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The history of 1800 numbers began in 1967 when AT&T introduced them with the aim to minimize the use of collect calls, which were labor intensive due to the need for a live operator to facilitate the calls.
The first users of toll-free number services were mainly hotel and car rental companies who used these numbers to invite customers to call the 1800 numbers from all over the country to make reservations.
The Ultimate Business Communication Tool
During the era when 1800 numbers were first introduced, they certainly grew as a business tool, but there was one challenge to be faced and this was that AT&T held exclusivity of them and was charging high premiums for the service.
In 1984, a federal judge put orders in place, which resulted in competition for long-distance calling rates (including 1800 numbers) dropping dramatically. Companies that had previously been unable to afford 1800 numbers could now use them.
At this point in the history of 1800 numbers, vanity numbers emerged, giving business owners the option to choose their own phone numbers and select something that was easy to remember and applicable to their product and service offerings.
A law that was put in place in 1994 then allowed phone number portability from one carrier to another and this allowed any company with a good 1800 number to keep their number despite changing carriers.
The Sudden Availability of 1800 Numbers
During this time in the history of 1800 numbers, having ownership of an 1800 number went from an advantage held only by major organizations to a necessity for companies that were operating on a regional level. This caused an extreme increase in the demand of 1800 numbers. To meet the extreme increase in demand, toll-free numbers with the 888 prefix were introduced in 1996.
Later in the history of 1800 numbers, toll-free numbers with the 877 and 866 prefixes were introduced in 1998 and 1999. In 2010, toll-free numbers with the 855 prefix were then introduced.
Meanwhile, with the birth of the Internet and other advances in technology, such as cell phone use, the use of 1800 numbers has gone through another transition. Where 1-800 toll-free numbers and toll-free numbers with other prefixes were once seen solely as an offering to customers, they are now so much more than that.
The history of toll-free numbers brings us to today where toll-free numbers are also seen as a symbol of professionalism and a well-established business that can be trusted.
1800 Numbers in the Age of Virtual Communications
Virtual toll-free numbers and accompanying call forwarding features are a strong part of the history of 1800 numbers now as well, expanding the advantages of 1-800 toll-free number use. Being able to provide a toll-free phone number to customers, clients, and all business contacts, and to be able to have those calls forwarded to a cell phone or landline phone of one’s choice is becoming commonplace in the increasingly competitive international business world.
Global Call Forwarding has been in the business of providing toll-free numbers, vanity numbers, virtual phone numbers, and many complimentary features for businesses for over two decades. With an experienced and professional team of global communication specialists on hand to guide businesses of any size, Global Call Forwarding offers toll-free virtual phone numbers and virtual phone numbers with local area codes for over 150 countries across the globe.
The use of virtual phone numbers eliminates the need for any expensive and bulky equipment. Calls are less expensive when compared to traditional landline phone systems, and the number of features offered is expansive. Some of the features include call recording, customized greetings, customized ringtones, SMS forwarding, and rollover minutes.
The history of 1800 numbers has come a long way from their first introduction in 1967 and frequent advances in technology will ensure the list of features and benefits will continue to grow well into the future, alongside developments in technology.
Advantages of Toll-Free Numbers
- Simple to Memorize
Regardless of whether it is an 1800 number or a complementary number beginning with different codes, it is simpler for the guests to recollect them because of a comparative course of action of the numbers.
The most recent business telephone numbers that are trailed by vanity numbers are considerably simpler to recollect than any conventional quantities of past years. Along these lines, it is feasible for an entrepreneur to convey the most elevated level of fulfillment to clients or business partners.
- Greatest Lead Generation and Conversion
For new companies to make their image picture and client base, producing a high volume of leads is significant, and an 1800 telephone number can help organizations in arriving at this objective. It is simpler to remember. Consequently, a business may get more possibilities by showing it on the web/disconnected gatherings.
A new report on the impact of 1-800 numbers likewise shows that this prefix has the most noteworthy transformation rate (4.38%) in contrast with other complementary numbers. For instance, the numbers with 888 and 877 prefixes were found to have individually 3.72% and 3.65% change rates dependent on this examination. Hence, any size or kind of business can hugely acquire by utilizing the 1-800 numbers.
- Unequaled Availability
In the exceptionally serious commercial center, associations should consistently stay accessible to their focused on clients; else they may lose their clients or possibilities to the contenders. A complementary number can forestall this misfortune.
Client care agents who answer the calls put through these numbers stay accessible to the possibilities or clients consistently. This accessibility can extraordinarily improve a brand’s picture among shoppers prompting expanded lead age and a higher change rate.
- Improved Credibility
Ongoing exploration on different ventures uncovered that around 17%-40% of the possibilities research the opposition as the initial step during the determination of a specialist organization in the wake of visiting a publicist’s site. In this situation, an 1800 telephone number can improve the believability of a business.
Complementary numbers stay unaltered in spite of an adjustment in area. Henceforth, a business can stretch out its quality to however many areas as would be prudent without being available at these areas with the assistance of a free telephone number. A more modest business may utilize this office to appear to be an endeavor, and it enormously improves the believability of business to possibilities and clients.
- Compactness
Compactness is another purpose for the improved helpfulness of a complementary number. The complementary telephone numbers continue as before independent of the area of a business. Hence, it gets workable for an organization to change its area without changing the telephone number.
Because of the compactness include, organizations can hold their 1800 numbers notwithstanding changing their telephone utility supplier. Consequently, convey ability keeps a business from changing its telephone number because of an adjustment in the area and hold its current clients; as opposed to missing out on them.
