How would you like to see your short-form direct marketing results potentially increase by as much as 40, 50, 60 percent or more? The key may very well lie in something as simple as the quality of the toll free number you are using to drive inbound calls. That’s right – not all toll-free numbers are created equal.  Repeater numbers that employ repetitive digits are easy for consumers to remember and can increase your inbound call volume and resulting sales by such significant margins.

 In a head-to-head television test for a product in the health and fitness category, the memorable toll free number 1-800-940-0000 ran against the randomized number 1-800-850-6457.  The memorable number delivered staggeringly better results including:

• A 69 percent increase in overall call volume.
• A 68 percent increase in total gross revenue.
• And, after declines, holds and cancellations, a 63 percent increase in net sales.

The reason for the difference is relatively easy to explain.  As New Yorker journalist Malcolm Gladwell writes in his latest bestseller Outliers, human beings store numbers in a memory loop that lasts about two seconds.  Hence, you can appreciate what an advantage it is to have a number such as 1-800-940-0000 that is so much easier for a consumer to recall – particularly in a short-form spot – than a randomly sequenced number.

It all sounds simple enough, but invites the question: Just how do you get the good numbers?  The answer is RapidRecall, the largest bank of numerically memorable 800 prefix toll free numbers available anywhere exclusively through Dial 800.  For mere pennies on the dollar, marketers can now realize such exponential gains in their campaign results.  To learn more, click here to fill out a brief request form and an optimization specialist from Dial 800 will contact you shortly.

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 By Scott “the Optimizer” Richards, CEO, Dial 800

The answer to this question largely depends on which medium you are advertising in.  In print ads, the vanity number should be large and bolded with its numerical equivalent accompanying it in very small type.  With television, radio and billboard ads, you should ONLY use the vanity number since you only have a few seconds to make a lasting impression on potential customers.  With online advertising, vanity numbers shouldn't be used at all.

You might argue that not using the digits at all will frustrate PDA users who don't have actual digits on their BlackBerries or Treos.   Perhaps people might get frustrated figuring out how to dial a vanity number, but they WILL remember your number.  They'll actually probably even remember your number better than they would have otherwise.  Why?

Think about it.  If you're looking into getting hardwood floors for your home and hear a great 1-800-HARDWOOD ad on the radio, will you not call simply because you have a PDA?   Of course not.  You'll figure it out.  

In fact, you will probably mention your frustration to several of your friends and explain how you figured it out.    They in turn might discuss your story with their friends and create more business for your company. Perhaps they'll even call 1-800-HARDWOOD as well or go online to figure out how to dial a vanity number on a Blackberry. Wow, what wonderful viral marketing!

By the way you can dial a vanity number on a BlackBerry simply by holding down the "ALT" key while using the keypad to type the name in the vanity number you're trying to dial.  The BlackBerry automatically sends the right tone to match what you've typed.    Pretty easy, eh?  

So as it turns out, vanity numbers can increase your sales in ways you perhaps never even imagined! 

Although it might surprise some, the answer is actually NO.   Vanity numbers are an excellent marketing optimization tool to be used in virtually all off-line advertising mediums.  When it comes to the Internet, however, using a vanity number online provides very little added benefit to your company.  The potential customer looking at your website already has all the necessary information should he or she decide to either make a purchase or call you directly.

Online, using tracking numbers is really the way to go.   As a matter of fact, Dial800 can provide dynamically inserted toll-free tracking numbers into a website, thereby enabling the company to know exactly which search engine the call came from and which keyword the user entered. 

Used correctly, this information is marketing gold for an online marketer.  Why?  Well, if you know where your new customers are coming from, (as well as what they're looking for from the keywords they use), then you can market to other people just like them.  You'll save a lot of money in your advertising efforts by NOT going after the wrong people or using the wrong terms. 

For instance, if you sell hardwood floors, and learn from your tracking number data that most people calling you from your Google Adwords account are searching for "great floors" rather than "hardwood floors", you can optimize your advertising efforts by using "great floors" in your ads and increase your sales as well!

When it comes to online marketing, the best thing advertisers can do is really try to get into the mindset of their customers and find out what they're looking for.  Using tracking numbers accomplishes these goals and more.  So remember, use vanity numbers for all other mediums, but online, tracking numbers are the ticket to seeing increased sales.