Talking is Vanity Numbers Work – You Do Business!

Today’s competitive business environment requires every business to make the right move that can keep them ahead of the competition. It’s not easy. It needs extensive planning, deciding the strategies, checking your budget and obviously the resources available. Talking about resources, there’s one thing that every entrepreneur should remember – resources are endless. You have to decide which one suits the business and also the budget. Vanity numbers are a great tool to reach out easily to customers. They are just perfect for a small business and also for a big one that can afford to have other resources as well for spreading out its business message.

Makes a Dual Announcement

Instead of explaining to customers what you do, why not tell them straight in their face what your business is. For example, if you have a tailoring shop you can use a vanity number like this: 1 800 tailors. This number clearly explains your business. You do not have to go on explaining that you provide the perfect tailoring solutions. This number keeps your message short and yet powerful. Moreover, it shows customers the most convenient way to reach you. Vanity numbers thus serve the dual purpose of announcing contact information to customers and prospects, and also letting them know the business you are in.
 
More Successful Than Numeric Numbers

Since vanity numbers contain a word or a phrase related to the business, it instantly becomes associated with a business. Various independent research reports have shown that a vanity number generates 30 per cent more response than a general numeric number or a toll free number. This is primarily because these numbers are easily memorable and can be related to a business easily. A prospect or a customer does not need to make any effort in remembering this number. It automatically sticks in their mind.

Helps in Lead Generation

Vanity numbers are an important resource to be used for gaining success in any marketing campaign. They are easily memorable and also toll free! Prospects and customers remember your business number and do not feel hesitant to call you because they know they are not going to be charged for the call. Once you get a call from a prospect, you need to use all your strategies to convert him to a qualified lead.  For any marketers and especially for online marketers these numbers are a great boon.

Helps in Building a Brand

Vanity numbers are also an important tool in developing the brand of a business. Some famous companies including FedEx and Toyota have used their vanity number in developing their brand. In fact, their vanity number has almost become synonymous with the brand. It becomes a subconscious thing with callers. They remember these numbers without really thinking about it much like 1800 Flowers --- people think about sending flowers and this number comes to mind immediately. Vanity numbers are a powerful tool that works as advertising and branding with little effort.

Why a Vanity Number is Important for Your Marketing Campaigns

Marketing plays an important role in enticing new customers for your business. In order to have a great marketing campaign there are two prerequisites: first, use a complete branding strategy and second, adopt a dynamic advertising strategy.  Your brand should be able to answer three questions to your customers: First, who are you? Second, what do you do? And finally, how are you different from your competitors? A vanity number actually helps you answer all the three questions almost instantly. No matter if you are using this number for your marketing campaigns or not, make sure to answer all the three questions before you start any marketing campaign.

A vanity number gives your business a definite advantage over your competitors. It streamlines your business communication and makes it more effective, sharp and prompt. A good vanity toll free number easily sticks to the mind of your customers and helps you gain better advantage.

Following are a few of the advantages that your business enjoys using a vanity 800 number:

Makes You Accessible Nationwide

When you use a vanity number in your business contact information, it is understood that customers from across the U.S and Canada can call you for free. Since you are using a vanity number it will also be easier for them to remember your number and call you. So, the first step is done. Your customers can recognize you.

Instant Recognition

A vanity toll free number usually contains a word or a phrase, which is related to your business. It can be the name of your business, or product or service. So your customers can understand who you are and what you do. For example, if you have a car rental business, your vanity number could be something like this: 1 888 RENT A CAR. So your customers remember you and also your contact number. This is like hitting two birds with one stone. The new toll free prefixes are also used with this number, so don’t be surprised if your vanity number has prefixes like: 888, 877, 866 or 855.

Credibility and Professionalism

Providing toll free numbers or vanity toll free numbers was a premium service that only big and credible businesses could afford for their customers. Your business enters this elite group of business instantly when you include either a toll free number or a vanity number in your contact list. Your business becomes more credible and legitimate and your customers feel most assured of the product or service that you provide. Including just a number can give your business the boost, which otherwise would require years of hard work.

