Providing toll-free service to customers and potential customers certainly has its benefits.

When you place an ad, offering a toll-free number makes it easy for the customer to pick up the phone and call you long-distance at no charge to themselves. This allows you (the business they are calling) to take advantage of the "spontaneity effect." Many customers either will respond immediately to an ad, or tell themselves that they will "get to it later." Later seldom comes, of course, and they never end up calling you. In this respect, a toll-free number can reduce one of the barriers preventing a customer from spontaneously picking up the phone. This can increase your business.

If you have a business that benefits from ongoing relationships with customers (meaning that such a relationship produces repeat sales), a toll-free number may make it more attractive for customers to keep in touch with you.