Understanding the value of vanity phone numbers helps organizations successfully pursue business opportunities, convert business calls into leads, and as a result, deliver positive experiences to clients. Acquiring toll free numbers does not imply managing them the same way as other cell phone numbers. With local phone numbers, you gain even more control over call forwarding. It means that incoming calls can be transferred to a voicemail, an IVR, a customer support center, or an individual cell phone — the decision is yours.
Trackable local vanity phone numbers can boost the exclusivity of your business.
Redefine your brand with an easily trackable business number that comes with numerous benefits.
- ✓ Higher retention rates
- ✓ Higher ad response rates
- ✓ Better brand recognition
- ✓ Non-stop availability
- ✓ Affordability and exclusivity
- ✓ Cross-channel employment
- ✓ Increased sales
- ✓ Improved customer feedback
What Is A Virtual Phone Number?
A virtual number is not tied to a specific cell phone or device. It means that enterprises and consumers can use it like any other business number, except that they get to enjoy its flexibility — receiving calls on laptops, PCs, cell phones, and other portable devices. The same is true of call forwarding.
Virtual numbers are typically used with VoIP, which lets businesses remain accessible anywhere anytime as long as they have an internet connection.
While regular and virtual numbers have the same format standard, the virtual numbers can include various area codes regardless of the company address. Most consumers and organizations are familiar with prefixes like 855, 877, or 800. These are examples of toll-free numbers. They help enterprises establish a national presence, measure performance, and enhance their trustworthiness.
Virtual numbers can be easily obtained and require no extra time or manual work for installation. If an enterprise wishes to keep its former business number — it can happen if it is associated with the brand — virtual network operators can transfer an old business number from the landline companies.
We can help you choose any of the seven toll free area codes. Get any prefix or local phone numbers at Phonexa.
What Is A Toll-Free Business Number?
Unlike regular cell phone or landline numbers, vanity numbers are custom-made to suit the individual needs of an enterprise. A dedicated business number can be made entirely of digits or spell out words. Here are the examples: 844-411-YOGA or 1-800-DENTIST.
Businesses use these numbers mainly for commercial purposes. However, they also help organizations deliver a seamless experience to clients through features like intelligent call forwarding.
How Do Vanity 800 Phone Numbers Work?
It’s common for enterprises to use vanity toll-free phone numbers. They help clients reach companies at any moment and require no payments for their calls. Every toll free business number begins with 3-digit codes that indicate the nature of the number.
When getting in touch with businesses, clients expect to get high-quality service. Such numbers ensure that no calls are missed through the use of the call forwarding feature. It is a convenient feature that makes calling easy-to-recall vanity toll-free phone numbers a preferable choice for US clients.
This way, they get to acquire the necessary information, get a chance to use self-service to resolve their issues, or get the most of the call forwarding feature and talk personally to a manager.
In rare cases, individuals find local vanity phone numbers especially helpful and purchase them for personal use. For instance, an individual can post ads on Craigslist or Amazon. And using memorable digits can increase the number of interested parties.
Fine-tune your call funnel with Phonexa and make the most of lead tracking, IVR, and call forwarding features.
How Can You Stand Out With Vanity Phone Numbers For Business?
Attracting attention and being noticeable is simple if clients recognize your name and contact number. Apart from increased recognition, here are other advantages of getting such numbers:
- Effortless promotion of your enterprise
- Improved brand image and trustworthiness
- Expanded reach
- A greater amount of generated leads and calls
How Can You Get A Toll-Free Number?
Understanding how you can get a 1-800 number for your business is crucial if you wish to satisfy the increased demand from customers. Here is what you should know about the process:
- The FCC, otherwise known as Federal Communications Commission, regulates the release of the 3-digit prefixes. It also sets the rules for how these prefixes are assigned.
- The assignment of numbers and their status are not regulated by the commission. It is the responsibility of Responsible Organizations.
- The numbers are assigned in the order of arrival of clients or requests. However, they cannot be reserved or assigned in batches. Companies can only get the numbers they will use.
- It is not allowed to resell numbers to other enterprises. However, they can be transferred to other providers if needed.
How Can You Maximize The Value Of A 1-800 Number?
Before making a purchase, make sure that you have considered all the factors, including cost. For instance, organizations that offer such numbers have different rates and billing systems. It means that the total cost will depend on the package the provider offers.