Effective Branding

A memorable phone number will always keep you on the top of your customer’s mind.  A vanity number is no doubt, easily memorable compared to a numeric toll free number. So, it becomes easy for your customers to remember you. Moreover, it worked as an excellent branding for your business. Some of the famous brands are almost synonymous with their vanity toll free number like 1 800 Go Fedex.

Vanity numbers makes you popular among your prospects and customers because they can remember you and can easily recall you at the time of their need. This is exactly what you need to succeed in business.

Tips to Choose the Right Vanity Phone Numbers for Your Business

Are you considering vanity phone numbers for your business? This number not only helps your business sound more professional but it also makes you look more professional.  Vanity phone numbers are easy to remember and so they are just perfect for the marketing and promotional efforts of companies. Companies spend quite a handsome amount of money on their display advertising like a billboard. If you think that your customers will remember a 10 digit toll free number they saw on a billboard while passing on a highway, it is simply unrealistic. But if you give them a number like 1 800 RED ROSES to remember it makes more sense.

Vanity phone numbers are great for your business, but you definitely need an art to choose the right number for your business.  Following are a few tips that can help you choose the perfect vanity number for your business:

Easy to Remember
The reason you are choosing vanity phone numbers over any numeric toll free number is to make your number memorable. Choose a number as close to your business as possible so your customer can easily relate your number with your business. For example, the vanity toll free number of the famous automobile company Toyota is: 1 800 GO-TOYO and the number of the famous courier and shipping service company - FedEx is: 1 800 GO-FED-EX.

Clearly Communicate Your Business
Vanity phone numbers are just an extension of your brand. Use this number as a way to communicate to your customers what you do and how to contact you. For example, if you are a car broker or you have a car brokerage business, you probably can use a number like: 1 800 BUY-A-CAR. This clearly communicates your business and also the way to contact you.

Avoid Using Unique Spelling
With the rising demand of vanity numbers, it is often difficult to find the number of your choice. In such cases there is a tendency to use either a number that is too general or create a unique spelling for the vanity phone numbers. For example, if you have a car rental business the most common number for your business could be 1 800 RENT CARS. But if in case this is not available, it is not wise to twist the spelling and use the number like: 1 800 RENT CARZ. Using ‘Z’ in place of ‘S’ is not quite intelligent because your customers will not be able to recall. It is better if you do a little brainstorming and use a different number like: 1 800 RENT-A-CAR.

Avoid Hybrid Numbers
There is also a tendency to use vanity number with other combinations. For example: 1 800 875 CARS. But this will never be a successful vanity number because people will still have to remember 875.

If you keep these tips in mind, it will not be difficult to come up with a successful vanity phone number. The difficult part is to find a suitable number that best describes your business. Also there has been a change in the toll free prefix. Earlier only “800” was used as a toll free prefix but now a whole lot of vanity phone numbers are available with a new set of toll free prefix like: 888, 877, 866 and 855.

Vanity Phone Numbers - Your Tool for Mass Advertising

Vanity phone numbers are one of the important tools for your mass advertising and communication. It helps companies to improve their efficiency and effectiveness of their mass advertising across every kind of media. A strong vanity number works much like a renowned advertising slogan or jingle that makes you more familiar among your customers and also enhances your customer response rate. It creates a consciousness for your brand that helps you create a niche area for your business. It makes you popular almost instantly.

Special Numbers
Vanity phone numbers are easier to remember than any other numeric number. It is an alphanumeric number that contains a phrase or a word related to your business.  For example, if you are into pen business your vanity number could be 1 800 777 PENS. Now, this is easy to remember and also contains a word related to your business. So whenever people think of pen they can remember you easily. A numeric number on the other hand is difficult to remember and especially to recollect at the right time.  This is one of the prime reasons why vanity phone numbers are more successful in promotions and campaigns rather than numeric numbers.

