If you're doing online commerce, you need to find the best telephony solution for your online store. Virtual numbers are very convenient to be used for this purpose because they have cheap rates and are enabled without any telephone wires. So the only thing that is left is choosing between a 1-800 Toll-Free number or a regular virtual number with a National, mobile, or city code.
What Features Does 1-800 Toll-Free Have?
When we say that a 1-800 Toll-Free number is free to call, we mean that the call is charged not to the caller but to the owner of the number. This service could be set up for your country and other countries as well, which is convenient for stores with International service.
Reasons to choose a 1-800 Toll-Free number:
- If you offer customers a free line to you, they will be contacting you more readily;
- Thanks to the multichannel feature, you can serve several customers at the same time;
- It's going to be easier to scale your support department when you need more hotline agents;
- Cost-effective telephone communications on an international level.
Even if the type of the number couldn't be called the decisive factor in most of the customers placing the order, but there's a certain logic to it.
If the frequency of the calls to the store is high, it will be profitable to use a 1-800 Toll-Free number. The customers will know that they won't get an expensive bill to pay if they need to get a consultation of the experts before placing the order. When customers have to contact you from another country, they would prefer to do it free of charge. A company that provides this service, creates an image of a respectable market actor. This is why it is said a 1-800 Toll-Free number works for establishing trust, as well as increasing conversion rate and business profit.
When Is It More Suitable for an Online Store to Use National and Landline Virtual Numbers?
1-800 Toll-Free numbers will be irreplaceable thanks to the multichannel line and free calls for the customers. But their service costs could be expensive. So how to choose, then?
Focus on several factors:
- What is the size of the store? Small stores do better with a landline or a mobile virtual number (their sales are done on the local level, mainly). If you have a large marketplace where it's important to negotiate over the phone with customers and suppliers, then having a multichannel 1-800 Toll-Free number is a better choice;
- Who are your buyers? Stores selling heavy machinery, equipment, agricultural produce, other types of B2B specific products, can get national virtual numbers. There are no quick deals, so customers engage in telephone negotiations several times before buying, and use a landline office phone for connection.
There is no universal recipe for every online store, so entrepreneurs should focus more on the pace of sales, numbers of administrative staff, and customer requests. Even the 1-800 Toll-Free virtual numbers will be less effective if you don't have enough managers to process all the calls.
To ensure the timely manner of work for the online store, and actively communicate with customers, you can use various additional services of IP telephony.
VoIP Services for Online Stores
What's important for an entrepreneur? Increasing sales and forming a circle of loyal customers. What are customers expecting? They expect that their calls are answered and they can find out more about availability, package set, or a solution to their problem. Virtual telephony tools will help satisfy both goals and build a good client service.
Useful VoIP services for online stores:
- Click to Call widget. Offering customers a way to call you for free when you do not have a 1-800 Toll-Free number is possible by connecting a Click to Call website widget. This service establishes a connection between a store manager and a customer in real-time mode. You can order this service for free at Freezvon.
- Callback widget. Thanks to the special feature of this service, a customer can activate it on the website by filling in a form with their contact information. An agent will call them back after a short time. The quicker the agent contacts the buyer, the less risk of them leaving for a competitor.
- Virtual PBX. Allows receiving calls, distributing them between agents, configuring additional services. If the store's call center employs a large staff, managing calls without a PBX is a challenge. A PBX is connected without any equipment, with an online app.
- Outgoing SIP calls. It's better to use SIP for calling the customers back if they weren't able to get through or left a Callback request. You will save on the rates, and the app for calls could be installed on a computer directly, so agents could be faster in checking the order during a conversation with the customer.
- Virtual SMS numbers. Use your account to send SMS with order information and delivery time to your customers.
If you are still choosing the type of virtual number and VoIP services you want to set up for your online store, contact Freezvon experts for assistance. We will recommend the most suitable solution for your sector for the best price.
