The latest Site Reference newsletter is reprinted here.
Vanity Numbers: Completing the Golden Triangle of Marketing
by Benjamin Cohen
So your latest website is finally ready to launch but is there 1 major thing you forgot? In most cases, the key missing element that most webmasters forget is to obtain a high-quality, Toll-Free Vanity Number. Toll-Free Vanity Numbers use letters in lieu of numbers to help customers remember. With just this 1 element, you can increase credibility, response rates and create a perception of market leadership.
Whether your site is retail-oriented or just for informational purposes, nothing speaks louder than a great, memorable Vanity Number. Let’s look at a made-up example– 2 websites that sell darts and dart supplies. One site is called “ABC Darts” and its URL is www.ABCDarts.com; the other site is called XYZ darts and their URL is www.XYZDarts.com. Now lets say ABC Darts obtained the matching Vanity Number 1-888-ABC-DARTS while XYZ Darts uses a generic number of 877-626-7891. When a customer visits each site, which will he find more credible and apt to do business with? Even if ABC Darts is MUCH smaller than its competitor, visitors will BELIEVE ABC Darts to be the more significant firm and even when they are away from the site, the visitors will remember the number 1-888-ABC-DARTS.
The Golden Triangle of Marketing is when your Phone Number matches your Company/Main Product Name AND your URL. All major companies utilize the Golden Triangle to increase credibility and reinforce the consumer’s memory. For example,
So what do you need to know about Vanity Numbers to begin implementing them on your sites? The first and most important thing to look for is the ability to OWN the number. Most Telecoms never allow you to actually OWN the number – instead they either Lease it to you for thousands of dollars per year OR they offer it inexpensively but the catch is that now you must use that Telecom firm for all your Services, which will cost you an arm and a leg in the long run. Also, if that number becomes a key part of your business and you do not own it, you can essentially have your business “held hostage” by your own phone company! So make sure your name will be on the actual “RESPORG” Ownership form and that you will be free to use ANY ongoing carrier.
Other keys are more subtle but can be resolved by using a Vanity Number consultant who is truly knowledgeable. For example, a Vanity Number is NOT appropriate if the desired matching name contains the letter Z or Q. This is because phones have changed over the years and the placement of these 2 letters on the keypad has also moved! This being said, our firm has used the Vanity Number 1-888-ZERO-DOWN for the past 3 years on a mortgage site and only ever got 1 complaint regarding not being able to locate the “Z.”
Another huge factor to remember is that Vanity/Phone numbers are NOT limited to just 7 digits. You may have noticed that many ads today have numbers that are 8-10 digits long and this is fine as most phones will only dial the first 7 digits of the main number anyway. So it is okay if your website URL is www.TailGunner.com and your Vanity Number is 1-888-Tail-Gunner. When customers dial it, they will reach the same place as if they only dialed 1-888-Tail-Gun.
Finally, realize that Vanity Numbers are not just for Retail-oriented websites. They can be just as effective for Professionals such as Attorneys, Real Estate Agents and even Webmasters. Having a matching number on just your Business Card and/or personal website indicates that you are a true professional who takes your practice seriously.
To review, here are the key reasons to obtain a quality number:
1. Increases Response Rates by 10-40%
2. Increases Credibility
3. Increases the ability of clients to REMEMBER you
4. Creates perceived Market Leadership
5. Completes the “Golden Triangle of Marketing”
Here are the keys to obtaining a great number:
1. Only work with a firm who allows you to OWN the number
2. Ensure that you can use ANY ongoing Long Distance carrier
3. Use a knowledgeable consultant that knows the Ins and Outs
4. Avoid Vanity Numbers for the letters Q and Z
Now that you know the basics, you can add this element into your webmaster practice. EVERY site deserves a special number and now you have the opportunity to not only benefit your clients but you can earn additional revenue on every site you build by offering a great number in conjunction with your array of other services i.e. Hosting etc.
About this author
Benjamin Cohen, Founder, Asher Worldwide Telecom, http://www.AsherWorldwide.com. Asher Worldwide Telecom offers affordable and outright ownership of custom Vanity Numbers that can be used with any ongoing Phone Carrier.
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This seems to be getting a lot of blog coverage today, I understand why, I found out from ShoeMoney who's ad roation system operates in the same way as Adsense. It looks like I have to either redesign the ShoeMoney ads I have running or drop them from my site. It's the Shoe ads that'd go, not the Google ones. It's the Google ones that make the $ for us.
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