Use Memorable Jingles
How many advertising slogans you remember? Let’s count. Breakfast of Champions, You Can’t Eat just One, Impossible is Nothing, Share the Wonder – that’s not bad. So we remember quite a few slogans. For years these slogans and many more have been pointing consumers to their product.  A well thought vanity phone numbers streamline this process for you. Select a word or a phrase that tells people who are you, what are you and how well you do it. The next step is to use it in your vanity number. Your number will become as timeless as these advertising jingles.  Make your company’s advertising campaign even more powerful with some timeless jingles like these and your business can expect calls from customers of any region.

Unique Innovative Numbers
Try to be innovative while choosing your vanity phone numbers. It is better to brainstorm and find a unique jingle for your vanity number rather than using a general word or a phrase. For example, if you are a moving company you could use a vanity number like this: 1 800 MOVE SAFE. This not only tells about your business but also about the fact that you ensure safety while moving. While a well thought vanity number is of great advantage for any business a general vanity number could not bring about the desired result.

Business Advantage
Vanity phone numbers strongly communicates the fact that your customers are your priority. It shows them that you care for them. In a world where customer care and customer satisfaction are the two crucial factors for the success of any business, a vanity number definitely puts your business in an advantageous position.  Since this number influences your marketing efforts and also your customer satisfaction ratio, it is quite obvious that it will have a considerable influence on the sales of a business as well.  It virtually ensures more leads. You will agree that building a relationship with your customers is half the battle. Vanity phone numbers help you building and maintaining this relationship with your customers.

Why Getting a Vanity Number is a Good Business Decision

While a vanity number may seem like nothing more than a novelty, it is actually a very good business decision in that it helps to make a business more memorable, promotes the products and services being offered, and ties the business to the industry in which it operates.

Memorability
Perhaps the number one reason why vanity numbers are so popular is because they help to make a business telephone number more memorable to the general public. Consumers are often creatures of convenience and they will take advantage of any step that allows them to save time and energy. Since a vanity number is inherently easy to remember—and can be made even more memorable with the correct marketing strategies—consumers are much more likely to dial it than to search through the Yellow Pages or other mediums for a telephone number. This memorability helps businesses gain ground over the competition.

Product or Service Promotion
A vanity number is also a great way to promote a product or service that is offered by a company. A dog groomer, for instance, may choose something as simple as 1-866-GROOMER. On the same note, a computer repair service may choose a number like 1-877-PCFIXER. While the business name is not mentioned directly, these telephone numbers tell consumers the exact purpose of the business. Therefore, if they need dog grooming or computer repair, they are more likely to dial these numbers.

Industry Recognition
Another reason why a vanity number is always a great business decision is because it can help to provide a company or business with recognition within an industry. This is done almost subliminally within the minds of consumers because it implants a sense of establishment within their minds. In fact, almost everyone can name several vanity numbers for industries such as car insurance, flower delivery and more. This simple fact proves that businesses that take advantage of the usefulness provided by vanity numbers are truly making a difference in the way consumers perceive them. Simply put, these numbers can provide an authoritative feel.

Professional Image
Finally, vanity numbers may even help to provide a business with a more professional image when they are paired with great marketing campaigns, a beautiful concept and excellent customer service practices. Professionalism cannot come from a telephone number alone, so it is important to use it in conjunction with these things in order to enjoy real success. For years, consumers have automatically associated toll free numbers of any type with a certain level of professionalism. Vanity numbers work to take this to the next level by making the professionalism even more memorable and easily attainable.

Business owners who consider a vanity number nothing more than a mere novelty should consider all of the great things it could do for their business. All in all, when the potential return on investment is realized, these telephone numbers are often some of the best and simplest business decisions to make.

Promote Your Product or Company with a Vanity Number

While there are certainly many ways for you to promote your business and the products and services it offers, a vanity number is an inexpensive and highly effective tool that can aid your marketing campaigns. These numbers personalize and brand your business in a way that cannot be otherwise accomplished.

What are Vanity Numbers?
A vanity number essentially takes the place of a standard telephone number and contains alphanumeric characters instead of just numbers. There are many ways in which they can be utilized, and they are available in both standard local formats and toll-free numbers. Businesses that choose to utilize these numbers are doing themselves a huge favor because it helps to brand the company, promotes the industry and provides consumers with a memorable telephone number to dial when they are in need of products and services. These numbers are often combined with marketing campaigns to make them stand out even more.

