800 Vanity Numbers Key Terms

Some key terms for using 800 vanity numbers or toll-free numbers to promote a business

Many businesses use toll-free numbers to allow customers to ask questions or make orders without paying long-distance fees. Vanity toll-free numbers also help promote a business when they use the letters of the phone pad to spell out key words about a business, product or service. There are many ways that companies benefit from using toll-free numbers. Some of the basic key terms for vanity toll-free numbers help to define how a business uses a toll-free number to facilitate transactions or boost sales.

Wildcard look-up tools

Wildcard look-up tools are automated software utilities on the net that help those looking for vanity toll-free numbers find out what's available. These tools help users find a phone number containing a specific string of numbers that the business wants to include in its phone number.

Prefix

The prefix is the part of a phone number that comes before the rest of it: the first three of ten digits. Common toll-free numbers use prefixes 800, 877 and 866.

Shared-use numbers

A shared-use, toll-free number is an affordable choice that allows businesses to share the same number using PIN codes and other features. Shared-use numbers may be used when a business finds that the original number it wanted is already in use.

FCC restrictions

The FCC, or Federal Communications Commission, moderates the use of toll-free numbers. This leads to some aspects that buyers of toll-free vanity numbers think about when considering a purchase.

Enhanced voice mail services

Toll-free providers offering enhanced voice mail services differ from traditional carriers in several ways. The main one is that enhanced voice mail services (a type of telecom service involving call carrying plus other extras) can go far beyond what standard carriers can offer, with high-tech automated answering services that will accommodate customer call-ins to a large degree and take part of the communications burden out of a business.

Word numbers, or alphanumeric numbers

Because of the way that vanity toll-free numbers sometimes promote a company or product through words, some refer to them as word numbers or as alphanumeric numbers.

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