If you are a regular reader of the Grasshopper blog, you know that a main feature of our virtual phone system is the custom toll free number. What many people may not know is that we also offer local numbers for cities across the United States.

While a toll free number is a great way to give your customers an easy way to communicate with you, a local number can have a positive effect as well.

There are two main advantages to having a local number:

Create a Local Presence

The great thing about having a local number is that you can create a presence in a particular city. As a bigger company, it can be beneficial to have local numbers in cities where large percentages of your customer base live.

Local numbers also allow you to increase your local presence through local business listings, phone books, online search results and more. This could prove to be especially important as search engines like Google continue to show more and more localized results to searchers.

Sense of Community w/ Customers

The second main advantage to having a local phone number for your business, is the ability to create a sense of community with your customers. By achieving a presence in the city, you are establishing a connection with the people who live there, the people who are your customers and potential customers. As a large company, it is important to be able to connect with people rather than being a faceless corporation.

Local numbers can be a valuable asset for a business when used by themselves or even when combined with a toll free number. The great thing is, no matter how many different numbers you have (toll free or local), with a virtual phone number, all calls can be forwarded to the same place.

Have you considered a local number for your business?