Calculating the value of a vanity number
This is a complicated question and the answer varies
tremendously from number to number and industry to industry.
There are several issues which have to be considered and
evaluated on a case by case basis. Most people in the vanity
number business just give some of the higher more well known
examples of the biggest transactions as proof that their number
is valuable. This is helpful if you're trying to sell someone
your number, but this type of serendipitous proof really doesn't
prove much. I believe understanding WHY a number is valuable is
much more important.
First the two basic questions I use to determine whether a
visitor needs a vanity number are "Do they spend money
generating incoming calls?" and "Are the incoming
calls revenue generating?" If they answer no to either of
these questions, they probably don't have much need for a vanity
number and a number would therefore be less valuable to them.
The simple formula for calculating the value of a vanity
number is the increase in response rate times the amount of
advertising you do. If a number gives you a 10% increase in
response and you spend $100,000 a year on advertising, the
number is worth $10,000 per year to you. This simple formula is
helpful in some cases, but it doesn't really answer the more
important question of why a number is valuable. That's why I've
developed a more in depth formula to explain as well as evaluate
the potential of vanity numbers.
The first item in determining the value of a vanity number is
it's Potential Impact. The main ingredient for impact is
memorability. A memorable number requires less advertising to
create brand awareness and stickiness. Memorability alone is not
enough however. Some people argue that a repetitive number is
memorable, but because they obviously have no connection to the
product or service advertised they actually have fairly limited
value.
The most valuable numbers almost always have a direct
connection to the industry, business, product name or selling
point of the user. In some cases a generic term for the industry
is the best but your strongest selling point or strength can
also be a killer in terms of impact and value. The more direct
of a connection to your product, service, company name, industry
or selling point the more valuable a number is. The formula so
far looks something like this:
Memorability * Connection to your business =
Potential impact
The next important factor is the usefulness to your business.
1_800 MCDONALDS might be a very memorable number with a strong
connection to the golden arches, but how many people order
hamburgers over the phone? Not very many of their billions and
billions served ordered them over the phone! The percentage of
sales initiated or transacted over the phone is very important.
There are cases where companies have changed the way we order
products and American's certainly love convenience, but the best
products or services for a vanity number are definitely ones
that can be sold or at least initiated over the phone.
That doesn't mean that a vanity number for product or service
which isn't transacted or even initiated over the phone isn't
valuable, because there are additional benefits. A good number
increases the credibility and can create an image of a powerful
industry leading company. This type of brand building is useful
even if it doesn't directly affect the sales process.
So to calculate the total "Usefulness" of a vanity
number you add the percent of sales initiated or transacted over
the phone with the percent of brand building advertising or
credibility boost a number gives. You ADD these two numbers
because they are not mutually dependent. For example, a large
company may want to use their company name even if they don't do
any direct response advertising at all, simply for the added
credibility and branding value it provides. This usefulness
factor is MULTIPLIED by the Impact calculated above, because
even if all of your sales take place over the phone and
credibility is critical to your business, if your number isn't
memorable and connected to your business, it won't ultimately be
valuable.
% of sales Initiated/Transacted + % of
Branding & Credibility = Usefulness
Finally the most important factor is Advertising. Because a
good number without advertising is like a powerful snow blower
in Florida. It may be a valuable tool, but if it's not put it to
use, it's not going to be very valuable to anyone is it? That
doesn't mean you can't sell a snow blower even in FL. You can
sell it's potential value, even if it's not being used. And a
really good number will usually also get some assumptive dialers
too. But remember, it's always much more valuable to be able to
demonstrate the power of a marketing tool with actual sales
numbers. So if you have a really valuable number, don't be
afraid to use it in a limited way even if you ultimately hope to
be able to turn it over to someone else.
Good vanity numbers work for any form of advertising even
things as simple as word of mouth advertising and the simplest
business cards or flyers. But experience has shown that the
biggest increase in response and value clearly comes with
certain forms of advertising, such as broadcast (radio and tv)
and outdoor display advertising. That's why the type of media is
a factor. Print media will typically see a 10% increase in
response rate while TV and Radio will usually see an increase of
20 to 30% or more. So the type of advertising is obviously a
major factor in the return.
Another very subjective factor related to the advertising and
it's value is the Advertising Effectiveness. This doesn't mean
that you have to use your vanity number as your company name.
