The Ultimate Business 800 Number Is Here...

Incredible though it may sound, but the smallest technological innovation that completely changed the business of Direct Marketing is the advent of toll free numbers. Today toll free numbers are no longer treated as a marketing gimmick but as an irreplaceable marketing tool. The best thing these numbers have done is perhaps increase a marketer’s reach by leaps and bounds. The scope of ‘free’ connectivity between the buyer and seller has proved immensely popular for businesses. So much so, that the 800 numbers were exhausted by 1996, after the first 800 service was introduced in 1967. 800 was followed by 888 and soon 877, for supplementing the ever-popular 800 service.

Necessity, they say is the mother of all invention and innovation. The fact that the customers could call a marketer any time, soon proved to be only the tip of iceberg. The marketer wanted more. They knew that a ‘felt need’ for flowers will drive the customer call a toll free number given by a flower boutique. But does the customer remember the name of the boutique ? What about quick brand recall? What about reminding the customer of a genre behind those magical three-digit numbers ? Answer to such questions gave birth to yet another brilliant direct marketing tool – the Vanity 800 number. This article will show why the Vanity number is today classed as the "ultimate Business 800 number".

To put it very simply a Vanity 800 number is a number with a face. It is a toll free number along with which a company’s name, a genre of goods or services or acronym is attached. This makes a Vanity number not just memorable but steadfastly prolongs the life cycle of a brand by helping it stay constantly top-of-mind. For example, a Vanity number could simultaneously promote a company’s brand or a name – 1-800 FLOWERS or 1-800 CHOCOCHIPS are examples. If a subscriber is particularly keen on a specific toll free number, he can simply choose one toll free service provider, from amidst thousands operating today.

Since the importance and benefits of subscribing to a toll free number have risen beyond doubt, today’s marketer’s have gone one step ahead to stay ahead of competition in the shape of these memorable numbers. Vanity numbers are not only easy to remember from the customer’s point of view, but can add benefits to the subscriber in terms of uplifting a company’s image as a responsible, customer-caring corporate citizen. A Vanity number can be seen as another excellent PR tool. The steep rise in leads and sales can be almost secondary! If successful marketing is being at the right place at the right time, with the right product at the right price – then successful direct marketing is having a Vanity 800 number with the right word or phrase.

Now is the time for niche marketing. The world is too full of people promising the same things to the same set of customers at similar prices. So how can Vanity 800 numbers boost brand recall or sales in such conditions? The answer is in employing a ‘niche’ Vanity number. Yes, there are service providers, who, with a proper brief of your brand vision, can come up with a so-called ‘magic’ niche Vanity number which the customer will be forced to remember despite the millions of distractions and information bombardment that he or she is subjected to. If all goes well, the chosen Vanity number can be a businesses best selling brand.

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