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Hey there! Have you considered getting an 855 toll-free phone number for your business recently? I totally understand why you might be on the fence or still have some questions. Toll-free numbers seem confusing at first!
That‘s exactly why I put this guide together for owners like you. I want cut through all the telecom jargon and make 855 numbers simple to understand. My goal is make sure you have all the info needed to decide if the benefits are right your brand. Sound good? Let‘s dive in!
What is an 855 Area Code Number?
An 855 phone number is a virtual toll-free number that routes calls to your business no matter where the caller is located around the United States.
So unlike a traditional geographic phone number tied to one city like 212-555-1234 in New York City, an 855 number can receive calls from anywhere while masking the location of your actual offices.
According to 2022 FCC records, over 11 million active toll-free numbers are currently in use, with 855 remaining one of the most popular area code prefixes available today behind 800 numbers.
Why Do Businesses Love 855 Numbers?
There are quite a few excellent reasons to use a toll-free 855 number for customer service and sales support lines:
1. No Call Charges = More Calls
One major incentive for customers to call an 855 business line is that the phone carrier does not charge them anything extra on their bill, no matter if they are calling long distance or not.
So someone could call your 855 number from Seattle to New York City without racking up pricey fees. This lack of extra cost removes a key barrier to reaching out for assistance.
A 2021 consumer study found that 60% of participants are more likely to contact a business using a 1-855 number compared to one with a standard area code if they had an issue needing support.
2. Flexible Location Masking
As I mentioned earlier, the main advantage of 855 numbers is location anonymity. Callers have no way to determine what part of the country or city your offices might be located in.
This gives you greater privacy and also ensures customers do not make incorrect assumptions about your operations based on the area code. For example, some buyers might think higher costs or taxes if they knew you were based in San Francisco or New York when that may not impact your pricing at all!
3. Trust and Credibility Perceptions
Research has shown that toll-free numbers like 855 are increasingly being associated with legitimate and professional businesses compared to traditional geographic numbers.
In fact, a 2022 survey found that 75% of participants felt calls from an 855 number were more credible than the same calls without a toll-free identifier.
The theory is that scammers and spammers are less likely to pay for monthly toll-free service just to seem trustworthy compared to using cheap VOIP call masking.
So while 800 numbers used to have that clout decades ago, aggressive telemarketers have diminished their reputation. The more modern 855 now signals professionalism and trust in the minds of many callers today.
4. Vanity Mnemonic Options
If you want to take your 855 number‘s memorability up another notch, consider requesting a vanity mnemonic word or abbreviation using the remaining 7 digits.
For example, an online retailer called TechDeals could request 855-832-4325 which translates to T-E-C-H-D-E-A-L-S on your telephone keypad.
Companies like RingCentral and Nextiva make searching, claiming, and configuring vanity 855 numbers straightforward during the setup process.
Having an easy to remember vanity 855 number incorporates your brand into the contact details rather than just random digits.
5. Scales Smoothly on VoIP
Another huge benefit is that modern 855 numbers configured on cloud Voice over IP (VoIP) systems are extremely easy to scale up.
Whether you need to spin up 20 new call center agent lines to handle seasonal spikes or want to instantly enable a second call queue for overflow, it takes just minutes using the web dashboard or mobile app.
On legacy analog copper phone systems, adding new lines, features, and reliability at scale used to be very slow, requiring new hardware installations and PBX reconfigurations.
So VoIP and cloud-based services have been completely game changing for flexing toll-free business phone needs.
How Should Businesses Use 855 Numbers?
While any organization can benefit from an 855 toll-free number, they are most commonly utilized for:
- Customer Service – Support calls for orders, billing, tech issues, etc.
- Sales – Inbound contact center for capturing and qualifying new leads.
- Retention Teams – Handling subscriber cancellations to prevent churn.
- Info Lines – Event announcements, locations, hours, etc.
- Lead Generation – Tracking advertising call volume by publishing specific phone numbers.
- Emergency Hotlines – For time sensitive contract requests and escalations.
Essentially if connecting rapidly with your customers and prospects is critical, publishing an 855 number creates more engagement opportunities across all programs.
Have Call Blocking Rules Impacted 855 Numbers?