But it does mean that how you use the number and tie it in with
your message and corporate identity plays a major factor in the
response increase that you receive. This may sound obvious but
it's also why I push many clients to focusing on their strongest
selling point or unique selling position, not just a generic
term for your industry which usually seems more valuable at
first glance. This is also why real creativity can uncover great
numbers or even turn a seemingly mediocre number into a real
home run. So ultimately the full advertising calculation would
be:
Media Type * Advertising Effectiveness *
Advertising Budget = Advertising
This ultimately brings us to the final calculation for the
value of the number. There are some other smaller factors to
double check (listed below) but this master formula is how you
calculate the value of a good vanity number.
(Potential Impact / Usefulness) * Advertising
= Value to your Business
In summary, a memorable number that is relevant to your
business in an industry that does business over the phone and
does a lot of good broadcast advertising will receive tremendous
value from a good brand name vanity 800 number. You have to
evaluate your business with these factors in mind and to come up
with the value of your number. And to the extent that these
characteristics are true about your business shows the value of
a good vanity number to your business.
There are a few other factors such as Misdials, The use of
Z's and Q's, Numbers over 7 digits (which could cause confusion
on some cell phones), Overly clever names (such as 1_800
GR8_RATE), and the availability of the matching domain names (a
must for any businesses utilizing the Internet).
I'll be happy to give you a specific evaluation of any good
vanity numbers. Just post a request in my forum at http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/indexforum.htm
(under Great Numbers Available) That way it can help others as
well!
I'll
personally evaluate your vanity number
| Use my Toll
Free Forum to request an evaluation of a toll free
number:
Some of the sites mentioned in this issue's articles:
(click on the RED DOT to
find my 2.9¢/min special)
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Greetings!
I know it's been a while since my last newsletter.
It's hard to keep up doing everything yourself,
especially with so much going on. But I've got some
pretty interesting articles about toll free numbers and
several exciting new things to tell you about.
On a more personal note, marriage is great and we're
buying a new house in June. I know my newsletters are
long but I don't like to make people click to a web page
just to get the rest of the article. Use the table of
contents and if you want a more readily printable
version here's a word document you can download and
print if that's easier for you.
May03.doc
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- How to get MORE for LESS!
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 .
I guess it's only human nature to want to get more for
less. That's why I want to show you a clever combination
of services that I use in my own home office to get some
of the better more advanced features of the more
expensive toll free services for a lot less.
FreedomVoiceSystems.com is one of the most popular
"virtual office" services. It's a good
enhanced toll free service available on the net under a
variety of different names but you'll recognize them all
because of their "lite" and "pro"
versions for $9.95/mo and $19.95/mo respectively. It's
an excellent combination, but they change more per
minute to connect the call to a live person. But if you
do it right, you can get some of the follow me type of
capabilities of these enhanced services without the
extra expense.
My special 2.9¢/min toll free and long distance
service is a fantastic deal but it can't point to a cell
phone. But you CAN forward your calls with the local
phone to your cell phone. And if you use Forward-
No-Answer and Forward-Busy, it'll automatically forward
to your cell phone if you're on the office phone or
don't answer it. That way you can use your cell phone as
a roll over extension when you're on the phone or you
can just walk out the door and if your local phone's not
answered, it'll always "follow you" to your
cell phone. This combination not only goes to your cell
phone at 2.9¢/min instead of the 4.9 cent
www.Cellular800.com service, but it gives you the follow
me features of Freedom Voice Systems service which costs
11.9¢/min all for only 2.9¢/min with no set up fee or
monthly minimum at all!
This gives you the best combination of enhanced
features and capabilities along with the lowest possible
cost per minute. Email me if you have any questions
about this because I've used this for my home office for
a while now.
Click
on the RED DOT at 800Numbers.com
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- The biggest changes in Telecom
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Several
years ago as the price of long distance calls was
dropping below the 10¢ per minute mark, (which sounds
expensive given today's rates are as low as 3¢) I
predicted that when the rates reached about the 2 cents
per minute mark that companies would stop charging per
minute and switch over to a flat monthly fee plan the
way we did for our dial up internet access. Well the
good new is that time is here and this is definitely the
year Flat Rate phone service reaches the main stream.
There are several different types of flat rate
service. Some include your local service and some bypass
that all together and even give you a local number
through your internet connection. Anyone with a phone
bill over $50 to $70 per month should really look into
this and can probably save some significant money. I'm
working on a new website geared toward explaining and
comparing the different types of flat rate services and
we're even going to be beta testing a totally unique
flat rate 800 service that isn't available anywhere
else.
These flat rate plans are clearly the future of the
telecom world and I've established some significant
connections for this. I'd like to hear from anyone with
a phone bill of over $50 a month that would like a
personal review and explanation of the flat rate
services available in their area, plus anyone interested
in making money with this too. The major carriers really
didn't want their customers to even know about this, but
it's real and they are already losing so many customers
so fast that even they are now starting to offer similar
plans.
