The 1-800 Drug Dealer Close
I just talked to someone that said an organization offering to rent a good 800 number offered 6 months free to test it. This might sound attractive to some people but it’s kind of like an 800 number Drug Dealer offering free samples. Once you put it in your advertising, it’s VERY hard to change! I always warn people that the more you advertise someone else’s number, the more at their mercy you become. So anyone renting you a toll free number will be more than happy to let you start advertising it, because they know that you can’t just change the number in your advertising very easily. And it’s even worse when you integrate the number right into your corporate identity.
It’s not just the difficulty of changing the number in your advertising. It’s also the advertising equity that you build up over time. You’ve heard that advertising requires repetition. Another way of saying that is that the more you advertise a vanity number the more you increase it’s value. Unfortunately if you’re renting the number, you’re just increasing your dependency on it. And the company offering you the number and the free trial knows that. So the price or rate per minute or additional fees etc are likely to go up, simply because they have no incentive to keep them competitive.
That’s why I say that even if an organization seems professional, attractive or responsive when they’re trying to sell you on using their number, be very careful. Once you’ve advertised the number and you’re hooked on it, even if they don’t have a drug dealer attitude, they’re not going to be as responsive and accommodating and they’re going to think it’s only fair that you pay more because the number has become so valuable to you (thanks to all your advertising!) You get the idea.
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