In recent years, wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile have implemented advanced call blocking solutions aiming to limit illegal robocalls and scams.
The FCC has also passed legislation like STIR/SHAKEN which requires carriers to verify caller ID info before routing calls.
How has this impacted legitimate 855 business numbers? Studies show neutral to positive benefits for most brands:
- Customers feel more secure answering unknown 855 calls with vetting protection.
- True out-of-area spammers find it harder to spoof random 855 numbers successfully.
- Legal calls from authentic brands see higher pick up rates thanks to filtering.
The key for success is double checking that your 855 number provider has completed all regulatory SHAKEN/STIR attestations with carriers to ensure caller ID verification and bypass call blocking filters applied to high risk numbers.
Tips for Integrating 855 Numbers With Marketing Automation
Want to track exactly how prospects are finding your 855 number? Consider requesting special forwarding numbers from your VoIP provider.
For example, RingCentral offers what they call Trackable Numbers. So when you buy ads online, you can configure the call tracking number 855-XXX-YYYY to route to your main customer service queue.
But within your account portal, you can monitor every call to that specific trackable number to see volumes generated per campaign, durations, etc.
This allows integrating toll-free call traffic data with your marketing automation platform like HubSpot for understanding ROI across all programs.
You can instantly see which channel is driving the most quality conversations and sales oppurtunities by assigning trackable 855 numbers uniquely.
Setting Up IVRs to Optimize Call Flows
When callers reach your main advertised 855 number, the last thing you want is for them to get confused about what menu options to select or get stuck in painful hold loops.
This leads to frustration and abandoned calls.
That‘s why configuring thoughtful Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus is so vital for improvement.
Here are some key tips:
- Start with a friendly greeting that explains the options clearly.
- Limit menu layers to no more than 2-3 levels deep at most.
- Use natural language processing so callers can speak their needs.
- Create contingency routing to catch invalid selections.
- Allow callers to dial extensions or save inputs if needed.
Testing your IVRs continuously and monitoring where callers most frequently divert to manual agents is crucial for ongoing optimization.
Over time, you can answer a higher percentage of inquiries completely via automated self-service if designed correctly.
How Has VoIP Changed Toll-Free Numbers?
The explosion in Voice over IP technologies has radically improved what you can accomplish with toll-free phone numbers like 855.
Here are just a few modern capabilities unlocked:
- Real-Time Call Transcriptions – Voicemails are instantly turned into text for agent review without listening.
- Smart Call Routing – IVRs transfer callers to specialized teams automatically based on spoken needs.
- CRM Screen Pops – Caller records appear on agent screens before pickup based on lookups.
- Sentiment Analysis – Emotion detection lets supervisors monitor stressful calls.
- Video Conferencing – Agents can switch media channels seamlessly mid-call.
- Flexible Work – Calls ring on any device regardless of agent location.
So in 2025, toll-free numbers deliver incredible value thanks to VoIP systems compared to legacy analog infrastructure.
The cloud has revolutionized what flexible call routing, mobility, scale, and intelligence is now possible when engaging customers.
855 Numbers vs 800 Numbers – What‘s the Difference?
Curious how 855 numbers compare against the more well known 800 prefix that has been around since the 1980s?
Functionally for your customers and operations team, there is no difference in capabilities anymore between 800 and 855 toll-free numbers in 2025.
However, public perception and availability do differ:
- Prestige still favors 800 slightly from legacy familiarity.
- But aggressive telemarketers have damaged 800 reputations over the decades.
- Number pool exhaustion has made new 800 variants scarce. Most combinations are taken.
- Modern customers view 855 as professional and trustworthy.
- Over 5.2 million 855 numbers still remain open for new registrations as for 2025.
So while 800 maintainsmarginal legacy clout, expect supply constraints going forward. 855 offers similar functionality and credibility without number scarcity.
Either option removes long distance charges for callers completely. But you have higher probability of getting your desired vanity number sequence in 855 prefix.
Should You Port An Existing 800 Number to 855?
If you already have an entrenched 800 number tied to business but need additional capacity, one option beyond requesting new 855 numbers is actually porting your current 800 over to an 855 variant.
For example, Acme Widget Company might have 800-Widgets as their legacy customer service line.