Local Numbers
A local vanity number is often hard to come by for many reasons. First, since local numbers are only seven digits, this only provides you with four characters that you can customize. In some cases, such as a car dealership, this can be highly effective—555-CARS, for example. You must also remember that if there is competition within the market, most of the seven-digit vanity numbers are probably unavailable. This can pose a serious problem, and it is for this reason that you may want to consider using a toll-free number as an alternative.

Toll-Free Numbers
A toll-free vanity number is typically the best way to promote your product or company because it provides you with more characters that you can customize. Instead of only four characters, you will have seven. This frees you up to choose more words or a phrase that better represents your business. Using the same example as above, a car dealership may choose 1-866-USEDCAR or 1-877-AUTOS4U. Either of these options describes the industry and is very memorable to consumers who may want to procure a car. Additionally, if the word or phrase you choose is unavailable with one toll-free prefix, there are additional options from which you can choose.

Marketing & Branding
Regardless of the number you select, you will need to market it to consumers in order for it to be effective in promoting your business or your products. Studies have shown that the best way to do this is to tie the telephone number in with an audio jingle via television or radio ads, but many businesses also enjoy a fair level of success by incorporating their numbers with striking visual images on billboards and flyers. Either way, consumers will be able to associate the number with the products or services on offer. Thusly, when they are ready to make a purchase, they are more likely to dial the number they remember than to spend time searching for a different number through various mediums.

A vanity number is certainly a great way to promote your business, but you must consider whether a local number or toll free number will be your best option. Once your number has been chosen and confirmed as available, it is important to market it soundly in order to get the word out.

800 Vanity Numbers are Scarce But There Are Alternatives

Small Business Phone Service

Because so many businesses have turned to using 800 vanity numbers to help them become successful, they are becoming scarce. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives available. Other prefixes allow complete customization of vanity numbers and help to improve their availability.

Popularity and Scarcity of Vanity Numbers
Vanity 800 numbers started making a huge impact a few decades ago when businesses realized that they could ingrain their telephone numbers into the minds of consumers by incorporating words and phrases. This led to a huge influx of business owners who wanted their own vanity numbers, and as the years went by, the availability of 800 numbers grew scarce. Over time, the telephone companies and government officials realized that they needed to come up with additional options in order to satisfy demand. For this reason, additional prefixes that could be used with toll free numbers began to spring up.

Alternatives
These days, there are several prefixes available for toll free numbers, including the standard 800 vanity numbers, 888, 877, 866 and the newer 855. While it is possible for business owners to select their word or phrase and then contact their providers to check availability with different prefixes, choosing the exact same word or phrase as a competitor can have drawbacks and repercussions. For one, if a customer dials the prefix incorrectly, they will find themselves on the telephone with a competitor. This provides the competition with an opportunity to win over the customer and can be detrimental to the success of a business.

Choosing a Number
Choosing vanity 800 numbers can be difficult these days, primarily because there are very few 800 numbers left. Once business owners have chosen several words and phrases that are related to their business or industry, they can combine these with different prefixes and create a memorable number. For instance, if a business exists to clean homes, a number like 1-877-CLEAN77 may be a great option. This is because the sevens in the prefix are repeated at the end of the word ‘CLEAN’, making it more likely that consumers will remember the entire number, including the correct prefix.

Marketing Campaigns
When 800 vanity numbers are not available and another prefix must be selected, the best way to ensure that consumers do not confuse the telephone numbers is to use a very effective marketing campaign. Many business owners even opt to rhyme the word or phrase with the prefix in order to make it more memorable. Another way to make sure that consumers associate the correct prefix with the chosen word or phrase is to incorporate it into a jingle that plays on television and radio ads. While visual marketing such as that used on billboards and flyers can be effective, it is often best for consumers to hear the number repeated often in order to remember it.

Although it is true that the available 800 vanity numbers have grown scarce, this should never deter business owners from obtaining the number they want. Other prefixes are available, and if they are clever enough and use effective marketing campaigns, great things are possible.