I read a recent story on WWAY3 about Smartphones and company vanity numbers that I thought was worth commenting on and discussing more here. The article talked mainly about how new technologies and different keypads affected vanity numbers. The article also talked about whether keypad changes hurt vanity number use and whether companies should include the digits on their advertising. New technologies have only added to the amount of communication we do today, not decreased it. Vanity numbers are clearly proven, not just in studies, but in real life by advertisers over and over again.

Should you include the Digits next to your Vanity Number?

I don’t usually recommend that advertisers always include the digits of their vanity number because that usually takes away from the memorability of the vanity name. The extra couple seconds it takes for someone to translate your name into a number burns your name deeper into your prospect’s head. And nobody ever dials just because your number is easy to dial. But they may wind up not calling if they can’t remember your number. It’s less harmful and more beneficial to callers in advertising that callers are looking at while dialing your number such as a phone book ad or direct mail. I definitely don’t recommend that they do that in radio, tv or anything that requires people to dial from memory because the bottom line is that they won’t remember the digits as easily as a word.

Texting

Another major change from technology is texting. People often assume that increasing texting means that users actually dial numbers and use their voice less. That’s not actually the case though. Texting increases the amount of communication people do, it doesn’t appreciably decrease voice calls especially not to companies they see in advertising. Also think about how smart phones allow people to call all their friends by name, not by number, which in a sense is kind of a vanity number, isn’t it?

I think a lot of people also often overlook another benefit of texting for many users. Many teenagers especially, can dial vanity numbers on a regular keypad without even looking, even while their phone is in their pocket. So for everyone that can’t dial vanity numbers because they don’t know how to dial vanity 800 numbers on their blackberry I think there’s also someone that can dial letters in a vanity number without hardly even looking for the letters. So essentially the more things change the more they remain the same. Toll free number usage statistics also haven’t really changed or decreased appreciably. There are still 5 to 20 thousand more toll free numbers in use every week than the week before.

Bigger benefits of Vanity 800 Numbers.

But the benefit of a vanity number goes beyond just the short term memory. Consumers want to buy from someone that they know and seeing your add repeatedly builds recognition and credibility. That’s why everyone in advertising 101 hears repeatedly about repetition, repetition, repetition. But a more memorable add builds it faster and gives you more bang for your buck. And a more memorable call to action (your phone number) not only increases the short term ability to dial it, but increases the long term credibility and branding that builds trust. So you don’t just want people to remember it long enough to dial it right then to but remember it when they see it again too. That’s the big payoff.

Vanity number do work and so does texting. So why not make your twitter name your phone number like @1800MARKETER (yup that’s mine) It’s not a question whether a vanity number will work or help your advertising. The only real question is whether you can find a good one for your business. When they were still new and weren’t so proven there were more available. Today they are totally proven and tons of people in every industry have looked for good numbers. So the hard part today is finding something good. That’s why we built the Internet’s Toll Free Search Engine at TollFreeNumbers.com.

Cut through the noise with a simple powerful call to action

Technology is always changing today, faster and faster. But in a more and more competitive world with more people screaming out for your prospects attention a memorable brand name still works. And a good number will be a great tool for building that recognition, just like a good domain name does. They don’t guarantee you success, but they are awesome tools that will increase your response and productivity.

(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)

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