Local Number Vs. Toll-free: Choosing The Right Path For Your Business

Local number vs. toll-free has been the talk of the town for the past few years. There is no match for both of these features. The reason is that both are helping businesses thrive better. Both service features are posting remarkable results considering their utilisation in customer support centres. Moreover, the two services have their own restrictions, and those restrictions don’t affect their credibility in scaling up any business. Local numbers help companies establish and strengthen their local presence, while toll-free numbers make it easy for customers to engage with a company. It is confusing for businesses to select one. Both have their perks and are essential for businesses. Here in this blog, we’ll be explaining the defining factors that should be noted before choosing one for your business.

Local Number vs. Toll-Free Number: Which One is Dominating

Local Number	Toll-Free Number
1. The regional area code ensures local presence	1. It is easy to contact the company’s representative.
2. International companies can easily reach out to a targeted customer market.	2. It represents your business as a more legitimate one.
3. Improve customer experience	3. It also enhances the customer experience.
4. Outgoing call charges are paid by the company, while incoming calls are free.	4. The company has to bear the expense of all call minutes.
5. Good for small or local companies. It can also facilitate international companies.	5. It is good for both national and international companies.
6. It might be difficult to remember.	6. It is very easy to remember.

Choosing between local and toll-free numbers has been confusing. The reason is that both work perfectly in a certain scenario. To help you find out the exact difference between both of them, this section is a must-read for you. Before getting into further details, let me clarify the basics of both numbers. This will help you shape the actual difference.

What is a local number?

A local number is a number that represents a particular region. It starts with a three-digit area code and is mostly used by businesses to communicate with the local community of a particular region. The best thing about these numbers is that the companies don’t have to pay for the incoming calls on them, but they’ve got to pay for all outbound calls. These numbers are familiar; therefore, customers are more likely to answer your calls.

What are toll-free numbers?

A toll-free number is more of a business phone number that has three unique numbers on its start. The number with a three-digit code can be dialed from anywhere in the world. The most common toll-free numbers have codes such as 800, 833, 844, 866, 855, 888, and 877. These are often termed 800 numbers. If you’re acquiring a toll-free number, your company has to charge for all minutes and calls. Moreover, the caller doesn’t have to pay a penny for a call. The use of a toll-free number is to encourage customers to ask for help, to provide information, or to facilitate purchases.

Why are local phone numbers preferred?

In the past few years, local numbers have been a hot favourite for companies. Customers would love to dial a local number while looking for products and services in their surroundings. Here are the reasons that make local numbers a dominating choice for business:

1. Customer Satisfaction: Local phone numbers assure customers that there is a high possibility of human customer service. Automated replies are frustrating, as customers give priority to someone who listens to them and tackles their concerns personally.
2. Credibility: Local phone numbers are best for enhancing the credibility of your business. It gives customers a sense of belonging and community. It’s best for businesses that want to capture a local market, as it gives them a local presence.
3. Local Presence: International businesses like to have someone who represents them in a local market. The local market ensures a local presence. This is possible if you get a virtual local number from a reliable service provider, such as Contactivity.
4. Authenticity and Professional Image: regional numbers depict a business as authentic, which gives it a professional image. Your advertisements with local numbers will look more attractive and compelling.

Why are local numbers not preferred?

In Benefits and Drawbacks: Local vs. Toll-Free, the cons section is to be read carefully as it helps you in making the final decision. Here are the points you should note before acquiring a local number for your business:

1. Besides, a local number gives your business a local presence, but it also indicates that you’re operating a small business. This gives the customer a feeling that your business might not be able to fulfill their demands if they’re huge.
2. It’ll be difficult for customers to call a local number from a different region. Thus, in such a scenario, a toll-free number is a perfect solution.

Why are toll-free numbers preferred?

There are countless factors in deciding between local numbers and toll-free choices, but it all depends on your needs. For instance, if you have a local business or a small unit, you can get a local number. Otherwise, a toll-free number is a good choice to make. To help you make a good choice, let’s consider plus points for toll-free numbers:

1. Enhanced Brand Image: A toll-free number gives your business booming brand awareness. Your business looks authentic and compelling. It gives customers a sense that your business is well-established and has national autonomy.
2. Enhance Customer Service: With a toll-free number, you’re equipping your customers to reach out to you at the time of need. Your customers will prefer to communicate with your service agents for help with purchases, information, or resolving service issues. As a whole, it plays an important role as a facilitator.
3. Affordable and portable: Toll-free numbers are easier to set up as they don’t require you to master technical expertise. Moreover, the subscription charges are very low as compared to their counterparts. The best part is that you can take this number anywhere and answer calls. You don’t have to stick to your old telephone system to answer calls.
4. Perfect for marketing campaigns: Your company’s marketing campaigns will look more compelling and appealing with toll-free numbers on them. There is no winner in this case, as they look best if mentioned on social media posts or marketing campaigns. They’re best when you offer your customers a click-to-call option, and most importantly, they don’t have to pay call charges.

Why You Shouldn’t Prefer Toll-Free Numbers?

The end of local number vs. toll-free is going to be interesting, as it will help you find out which one is better. You should consider the following drawbacks of having toll-free numbers with you:

1. Scam or Robo Calls: When you get a toll-free number from a low-quality service provider, you face a lot of problems. One of the main problems is robocalls, or spam calls. The automatic robocalls often list the company’s number as a scam, and it ends up adding huge call charges.

2. Is Often Misunderstood: Toll-free numbers are perfect for all incoming calls. Yet, if your team makes a call from it, they might end up with no response or a dropped call. This is because toll-free numbers appear unfamiliar.