This is one of the biggest changes in the telecom
industry since the break up of AT&T and it creating
tremendous opportunities not only saving consumers a
tremendous amount of money but also creating fantastic
opportunities for anyone that can just gets in front of
this wave. If you'd like some personal help to see if
this will save you money, or you'd like to make some
money, or even if you'd like information on how to be
included in the Flat Rate 800 service beta test, call or
email me! (1-800 MARKETER or billquimby@billquimby.net)
Save
money, Make money and Flat Rate 800 beta testers!
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I've
developed a network of 5 brand new toll free related
sites to give the best possible toll free options for a
variety of different situations. 800Numbers.com,
TollFreeOnly.com, Cellular800.com, InState800.com, &
International800.com. They're not for vanity numbers,
but they're all great values. It's actually a network of
5 different sites because every company and service has
different strengths. So I set this system up to keep it
simple and focused on the best information and service
for each different situation.
The best overall value is the main site,
800numbers.com which offers long distance and toll free
service for just 3.9¢/min (in tier 1 and 2
territories). And if you click on the RED DOT, you'll
reach my special discount page which is an unbelievable
2.9¢/min with no set up or monthly fee or minimum.
TollFreeOnly.com is geared toward people who don't
want to change or effect their outbound long distance
service and Cellular800.com is designed for people who
want a toll free number to point to their cell phone.
The fourth one, InState800.com is a unique toll free
service designed for people who mainly receive calls
from within their state in high intra-state rate states.
Many states have in-state rates as high as 15 to 20¢/min
so InState800.com's rate of 5.9¢ even within the state
is excellent for people who get calls mainly from within
their state.
The fifth site, International800.com is geared toward
people who want a toll free number forwarded anywhere in
the world, or who need to be able to change the ring to
number over the internet. Many countries don't even cost
any more than some other services charge for regular US
service. Australia, England, Spain and many more are
only 7.5¢/min.
Toll free service shouldn't be complicated. I've
tried to put together the most appropriate information
and service for each type of need. If you know anyone
that needs a regular (non-vanity) toll free number, this
is definitely the best place to go. And please tell them
about the 2.9¢ special with the RED DOT, even if they
just want regular long distance, because nobody can
touch that anywhere!
The
best non-vanity 800 options
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- Salesperson or Consultant?
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Did
you ever stop to think about the difference between a
salesperson and a consultant? Nobody likes a pushy sales
person, but they always appreciate (and buy from) a
consultant that helps them figure out and get the
service they need. I've identified several of the
biggest factors that separates a good consultant site
from an army of sales style sites.
The first and most important difference between a
salesperson and a consultant is information. Most
websites put up just enough information to explain their
product or service, if that much. But that only
qualifies them as an order taker. It takes a lot more
information to be seen as an industry expert and become
a trusted advisor, but it definitely translates into a
lot more sales.
It takes more time and effort plus a thorough
understanding of your industry to "over
deliver" information (aka. content) like this. But
that's the biggest key to moving from the salesperson
level to the consultant level that people trust and are
happy to buy from or listen to. It's also important to
keep it simple too, because if it's not well organized,
too much information confuses people too. So be sure not
to let your information get in the way of the sales
process.
One of the best additional benefits of "content
overkill" is that it's also what the search engines
often look for. You just have to be careful to keep your
focus on your target though, because you need to keep
each site focused on that specific niche in order to
maximize your score for that target.
The second major difference between a salesperson
site and a consultant site is the posture of focusing on
the visitors needs first and making sure that you really
are directing visitors to the best service for them
without regard to your profit. Focus on their needs
rather the profit and sales and you'll come across as
much more than a typical sales site.
It's not that visitors don't want a consultant to
make money. Actually it's exactly the opposite - they
will go out of the are way to make sure you get credit
for the sale. They just need to feel that you're
recommendations and options are honest and not based on
your profits. But that's where the information comes in
again. If you explain WHY a particular product is best
for their situation properly, your sales will soar.
The third point, having a good product, is pretty
obvious, but the best approach is actually to work with
a couple good products. That not only gives you much
more of a consultant's posture but it also lets you sell
more. Because no matter how good one product is it
probably won't be the best one for everyone. Even more
importantly, if you can market several related products
or services the percentage of visitors you convert to
sales will ultimately be higher than any one product's
traditional sales site. Don't forget that you can still
create traditional separate looking 'sales' sites that
your consulting site points people to.
The fourth point is your credibility, because a
consultant style site definitely requires credibility.