Apart from cost, you need to ask about the features offered with the numbers. They can include such in-demand features as call forwarding or blocking, shared lines, caller IDs, and much more. Before signing up with any of the providers, make sure that the features are in line with your goals and strategies.
Vanity Phone Numbers Are Still a Proven Marketing Winner
They are still a tired and true path to marketing success after decades of use. It’s hard to believe that anything that’s been around for more than a decade could still be relevant in the marketing field, but it’s true. So, let’s examine some success stories to see what we can learn to make our best call when choosing the best vanity phone number for our business.
If you go back in time about ten to fifteen years, you’d find that phones were on the wane as a key marketing tool. The main focus was the internet, before the cell phone and smartphone explosion. In fact, websites were thought to be the thing that was going to drive marketing success for years to come and nothing else mattered.
In short, cell phone usage in combination with search marketing (SEO and PPC) and company websites are generating more calls to businesses than ever before. BIA/Kelsey predicts that there will be 162 billion calls to businesses in 2019. These are the kind of numbers that people take notice of.
Google, Facebook, Bing and others are developing and refining the “click-to-call” programs, because that’s what consumers want. These abilities in search and on websites have customers reaching for their cell phones to connect with you.
These new connections between digital advertising, websites, and phones are causing marketers to return to an old friend, the vanity phone number. So, let’s take a look some well-known, and a few lesser known, vanity numbers to discover why they have been so successful.
Background
In one very big way, vanity phone numbers are easier to get than ever before. In the past, if you were a national company, it was important to have an 800 number. This was before other toll-free suffixes, such as 877 or 866. If you were a local business, it was imperative to have your local prefix or maybe an 800 number, then multiple prefixes were added to the local registry and it became a tad bit easier.
It’s a different atmosphere now since the explosion of cell phones, and so, prefixes don’t matter as much. In fact, since are no more long distance (within the country) charges with a cell phone, a business can have any prefix and customers are not afraid to use it, because it costs the same as any other phone call.
The Best of the Best: Choosing a Vanity Number
- ✓ Start Big: What are your dream numbers? If they are available, what will they cost? Phonexa has the ability to search and secure phone numbers for you
- ✓ M&M’s: Memorable & Marketable
- ✓ More Letters, Fewer Numbers: 800-BEST RIBS, for instance, is better than 800-452-RIBS
- ✓ No Misspellings: Your number shouldn’t have any misspellings, unless that’s your business name, but even then be aware that people will misdial.
- ✓ You Get What You Pay For: You should be prepared to fork over some cash for a great number, but you have to look at it a different way. $50,000 for a phone number sounds like a lot, but think of it a marketing expense. This could pay big dividends a year from now.
Vanity Number Examples
The savviest of companies don’t stop with the vanity phone number. Their websites correspond to the numbers too. Their logos also reflect the number. In short, if you want to get the most out of your vanity number, build your marketing campaigns and, in fact, almost your entire business, around the number. You also look professional. It’s subtle, but when you have a vanity phone number, it shows prospective customers that you pay attention to the details.
- ✓ 1-800-CONTACTS (www.1800Contacts.com)
- ✓ 1-800-GOTJUNK (www.1800GotJunk.com)
- ✓ 1-800-FLOWERS (www.1800Flowers.com)
- ✓ 1-800-LAWYERS (www.1800Lawyers.com)
Local Vanity Numbers
It’s not just big, national companies that have discovered vanity phone numbers. There are many local businesses who use local exchanges, as well as toll-free numbers, that are getting in on the act too.
1-410-INSURED: This is a Baltimore-based high-risk insurance agency. It’s built for people whose insurance has been cancelled. They are concerned with one thing, getting insured. The number has been massively successful in driving calls. This particular agency has offices in other areas, but this phone number consistently outdraws all others, even in larger markets.
1-800-PAWN-SHOP: This is pretty self-explanatory. Yes, it has more letters than the average phone number, but see we discuss that below.
Trends for the Future
There are no statistics that show that the reliance on cell phones is declining, with adoption being highest among teens and young adults. These are your future customers. The use of a vanity phone number doesn’t only improve your marketing performance, it tells your customers that you know that the phone is important to them too.
