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Ask any home office entrepreneur to
identify the most important person in his/her business. Chances are
excellent the common response will be, “the customer!” The most successful
businesspeople are those who continually seek ways to improve communications
between themselves and customers. The 800 number, which allows your customer
or prospect to call you at your cost, gives an important boost to small
business.
Used in conjunction with print advertising, the 800 number encourages a
prospect to pick up the phone and call “now!” Once the exclusive province of
large companies, the 800 number was also known as “IN-WATS” [ INbound Wide
Area Telephone Service ]. Advances in technology, along with the
introduction of competition, caused prices for communications services to
plummet. Thus, today’s home based entrepreneur can afford a wide array of
telecommunications options. If you plan to market your products or services
nationwide, you would be wise to consider 800 service.
Of course, along with the proliferation of service providers across the
country comes a somewhat bewildering array of choices and decisions. Most of
these will affect your bottom line, so you’ll need to employ a
question-based screening process as you check them out. You should consider
how the responses meet your business needs and your budget-and how your
choices would work with existing service and equipment.
This entire field is in a state of constant change. Companies are
continually starting up, merging, and closing. They advertise in various
places, and some have high visibility, while others do not. Some rely upon
word of mouth, while others are multi-level marketing organizations, with
hordes of aggressive representatives. Some of the people who talk with you
work for the service provider, others just work for the marketing
organization. What ever arrangement you finally select, be sure your service
and your responsibilities are provided to you in writing.
Important Factors When Shopping For 800 Service
1) Who is the carrier (service provider)? How long have they been in
business? Call the carrier and check this out for yourself.
2) Do they want your outbound service as a condition of providing 800 (in
bound) service? Some don’t require it, but may give you a terrific rate if
you switch. Com pare your total costs - your bottom line is always the final
determinant.
3) How do their interstate/intrastate rates compare with your usage? This
may be an important factor for your business.
4) What, if any, one time charges will be imposed upon initiation of
service?
5) Are there any monthly or periodic fees of any sort? As with one time
charges, they use a wide variety of euphemisms, but the customer still pays.
Look out for “billing”, “account maintenance”, “tracking”, “line
maintenance”, and other slick “fees” language.
6) How much is the per minute charge? Important, but in conjunction with
other considerations. Read on.
7) How many seconds increment? A company which charges you 12 cents per
minute and bills in one minute increments, will charge you 24 cents for a
call that lasted more than one minute but less then two. One which bills in
six second increments would bill you 1.2 cents per increment.
8) Is there any minimum number of billing seconds per call? If your company
bills in six second increments, and has an 18 second minimum at 12 cents per
minute, then you’ll pay at least 3.6 cents for each call. Explanation: { 60
seconds = 12 cents; 6 seconds = 1.2 cents.}
9) Is there a minimum monthly volume required? Some companies may impose a
fee if your volume does not meet a minimum. However, even with a fee, some
will be less expensive than others.
10) Are calling cards provided? If you use these, investigate conditions and
charges.
11) Who owns the 800 number? If the carrier goes out of business - or if you
decide to change carriers - can you keep the 800 number?
12) Is the service on a contract or month to month basis? Be wary of
contracts.
13) Can the carrier provide both 800 and 888 numbers? Both are toll-free,
but each has its advantages and disadvantages:
The 800 number is widely recognized as being a free call. However, the
demand for 800 service has been so heavy that old (e.g. discontinued) 800
numbers are being recycled. The new owners are thus subject to the
possibility of wrong number calls, for which they are charged by their
carriers. [Overwhelmingly, these are not significant.] Any request for a
special number - to spell a company’s name or slogan, for example - is
likely to be denied. The 888 number is quite new, and generally
little-known.
There has recently been a spate of telephone scams whereby the caller
unknowingly pays long distance rates. Many people are suspicious of anything
other than the 800 number itself. However, because they are relatively new,
wrong numbers are unlikely. Also, you should have little difficulty filling
a special request. You would do well, however, to add the words, “toll free”
to your advertising.
The typical home based business has a tiny communications budget. The
simplest - and most economical arrangement - would be to have the 800 number
come through your regular phone line and ring on your existing equipment. To
distinguish personal calls from your incoming 800 calls, ask your local
phone company to arrange custom ringing. In most areas you can arrange for
up to four very different custom rings, thus using the same equipment for
four different purposes - excellent for the typical home based business!
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