Again, a lot of that comes from your information but
there are also a few other things you should do to build
your credibility. First you need a decent looking,
attractive website. Attractiveness alone doesn't sell,
but an unattractive site can definitely hurt your
credibility. You probably can't out professionalize the
big companies, but you can beat them by being more
personal and more human. If you're approachable and
visitors feel like they know you and that you know what
you're talking about you definitely have credibility.
Next, look for anything to build your credibility.
Try incorporating your picture and information so that
visitors feel like they know you. Respond to inquiries
right away and be as accessible as possible. You should
also consider adding testimonials, and doing a
newsletter. Credibility is a great sales tool, plus it
has other valuable benefits. You'd be surprised how many
people will ask you who you recommend for other related
services if they see you as an expert. This may allow
you to branch out and sell other services too.
There are already millions of websites and businesses
that act like order takers or sales people at best.
Believe me, the internet doesn't need any more of them,
but it definitely needs and rewards good consultants. So
make sure you focus on your customers needs, over
deliver related content and build your credibility so
you can promote a variety of services and you'll be able
to grow from a sales site into a consultant, helping
your customers find the service they really need.
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- Get a great vanity # with No Money Down
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Money
is always tight starting a new business. I've definitely
been there. But it's also a proven fact that a good
phone number can be invaluable in marketing, even for a
new business. So I've come up with a great new way for
anyone with a real need for a great vanity number to get
one without any money out of their pocket!
We've all heard about buying real estate with no
money down. If you buy a piece of property that
generates an income and you can get the owner to finance
the sale for you with no money up front, you can use the
income from the property to pay for the property. I'm
doing the same thing now with phone numbers. Anyone that
does any significant advertising, will see an increase
in their response rate with a better phone number.
I'm offering a new Zero down and Zero interest
program exclusively for new and small businesses that
will spread my consulting fee out over up to 20 monthly
payments. Larger established businesses will still have
to pay $3800 upon completion of their number
acquisition, but new businesses can pay 20 monthly
payments of $190/month on a credit card.
A memorable brand name phone number becomes more
important the more advertising a business does. But even
a start up business or a small business that doesn't
want to stay small and knows the value of a good brand
name can afford a great "1-800" vanity number
now. And the best part is that they own the name.
Compare that to the Shared Use programs that most
other people in the vanity number business market or
promote. They're basically subdividing their own toll
free number so that a different business can use the
number in each market and you never own or control your
number. It makes some sense because a localized business
can't usually service the whole country. This is good in
theory, because it makes a good number available to more
businesses.
Shared use can look cheaper than obtaining your own
number because you don't have any up front costs, but
with an average fee of $100/month per area code, it can
add up fast, especially if you need multiple area codes.
Plus the shared use operator usually marks up the cost
per minute rate quite a bit too. Even aside from the
costs, the biggest concern most business owners have is
that their entire marketing winds up being at someone
else's mercy, because you never own or control the
number and even if things go smoothly you still have to
keep paying forever.
Zero down, Zero interest financing gives you the best
of both worlds. You get the benefits of owning your own
brand name number with no up front expense. The fee to
OWN your own vanity number is no more than the typical
shared use fees and it's temporary, and you own the
number forever, versus RENTING a small piece of someone
else's number that you can never own or control.
You could even expand your business nationwide or
turn your number into a money making machine by setting
up other people or associates who pay you to use a
portion of YOUR number. The bottom line is that with
this program, it doesn't cost you money out of your
pocket to get a good number any more. But if you're
doing significant advertising without a good brand name
number, it is definitely costing you and your business.
I was able to do this because I got really good
merchant account system and representative. If you're
interested or looking for a good credit card merchant
system you should definitely Dave Mullins at First
National Merchant Solutions (800-354-3988 x2362). I
don't get anything from him, and only say that because
they have a great system and he was very helpful for me.
Call
me at 1-800 MARKETER!
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 A
quick follow up on "500" numbers:
It must be a rule somewhere that things always cost more
and take longer than you expect when starting any new
business. They are dealing with 1400 phone companies all
together and had some delays with the launch, but 500
numbers are now available and working. And because of
the excellent response from my last article they have
made a special offer to readers of my newsletter.
Mention this newsletter in the where you heard about us
section comments section of the signup process and
you'll get two years of service for the price of one for
the life of your account. Like I said in my previous
article, there are pros and cons but there are
definitely some opportunities with 500 numbers for
serious forward thinking marketers. Visit
500-Numbers.com to check the availability of your ideal
number right away.
Visit
500-Numbers.com for more info and availability.
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