The number of adults in the UK completing at least part of their working week from home increased to nearly 40% in the last year, up from 27% in 2019.
85% of those who have worked from home in the last year have said they’d be happy with a hybrid working model in the future.
However, this creates a problem for businesses when it comes to business numbers.
With a remote workforce, retaining a single, physical phone number can be difficult.
Toll free numbers are the ideal solution for remote businesses because they provide all the benefits of a landline, without all the restrictions
Toll free numbers aren’t just for the office, they are great for working remotely too. Here’s why.
You can have a single number
A toll free number gives you a single, free to call business number that customers can easily contact you on.
This makes communication easier as you don’t have to rely on individual mobile phone numbers or landlines that can come with call charges for your customers.
Having a toll free number for your business also makes it easier for the customer.
They don’t have to mess about with multiple numbers, or worry about additional costs when making a call to your business.
You can also add extensions to your toll free number, so customers can contact individual employees.
You can easily build an international presence
Because toll free numbers can be used in most countries, it means you can have a remote presence internationally and expand your business quickly with limited costs.
If customers can call you from anywhere for free, you’re more likely to reach a wider audience.
The more customers you can build relationships with, the more sales you’ll make.
It may take a while to build up your presence internationally, but all it takes is a few good reviews and word of mouth in the area.
Anyone can answer calls from any device
Mobile and landline numbers are fixed to a single device, making them difficult to manage in a remote workforce.
If you install a cloud based toll free number for your business, you can answer the call from anywhere, on any device.
This makes it perfect for remote working, as it gives flexibility to anyone with access to that number.
By setting up a toll free number on a cloud platform, any employee can answer it from wherever they are.
Taking pressure off one person to answer the phone and organise any messages.
It makes call conferencing easy
With people working remotely there’s more need for group calls and multiple people joining calls from multiple locations.
Toll free numbers can come with call conferencing if you choose the right provider.
If conference calls can all link up to one toll free number, it will ensure that everyone can join quickly and easily.
It’s affordable
With all the benefits of toll free numbers, people often think they’re really expensive.
But they actually work out cheaper in the long run.
By managing your remote business with a single toll free number that can be answered on multiple devices, you don’t have to pay for multiple phone lines.
It’s easy to create call extensions
You may think it’s complicated having one number for multiple devices, but with the right provider, call extensions can easily be created.
If you need many employees to be contactable from different locations, you can include extensions as part of your toll free number agreement.
This means you can have a central business number, but customers can easily contact different employees, making it great for B2B and client based work.
Improve your remote business with a toll free number
Toll free numbers can help you up your remote working game by creating a unified business number that can be answered by anyone, anywhere.
It shows customers and clients you are a professional and organised business, despite the challenges of lockdowns and remote working.
If you still need more information about the benefits of toll free numbers for remote businesses, contact G-Tele, the number one provider of toll-free numbers in more than 100 countries.
