Google says “Calls to a business are worth at least 3x more than clicks to a website.”

When you think about what you’ve been told regarding online advertising, it’s pretty hard to know what to trust. Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising was supposed to the a great value and drive traffic to your site and make you tons of money. Well, if you did it then you know it works sometimes and sometimes it does not work at all. You also know that it brings in some business, but not so much that you can stop doing all other kinds of advertising. Google is now focusing on “Call Only Campaigns,” that are designed to have people click to call your business from their search.Mobile click to call capption

Google is focusing on Call Only Campaigns because they found that phone calls are worth at least 3x more than clicks to a website. We’ve known this for a long time and agree with this statement, except that our data shows a call is worth 14x more than a click. Here’s why: Besides the most obvious reason of being able to speak with someone and answer their objections on the spot, your likelihood for making the sale or booking an appointment increases as well.

There are a variety of other factors that show the phone is the best way to generate more sales. For example when somebody clicks on your site and fills out an online form, you are then either responding back to them by email, waiting for them to respond in an instant chat, or you’re following up with them by phone based on the information they provided to you in the form. Now if that person doesn’t answer their phone, you leave a voicemail and then they call back. Maybe you miss the call or its after hours. Now you’re not stuck in phone tag mode and you have to allocate your resources to reaching out to this lead. All this effort and money could have been saved by just directing them to the phone, answering the call when it came in and talking to the client at that moment. Not only would you not have to put the resources into trying to contact them, but you would have already made a sale if you would have just spoke to them. A person who calls into a business is three times more likely to make purchase or book an appointment vs an online lead. Another way to say that is “people who call a business buy faster.”

So now Google wants to push their call only campaigns like it’s a new idea, but we’ve been saying this for a long time. Customers should be able to click on the ad and call you, and they should be able to see your number in your ad. That number should be a vanity number.  The reason it should be a vanity number is that a person clicking your ad may not remember how to find you a 2nd time around. Just clicking and calling doesn’t guarantee they’ll remember how to reach you. If they have to search for you and click your ad again then maybe you’re paying for the click to call twice .

If they just remembered your number you would not have to pay for that second click . You want to drive people to the phone, you want them to refer you, and you need something that’s as simple as pie in order to accomplish this. That’s why a vanity number is so effective. If you need a drywall contractor and you ask your friend and they simply tell you to call 1-800 Drywall, what could be easier? Nothing .

On a final note, if the customer clicks your ad and calls your business, then uses their call log to call you back at a later time Google does not track that second call, only the initial one. With Ignition and our vanity numbers, every call is tracked and recorded.

888CARPETCARE-SCREENSHOT-879x1030

Vanity numbers are not magic.

Vanity numbers are not magic. You need to use them for them to work. If you create a consistent brand image that incorporates your vanity number you will see huge results. I am highlighting a local Michigan company in this post. They embraced their vanity number and have thrived using it.

For the businesses that thinks they don’t need a vanity number, just look at the images below. No amount of advertising will ever produce anything as memorable as a solid vanity number baked into every facet of your marketing. Yes, with enough advertising, people might remember your company but they won’t remember how to reach you. Not like they will with a great business phone number.

You may read this and say to yourself, “they sell toll free numbers, so of course they tell me they work.” But we are not biased, we’re just informed. And know you are too. Call Ignition and start making your phone turn into your best salesperson. 1-800-STRONG-SALES.

877-dry-mich toll free number

Confusion, Chaos and Good Intentions – When Marketing Backfires

Hybrid phone number. Partial vanity. Whatever you call them, business phone numbers that mix letters and words are BAD for sales. Numbers like 888-423-PAIN just don’t work, and produce far worse results than just using a regular phone number. 800-HURT-911 and 866-4-Cookies are the rare exception, can you think of any other variations like these?

Just look at the photo below. Not only is the toll free number totally confusing, but they include another number immediately below it, making it even more difficult for the person trying to read it. Investing in a high quality toll free business line is essential to your brand and your bottom line. You don’t want your customers to remember the competition.

confusing 800 number

Often is the case that someone will try to make their marketing more effective but what ends up happening is the opposite. Here are some examples that we’ve documented to show you what we’re referring to.

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Here’s an examples of something truly confusing to consumers, trying to create a vanity phone number by using the numbers in the area code. The company above is using an 877 toll-free phone number and trying to use the last 7 of the area code as an “S”. Consumers just don’t understand these numbers and it make dialing them very confusing.

enterprise large

cropped - enterprise

The above is actually a great example of very good business phone number next to a very bad one. Enterprise obviously invested in their main phone number, 1-800-RENT-A-TRUCK, but was not as concerned about the number used to sell their trucks, 1-877-4-trk-sales. It is pretty clear which number is better, but you won’t believe the difference it actually makes. A bad partial or hybrid number like 4-trk-sales can result in 70% or more fewer calls, and that equates to a staggering loss in sales. The rules here are simple – complete phrases only: no abbreviations.

mich vet

karnuts

The last two images are two examples of perfect vanity numbers. Easy to spell and direct. If you have questions or would like to learn more about good vs bad numbers gives us call.

