The 1-800 numbers – they’re everywhere – billboards, storefronts, advertisements, television, websites, business cards. In fact, it’s pretty much a given that when you hit the “big time” you’ll need a toll free number for your business. After all, are you really going to make your customer foot the bill to contact you to spend money on your product or service? Of course not.

A toll free telephone number or free phone number is a telephone number that is billed for all arriving calls instead of incurring charges to the originating telephone subscriber. For the calling party, a call to a toll free number from a landline is free of charge. Toll free numbers allow callers to reach businesses and/or individuals without being charged for the call. The charge for using a toll free number is paid by the called party (the toll free subscriber) instead of the calling party. Toll free numbers can be dialed directly to your business or personal telephone line.

A toll free Number gives a business a more professional appearance and makes it easier for clients to contact the business and a free number also provides a company with the potential to increase sales.

But don’t just get a toll free number because it’s the right thing to do. Get one because of what it can do for you. And today, that simple number can do a lot more than you might think. Besides giving your customers a way to contact you on your dime, here are some other practical uses to consider:

Get a toll free number from a toll free forwarding service and patch calls through to any phone, anywhere, on the fly. Take customer calls on your cell phone, at the office, at home or at your vacation home. Since your customer always dials that same toll free number, you’re always “in the office” as far as they’re concerned.

Many toll free services provide call hunting and voicemail/fax services via email at no extra charge. Why mess with a costly PBX phone system and clunky fax machine when you can access your messages and faxes from any internet connection?

Toll free numbers are so affordable today that you can use them to track the effectiveness of ad campaigns or promotional vehicles. For example, use one number for your website, one for your yellow pages ad and one for billboards. Now, tracking the performance of each item is simple – just check your call logs on your online management page and immediately see where most of your inquiries are originating from.

Perception is half the battle when it comes to marketing. A toll free number projects a corporate image. Many toll free service providers also offer local numbers, which can be used to help you project a local image as well. Many people prefer to do business with companies in their own backyard. Acquiring local numbers from a toll free forwarding company for each city you do business in (and having them all forward to your main office) gives you a local presence without having to physically be there.

Flexibility is key when you are growing your company. What if you had the opportunity to move your operations halfway across the country because it would increase productivity threefold? Halfway across the world? Having a forwarded toll free number maintains continuity with your customers even if you’re moving every other month. Simply log onto your online control panel and switch the destination number. You wouldn’t even have to change your business cards.

We all don’t want to think about it, but we need to prepare for it: disaster recovery. It doesn’t have to be a major catastrophe – even a small flood or fire could disable your ability to field phone calls or do business in your office. A forwarded toll free number that’s simply directed elsewhere ensures a seamless experience for your customer, even if everything’s coming apart at the seams in your office.

Although the toll-free number has been a fixture in Indian business for some time, it has certainly come a long way. Thanks to technology and innovation, these ubiquitous digits can do more for you than ever before, at a price that’s a lot more affordable. In fact, why even wait to hit the big time? Chances are a toll free number will actually help you get there sooner.