To get a fresh start with new features while retaining existing brand equity, they could port 800-Widgets to 855-Widgets on a modern VoIP platform like NextOS.
This allows transferring an existing customer base transparently while unlocking new capabilities like voicemail transcription, smarter IVRs, flexible work, video, and simple scalability.
Just be sure to involve your toll free provider early on to coordinate necessary routing updates as needed to minimize downtime during any transitions between area codes and systems.
Pros and Cons of 855 Phone Numbers
Let‘s summarize the key advantages and potential limitations depending on your business needs:
Benefits
- No per call charges increase conversions
- Location anonymity provides privacy
- Trusted by consumers to indicate credibility
- Easy vanity numbers help recollection
- Rapid scalability on VoIP systems
Drawbacks
- Monthly fees similar to traditional phone lines
- Some may assume random 855 calls as spam risks
- Hardware costs can be higher for large call centers
Of course this comparison can vary substantially based on your provider package and contracts. But in general toll-free numbers clearly drive higher engagement balanced mostly by consistent monthly costs.
Tips for Choosing Your 855 Number
Ready to move forward with acquiring your own 855 toll-free number? Here are my top recommendations during selection and activation:
- Carefully review all plan details and potential fee increases after any initial promotion or trial period ends. There should be no surprise gotchas down the road! Ask about longest available contract rates.
- Consider requesting a vanity number that represents your brand if available. This associates your identity with the digits dialed.
- Ensure overall uptime via SLA commitments and redundancy options are clear. Even rare downtime during business hours can have major impacts if customers can‘t reach you.
- Compare capabilities offered across providers to match features, scalability, and costs with your customer service roadmap needs over the next few years.
Doing a bit of upfront research can help you land the right 855 number and system for supporting your growth down the road.
Common Questions about 855 Numbers
I know diving into a new technology like toll-free phone numbers can spark lots of questions if this is your first time learning about options like 855.
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions:
How can I look up who owns an 855 number?
Unfortunately anonymized nature of toll-free numbers means identifying the business behind a given 855 contact can be challenging. But there are reverse phone lookup services that maintain databases of registered owners. You simply search the number online to hopefully identify the brand, if available.
Is every 855 number actively used by a real organization?
While the majority of issued 855 numbers are legitimately used by formal companies, there is no guarantee every single assigned number is tied to a current business actively fielding calls. Some can be dormant. Basically view unknown 855 calls similarly to any other unsolicited contact attempt – with initial skepticism.
Can an individual get an 855 number for personal use?
Toll-free numbers used to only be available for commercial entities since they historically involved complex (and expensive!) call routing infrastructure. But modern VoIP and cloud systems have made it affordable for solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, freelancers and even individuals to sign up for an 855 number via simple month to month plans. So personal usage is definitely an option nowadays.
What happens if I get a spam call from an 855 number? Can I report it?
If you receive an unsolicited sketchy sales or promotion call from any 855 number, you should first add it to your phone‘s block list so you avoid future disturbances. You can look up the number online to potentially identify the source brand as well. If fraudulent activity, you can file official complaints via the FTC Do Not Call Registry website to flag the bad actor.
How much do 855 toll-free numbers cost?
Monthly fees can vary wildly depending on your usage needs, number of lines, minutes volumes, and features selected with providers. But expect starter packages to begin around $12 per month for an individual line. Unlimited plans with advanced capabilities for larger teams and call centers might cost upwards of $50 per agent. So there is tremendous range based on scale and functionality.
I hope these answers help explain some common areas of confusion around toll-free 855 numbers! Never hesitate to reach out directly if any other questions come up. I‘m always happy to chat and clarify the technical jargon.
The Bottom Line
Toll-free 855 phone numbers offer a flexible way for legitimate businesses and sole proprietors to connect with new prospects while maintaining privacy.
VoIP capabilities unlock smart intelligence around optimizing customer experiences and sales conversions over time too.
Now that you know the key advantages and applications to consider, you can make an informed decision if moving your contacts to an 855 number could drive more calls and trust compared to traditionaldbo options.
Heck, you might even have some fun brainstorming creative vanity combinations that become synonymous with your brand!
Either way, I hope this overview gave you a helpful crash course on modern 855 numbers. Wishing you lots of call volume and long conversations with customers ahead!