A Perfect Business Phone Comparison

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Once in a while you get a perfect shot. Today was the day for me. I was sitting in traffic on my way to work when I saw the best real world comparison that I’ve seen in a long time. Two trucks idling in traffic with thousands of eyes on them. One had a truly unforgettable vanity phone number, the other a regular numeric phone number. Ask yourself two questions when you look at this picture:

  1.  Which number would you be most likely to remember?
  2.  If you had to spend money and advertise, which number would you rather put in your advertisements?

How much you pay for your business phone number each month is irrelevant if it does not generate business for you. In fact, the less it generates the less it should cost. That is why you can get any random phone number for $10/month from any phone provider. You go to Ignition when you want a number that generates sales. And the best part about it is that even though our numbers cost more than a random one, they generate wayyyyyy more business for you and in the end they are less expensive because they pay for themselves several times over each month.

You can stand out or you can blend in. This picture represents why a vanity number is so important.  Call Ignition. Get a vanity number. Increase your sales. Simple.

 

MasterCard uses vanity number for new card

Everyone knows MasterCard, but when they decided to launch their new line of credit cards called “Luxury Card” they made sure to use a vanity number to market it. They used the memorable phone number 844-LUX-CARD for two main reasons:

First, a company their size, and with their advertising experience, knows that it is vital to be easy to remember and that nothing accomplishes this better than an unforgettable number. They know that in today’s digital world, people who call a business are serious and more likely to buy.

Second, they feature their number boldly on all their commercials and on their website. If you want to get results with your vanity number then you should do this as well. You can’t use a vanity number in some places and not in others. Consumers need brand consistency.

MasterCard is not the only company utilizing vanity numbers. Next time you see a commercial for a new prescription drug pay attention, they always have a vanity business number as well. Using an unforgettable toll free number is one of the best ways to stretch your advertising dollars. You get more calls per ad and people can remember how to reach you.

What do you think? Call us at 1-800-STRONG-SALES to learn more.

 

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844-lux-card – vanity number used by MasterCard for launch of new cards

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Fact vs Fiction: Vanity Toll-Free Phone Numbers

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Show your clients why bringing advertising in-house is a bad idea and why you’re the pro with access to Ignition’s vanity numbers.

“A new report from the Society of Digital Agencies, a network for marketing professionals, found that the share of brands claiming that they don’t work with any agencies at all doubled this year, to 27 percent.” – digiday.com

There has been an increasing trend of advertising clients moving work in-house. More and more, clients are side-stepping advertising agencies to work directly with production companies and media companies – which generally lack the expertise and creativity of ad agencies. Media companies are cutting out ad agencies and going after clients in order to increase their profits – with the promise of saving them money.

Technology makes it easier for clients to attempt to market themselves without the involvement of an advertising agency by using blogs, social media, or buying their own ads online. However, clients typically do not understand the nuances of different types of media and lack the tools and knowledge to market their businesses effectively.

Agencies must find new ways to seize the attention of new clients and offer unique opportunities to existing clients. One of those ways is offering access to the catalog of unforgettable numbers from Ignition Toll-Free. Agencies that work with Ignition can show their clients that they have access to specialized products and pricing that they simply cannot get on their own.

We work with agencies to find the right vanity number for their clients. Agencies that would like to know more can contact us here, or call us at 1-800-Strong-Sales.

Partial Mnemonics / Partial Vanity Numbers – Dangerous for your bottom line

A bad number affects your bottom line more than you realize. It can hurt your business now and later.

We have premium affordable vanity numbers for both roofing and vein treatment, so we see numbers like 1-800-445-ROOF and 1-844-654-VEIN all the time. These numbers do nothing for the businesses that use them. This is because the consumer ends up only remembering the word and forgetting the numbers, so they only remember 800-something-ROOF or something-something-VEIN. The opportunity to acquire a new customer is now either lost or the consumer is forced to go online and search for contact info where they will undoubtedly run into all of the competitors of that business. In addition, the entire point of using a memorable number to put the consumer in direct and immediate contact with the business is lost since they don’t remember the number.

The second and potentially more devastating result is not as apparent, but in the long-term this results in an erosion of brand identity. When a business uses 1-800-543-VEIN and another uses 248-655-VEIN and another uses 888-332-VEIN it all starts to blur together to the consumer.

See for yourself. These are some examples of businesses in the same market competing for the same customers:

IMG_0952IMG_0944elite vein2

Now doesn’t 1-800-VEIN-DOC really stand out from the rest? 

1-800-VEIN-DOC metro vein

 

Doing it the right way: Taylor Door’s continued success using a vanity number

Vanity numbers are common sense marketing tools. In order for them to work you need to include them in your marketing and in your business. Our friends at Taylor Door understand this. That’s why they are one of the most successful Door companies in Metro Detroit.  They’ve have had their vanity number for years and continue to have success because they’ve made it part of their brand. Everybody knows Taylor Door’s number in Metro Detroit.  Check them out at www.800-newdoor.com 

 

Taylor Door Taylor Door card

Vanity numbers are so valuable in India thieves dupe unsuspecting victims into purchasing fake ones

Take a look at this article: http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/chandigarh/crime/two-booked-on-charge-of-fraud/173099.html

The article states “Two persons were booked for duping local residents on the pretext of providing them vanity mobile numbers of different telecommunication companies.”

Like a Coke, music or a smile, some things are universally understood, and being unforgettable is one of them!

Call Ignition at 1-800-STRONG-SALES to make your business unforgettable in 2016.