another country and added an extra $30,000 per month revenue.

I'm with Ewan. We've found local numbers always outperform toll free.

Best thing would be to test. Have both numbers for a time limited campaign and see which people use...

BTW toll free numbers are much cheaper here in UK, around a fiver per month at most...

Ewenmack, what a great infographic man! What small change can do!