The Value of a Vanity Phone Number

In an ever-evolving digital era, it’s tempting to forgo the traditional methods of marketing for a more modern approach. But even as technology reshapes the way that we work and connect with the world around us, retaining the ability to conveniently connect with a simple phone call remains as fundamentally valuable as it ever was. 

But what is a vanity number, exactly? Exploring the value of a vanity phone number reveals its potential to offer an additional edge in a competitive market. A vanity phone number can help bridge the gap between digital and analog marketing, so that your brand can reach more of its target customers, no matter their preferred channel.

What is a vanity phone number? 

Vanity phone numbers are customized numbers that you choose yourself. Optimized to be memorable for users to call, vanity phone numbers will often spell out words or phrases using the keypad. ‘Easy-dial’ vanity numbers, on the other hand, rely on patterns and repetition (think 1-833-838-8383) for memorability.

Some all-star vanity numbers you might recognize are 1-800-CONTACTS and 1-800-FLOWERS. 

Companies can leverage these numbers to create a stronger, more recognizable brand presence, tailoring their contact information to align seamlessly with their industry identity. The vanity number value lies in its ability to transform a simple contact point into a powerful brand asset.

How much does a vanity number cost?

A custom vanity number can come with a wide range of price tags. Like many high-demand assets, premium vanity numbers can sometimes fetch a pretty penny. But this isn’t a given. In fact, a qualified vanity phone number provider can help you acquire one of these high-value assets with minimal start-up costs.

With the largest inventory of available phone numbers RingBoost can set you up with the best number and calling plan for your business, no matter what your budget is.

Why is a vanity number valuable?

What makes something valuable? In its simplest definition, value is derived from usefulness and demand. Vanity numbers are powerful branding tools with versatile applications for significantly improving your business’s bottom line. Finding the one that fits your brand just right can help boost quality lead generation and measurably improve your conversion rates.

Some of the useful applications of vanity numbers include:

• Local advertising
• Rebranding
• Seasonal campaigns

10 business benefits of using a vanity number

The numbers don’t lie. If you’re considering adopting a more memorable number, here are a few of the main vanity number benefits you should consider

1. Enhances phone number recall

The #1 benefit of using a custom phone number is increased learnability! 

A phone number that is easily memorized stays at the top of customers’ minds when it's time to make a call. Customers don’t always need your product or services on their first interaction with your marketing materials, but once they do, giving them a memorable way to get in touch is key to keeping your prospective customers off the web (and away from potential competitors.) The true value of a vanity phone number for businesses lies in its ability to provide customers with an easily recognizable and memorable point of contact. These specialized numbers are an effective educational tool, enabling customers to learn and retain the business's contact information with minimal effort. 

2. Increases inbound call volume

Utilizing a toll-free vanity number can make a significant difference, even if it seems small at first glance. This ease of calling a toll-free vanity number requires less customer effort, which is a crucial factor for many. It serves as a prime example of the value of a vanity phone number, particularly for businesses aiming to enhance customer experience and accessibility. 

Once you have an unforgettable phone number in place, more calls will successfully start coming through. Even in a digital world, phone leads continue to retain higher conversion rates than web leads.

3. Reinforces your brand

Getting the most value out of your vanity phone number comes down to picking a number that fits cohesively into your brand identity and strengthens your reputation.

A well-chosen vanity number can boost brand recognition, but successful advertising requires more than just being seen. While a series of unrelated ads may not do much to build your brand, creating continuity between campaigns is crucial to projecting a consistent and unified message about what you do. A thoughtful vanity number can help you do that.

4. Provides an effective referral tool

In a world where consumers tend to be wary of advertising, reaching them in a way that elicits trust leads to longer, more mutually beneficial relationships. Positive word-of-mouth reaches your clients from the people they trust the most–their friends and family. A vanity phone number offers your most loyal advocates a valuable tool for creating a referral engine that continuously replenishes itself.

5. Enables a better customer experience

There’s a lot that can be said about the value of dialing in the details of customer experience. With more choices than ever, delivering a first-rate customer experience is a non-negotiable for retaining your customers. Great CX comes down to ensuring customer satisfaction at every point of engagement with your brand. Satisfied customers become loyal customers.

Enhancing how your customers connect with you when the need arises is a decisive step towards a better customer experience. Providing customers with a direct and convenient line of communication encourages them to reach out should things go amiss–creating an opportunity to make it right and retain valuable customers that might have otherwise defected to a competitor brand.

6. Immortalizes your ad campaigns

A vanity number extends the ‘shelf-life’ of advertising campaigns long after your ads stop running. Paired with a catchy jingle, a vanity number can stay with you for life. That’s a lifetime marketing campaign for the price of a one time buy-in.

7. It can be used as a call-to-action

A well-designed vanity number can be used as a call to action, in addition to being a point of contact. Building a call-to-action into your marketing gives leads clear next steps down the sales funnel, motivating further engagement with your brand. Ultimately, CTAs can improve your marketing ROI by helping ease prospects through the buyer journey process towards conversion.

8. Maximizes your marketing ROI

Vanity numbers present a low-risk opportunity for optimizing your advertising response rates.

What makes a vanity number a good investment? With a low start-up cost, a vanity number pays for itself fast, delivering a return on the initial investment in mere weeks.

To make matters even better, these clever marketing devices allow you to easily monitor response rates with call tracking–available with every RingBoost calling plan. 

9. Differentiates your brand from the competition

If you’re looking for creative and easy ways to differentiate your company from the rest like right now… consider a custom phone number. A recognizable vanity number effectively catches the attention of your target audience. A customer becoming aware of your brand is the crucial first step towards establishing brand preference.

10. Expands your market reach

Investing a great business phone number will keep your brand accessible to a wider audience than web presence alone.

Depending on your goals for growth, a customized toll free or local number can help you get you a bigger slice of the market share. While local numbers are great for breaking into new markets no matter where your business operates from, toll free numbers are a must-have for establishing a strong national brand identity.

How to get the most out of your vanity phone number

Applying the following tactics can help you optimize the value of your custom number.

Prioritize a simple and memorable number

The effectiveness of custom phone numbers favors simple sequences that are easy for anyone to remember. 

To enhance memorability and simplicity aim for a phone number that:

• Is easy to spell and easy to say 
• Leverages patterns and repetition (for easy-dialers)
• Avoids excessive numbers (think 415-CALL-JOE instead of 415-4234-JOE)

Let brand strategy be your guide

Local or Nationwide? Vanity or easy-dial? The number that will bring the most value to your company will depend on your specific branding needs. Like any other important feature of a well-designed brand, your phone number should be closely aligned to your brand strategy. 

Pick a phone number that says what you do

The most valuable vanity numbers directly reflect on the product or service that you offer, delivering a clear, concise message to your target audience.

Strategically utilized, a phone number that reinforces your company purpose or service:

• Strengthens brand awareness
• Projects consistency across your brand
• Connects you to your target audience

Use it creatively 

A vanity phone number is an opportunity to promote your brand in a fun, creative way. Useful for everything from rebranding to viral Marketing and even personal branding, let your creativity loose with a custom phone number. 

Vanity phone numbers have been wielded creatively for promoting TV shows (see Better Call Saul) and album drops, for ringing in the holidays, and for gifting a personalized present to that special someone in your life who has everything. 

RingBoost can help you get the most value out of your phone number

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