Online Healthcare - a Toll-Free Future

NEW YORK - May 29, 2013 - PRLog -- Since the advent of the first online pharmacies and drugstores in 1999, these online providers of healthcare products have acquired a strong position in the webshop world. However, in the increasingly accessible and interactive worldwide web, the online healthcare industry has to battle with trust issues caused by dubious webshops that threaten consumer health and damage consumer confidence. Universal toll-free 00-800 numbers will help this industry deal with these current issues while also preparing for a challenging future.

Everybody knows that the online shopping business is booming. In fact, a research by eMarketer reports that last year global B2C e-commerce sales grew by well over 21% to reach the $ 1 trillion landmark for the first time, and for 2013 an estimated growth of 18,3% is expected. In online retail, health and personal care products are becoming increasingly important. Indeed, they are currently among the top 10 of best selling internet products in Europe and the US. However, while there is clearly a growing demand for online health and personal care products, good and trustworthy suppliers are battling with trust issues caused by a number of hard to locate, dubious websites selling fake or even damaging products . These issues need to be solved in order to create a stable base for further growth in the online sector. Toll-free numbers are the ideal tool to fulfil the needs of today while also preparing for the demands of the future.

Just type in the words ‘online pharmacy’ in your search engine and among a row of webshops you will find several websites created by governments and healthcare authorities, such as the American Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission, warning consumers about the dangers of shopping for healthcare products online. These informational websites warn people that almost half of the medicine sold online are fake and could potentially harm people’s health. The authorities provide people with several tips for recognizing the legitimate online pharmacies. One of the most important suggestions is that people should check the address and phone number of the companies behind healthcare e-shops. “This is a simple tactic that offers possibilities to the webshops as well”, claims Hans Lasonder, CEO of TeleForwarding, “for here you could, and should, feature a toll-free phone number (http://www.teleforwarding.com/tollfree). Clients and consumers usually associate toll-free numbers with reliable companies, which is especially important for online pharmacies and drugstores. Moreover, with a toll-free number you give your customers a clear signal: you care for them and are willing to go that extra mile in showing them you are a reliable party.” Thus, you generate trust and stand out from the bulk of online webshops.

The growing number of consumers that is buying their healthcare items online, is increasingly less concerned with national borders. People are looking for the best products at the lowest cost and might end up buying their glasses or contact lenses in China while living in Germany or Britain while the Chinese order cheaper medicine from India. Several online pharmacies and drugstores are already responding to these developments by expanding their business on an international scale, such as the ePharma/eFarma online health stores. However, it are not only the demanding consumers that want international healthcare webshops, the supplying webshops need this internationalization as well. As Lasonder claims: “The increasing pressure of insurance companies to keep prices at a certain level forces (online) pharmacies to expand their reach on a national or even global level, for they can only survive by increasing their margins and they can only increase their margins by becoming bigger. With healthcare costs expected to rise even further in the next years, this need to grow will only increase. The question therefore is not whether you should go international, but rather, when? Being prepared for future growth is essential.”

Even if you do not plan to expand your online healthcare shop on an international level right now, featuring a telephone number, especially a toll-free number, on your website is indisputably valuable for your webshop, for it allows you to create trust and offer excellent customer service by offering people the option to directly contact your business. A toll-free phone number will thereby help you create a high quality online business today which is an excellent base for going international tomorrow. “And if you use a toll-free number, why not opt for a 00-800 universal toll-free number, also known as a UIFN number, right away”, Lasonder suggests, “for with a UIFN number you can be called from over 50 countries worldwide on one and the same telephone number (http://www.teleforwarding.com/00800). Moreover, you can activate your UIFN number in your own country first and then extend your toll-free reach as you enter new international markets, now and in the future.” Furthermore, any calls to your universal toll-free number can be routed to any location in the world, meaning you can answer international calls from the location of your choice. This provides your company with flexibility and scalability with which it can easily respond to current and future demands on the online healthcare market.

Thus, universal toll-free numbers support online pharmacies and drugstores to fulfil the needs of their customers today by creating trust and reliability while also facilitating the increasing internationalisation of their business.

Think ahead, seize the opportunity, prepare for the future and secure your personal UIFN number now. Contact us for a free assessment of your webshop’s availability, call us at 1 855 444 3210 or visit our website http://www.teleforwarding.com

Media Contact
Anniek van Engelenburg
Mail: vanengelenburg@teleforwarding.com
Phone: 1 855 444 3210