For a business that relies on clients and partners outside of their immediate area, or that have traveling employees, Toll-Free telephone numbers are a necessity. Although it can be a stand-alone product, Toll-Free service is usually obtained from the same carrier that provides the outbound service.

Whether you use Switched or Dedicated Long Distance, Toll-Free service can be added to your account very easily. At BMG Communications, we are committed to helping our clients get the most aggressive rates on their Toll-Free service.

Small and medium-sized businesses may be interested in our Long Distance portal where they can be quoted the lowest available price for inbound Toll-Free service, as well as outbound Switched Long Distance. Currently we are offering Toll-Free rates as low as 3.49 cents per minute for switched service. You can even sign up online. You can jump to our Switched Long Distance Quote page, or check out our long distance portal at: bmglongdistance.com

Larger organizations may be interested in our Dedicated Long Distance offerings where you can get inbound Toll-Free and outbound dedicated rates as low as 1 or 2 cents per minute. In which case, don't hesitate to submit an Dedicated Long Distance Quote Request, or contact us today for a free consultation!

Here are some common uses and features of Toll-Free service:

• Customer Calls:
  No matter how small a business is, if it attempts to serve the sales and customer service needs of clients outside their immediate area, they cannot afford to be without quality Toll-Free service. It is amazing how many people will think twice about expressing their interest in a company's product or service because they have to dial long distance.
  
  Additionally, if a customer has a question or problem regarding a service, they're usually not very thrilled to discover they have to call long distance to get serviced. Maybe they are at a location where they cannot dial long distance, or aren't comfortable putting the charges on someone else's bill. Maybe they're afraid they'll end up being on the phone a long time trying to get their questions answered and be passed around from person to person like some companies do. Or maybe, despite their reluctance, they call anyway, but for some reason, they do end up being on the line with sales or customer service for awhile; they may end up resenting the fact they had to pay for that call.
  
  Don't risk losing future business. Let BMG Communications help you send the right message to customers by getting an affordable Toll-Free service.


• Employee Calls:
  Employee calls from remote or traveling employees can also add up, even for a small business. If they are using calling cards, hotel long distance, or some other expensive means of calling the office, it would make a lot more sense to give them a Toll-Free number to call.
  
  In most cases, you can receive the same low rate for inbound Toll Free service (domestically) as for outbound Switched or Dedicated Long Distance. You could use the same Toll-Free number that you provide to the public, or you could request they dial a special employee number that would allow you to track those calls separately.
  
  If your internal phone system provides your voice mail, you may also want to consider pointing a Toll-Free number to your local voice mail backdoor number, allowing cost effective access to voice mail from the road.


• Vanity Numbers:
  Although increasingly difficult to obtain, vanity numbers are still an integral part of a successful marketing plan. As it is important to register domain names that reflect your company name or the service you provide, obtaining a vanity number for your business is very important.
  
  Whether you can fit a portion of your company name or its acronym into a number, or spell out one of your products generic or proprietary name in a phone number, it can be an excellent way for people to remember you. Another type of vanity number is one that matches your local 7 digit number as an easy way to remember the Toll Free number.
  
  For example, our local number is 704.540.1420, so we acquired 866.540.1420 enabling us to advertise the two numbers together, making them easier to remember. Since our main corporate Web site is www.bmgc.net, we also reserved the toll free number 877.BMGC.NET (877.264.2638) so we can advertise that toll free number along with our Web address.
  
  A word of caution. Do your research before requesting vanity numbers. Be creative and write down several possibilities in hopes of getting at least one of your preferred numbers. Once you have a desired list together, you may want to test them by dialing to see if someone is actively using the number, or if they are a competitor. Be prepared to try and accept alternate forms of the Toll Free exchange. For example, the first exchange was 800, now there are 888, 877, 866 and even some 855 numbers.
  
  Once you have narrowed down the list of potential numbers, if you have established service with one of our providers for long distance, your BMG Communications representative can submit the list to your carrier to determine if any of the numbers are available. If more than one exchange is available in the vanity number you desire, you may want to reserve those as well, to prevent future confusion.



• Routing & Tracking:
  For some companies, it may make sense to request multiple Toll-Free numbers. Having additional Toll-Free numbers allows a company to route and track their individual traffic. For example, there could be separate Toll-Free numbers for customer service and sales, giving you the ability to program you phone system to easily route sales calls to the sales department and customer services calls to the support department.
  
  Maybe an organization is launching a new product or service, or is marketing to a segment that requires special attention when they call, such as a bi-lingual representative. Toll-Free numbers can be assigned to route calls to the right person or department knowledgeable about the specific product or clientele that will be calling in to respond to advertising. This also allows the company to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaign to a certain demographic or for a specific product.

• Advanced Routing:
  Some of the above features rely on the internal phone system to complete the internal routing of the call, based on number dialed. Another type of routing can be done by the long distance carrier. This is required when calls need to be routed between multiple locations.
  
  For example, a company may have two call centers, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. In this scenario, advanced call routing features allow the carrier to route calls by time of day, ensuring early morning and late evening attendance.

• Other forms of routing include:
  Geographic, originating number specific, day of week, holiday, and other schedules. If you have a special routing need, chances are there is a carrier that can deliver. There are also other companies that work in conjunction with the carrier that can pinpoint where a phone call is originating, determine the physical address of that location, cross reference it with a database that includes available locations of a Toll-Free customer, and route the call to the physically closest company location to the caller. This type of routing is extremely beneficial for large regional or national advertising campaigns of companies with multiple locations.

No matter how basic or complex your needs may be, BMG Communications has the network of partners and service providers to deliver efficient and cost effective solutions.

For more information, submit an online Switched Long Distance Quote Request, or Dedicated Long Distance Quote Request, to include Toll Free Service, or simply contact us today for a free consultation!

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