There’s no real way to tell ahead of time how many wrong numbers a toll free number is going to get. In general toll free numbers get more wrong numbers than local numbers because there are many times as many calls to them as there are to local numbers.
There are several types of wrong numbers. That is probably a good topic for another post, but I’ll touch on them quickly. You may get some callers looking for the previous customer. There are also about 150 neighboring numbers for any phone number when you get creative and figure out all of the possible different ways to dial it wrong. There are people simply assuming that if they dial a large company name they’ll probably get the company. Some people will read or hear 866 or 877 and remember the name and that it’s toll free and they’ll dial the 800 version. I call that roll up, because the wrong numbers roll up to the 800 version, they don’t usually roll down to the 866. This is also why "800" numbers also tend to get more wrong numbers than 866 or 877 numbers do.
Getting a few wrong numbers is to be expected. But getting too many of them definitely becomes a problem, especially for smaller businesses. There are several things you can do to deal with wrong numbers to minimize their impact on you and your business. The simplest is to look at the geography of the callers. If you do business in one state or a part of the country and most of the wrong numbers are coming from a different part of the country, then it’s very easy to block the service for that area.
If you need to receive calls nationwide or if the wrong numbers are coming in from the area you need to get calls from the best way to minimize their impact is to put an automated greeting on the line. Most wrong number callers will hear that message and realize that they probably dialed the wrong number before they get to a live person that way. This can make you sound professional as well as reducing the wrong numbers before they get to a live person.
One of the reasons we always recommend transferring your new number to your regular carrier before you need it is to make sure you don’t get too many wrong numbers early on when you still have an option to change something. You don’t want to find out you’re getting a lot of wrong numbers after you’ve printed it on all of your marketing materials and commercials.
Oh, and there’s one more easy solution to wrong numbers. Just change the number. If it’s new and hasn’t been advertised it’s certainly possible to get a different number. If it was a standard number that we got you from the spare or available pool, or a numeric (star) number, we’ll be happy to give you another equivalent number at no cost. You should also consider if those calls might be valuable to anyone. Numbers that get wrong numbers are often very valuable. Some numbers generate calls that can be turned into a significant income just from answering the phone, because those calls are often leads for someone.
If you have any interesting wrong number stories, please add them below!
There are several types of wrong numbers. That is probably a good topic for another post, but I’ll touch on them quickly. You may get some callers looking for the previous customer. There are also about 150 neighboring numbers for any phone number when you get creative and figure out all of the possible different ways to dial it wrong. There are people simply assuming that if they dial a large company name they’ll probably get the company. Some people will read or hear 866 or 877 and remember the name and that it’s toll free and they’ll dial the 800 version. I call that roll up, because the wrong numbers roll up to the 800 version, they don’t usually roll down to the 866. This is also why "800" numbers also tend to get more wrong numbers than 866 or 877 numbers do.
Getting a few wrong numbers is to be expected. But getting too many of them definitely becomes a problem, especially for smaller businesses. There are several things you can do to deal with wrong numbers to minimize their impact on you and your business. The simplest is to look at the geography of the callers. If you do business in one state or a part of the country and most of the wrong numbers are coming from a different part of the country, then it’s very easy to block the service for that area.
If you need to receive calls nationwide or if the wrong numbers are coming in from the area you need to get calls from the best way to minimize their impact is to put an automated greeting on the line. Most wrong number callers will hear that message and realize that they probably dialed the wrong number before they get to a live person that way. This can make you sound professional as well as reducing the wrong numbers before they get to a live person.
One of the reasons we always recommend transferring your new number to your regular carrier before you need it is to make sure you don’t get too many wrong numbers early on when you still have an option to change something. You don’t want to find out you’re getting a lot of wrong numbers after you’ve printed it on all of your marketing materials and commercials.
Oh, and there’s one more easy solution to wrong numbers. Just change the number. If it’s new and hasn’t been advertised it’s certainly possible to get a different number. If it was a standard number that we got you from the spare or available pool, or a numeric (star) number, we’ll be happy to give you another equivalent number at no cost. You should also consider if those calls might be valuable to anyone. Numbers that get wrong numbers are often very valuable. Some numbers generate calls that can be turned into a significant income just from answering the phone, because those calls are often leads for someone.
If you have any interesting wrong number stories, please add them below!
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