I Bet You Can't Call Me On Your Cell Phone! 1-800 Sell Now - Things Have Changed

You are right. I can call you on my Centro. I dont have those little letters to tell me what the number

 are. What a bummer. Never had that come up but now I know. Wow all that advertising money you

have spent. Progress isn't always good.

Oh wait, I can if I bring up my key pad. Oh good I can call you.

Yes.. I noticed that a while ago.  The vanity numbers just don't have the same appeal.  Good luck finding something simple to dial... they have almost all been taken as well.  One thing to think about though... Most people are now going to e-mails from the internet... so get something catchy and easy for your domain.  i happened to just pick up   www.IsellBC.com just about a week ago..  If vanity has gone from phones, It is a way of life for the internet...

Good luck in your marketing... Thanks for the post.

Now that I look at my phone, I feel your pain!

Great post Jamar. I haven't really thought about getting a vanity number. But in todays market we need all the tools at are our disposal. I am going to look into a 800# for sure. Thanks

Jamar, you are soo right. There is a Jazz radio station in LA and I was listening to it the other day and then they announced "...be the 20th caller and you can win a trip anywhere in the world..dial 1800TheWave.. I was so excited wow why not give it a try and the Blackbery let me down I could not figure it out....

You are absoluteuly right.  I purchased a new cellphone a few months ago and I had to ask my kid to show me where the letters were.  And, for as long as I live, my grandmothers number will always b AD4-4064.

I completely agree.  I have a smart phone for the past 2 years and it is dumb as crap.  It has numbers, but no letters on the digital number pad.  So for any number that i am used to dialing by the spelling, it is useless.  Also of note, one of my credit cards lists their contact phone number as 1800 4td visa, which is useless to me since i dont know what numbers correspond.  It is ridiculous.

ps.  Great phone number!  I thought I seen some guy selling 'sell now' franchises, but maybe that was 1-888

Hi Jamar - I am glad to hear the vanity numbers worked for you in the past. Personally I disliked them. In fact, they turned me off so much that I rebelled and would refuse to play that game and would not even attempt to use them. I felt it was manipulation. I know I was not alone, because I have often heard others say in a gruff voice " Just give me the NUMBER dang it!"

Jamar,

Tough lesson to learn. I hate wasting money. Hopefully your post will save someone from making the same mistake. I agree with Darren, the internet is the place to focus.

Judy

Congrats on a great vanity number. Funny, I did a post on toll free numbers last night and you point is one of the things I noted.

Numbers like yours will always be good. As for a regular toll free number they have lost their edge

Tony

Vanity Numbers

Understanding the underlying asset of what a premium vanity number is key.

A premium vanity number is an offline marketing tool for developing consumer awareness & name recognition of a company’s products or services. For purposes of developing lead generation.

1-800-CONTACTS & 1-800-FLOWERS are examples of national companies that thoroughly understood the science of consumer behavior. Combined with the marketing power of 1-800 of focused keywords. This sends a clear message to of whom they are, what they do and how to reach them.

The marketing applications of premium vanity numbers are closely aligned with premium and short domain names. For example: Hotels.com or Realtor.com. Both brands knew in order to build consumer awareness. Televisions commercials were needed to deliver their message.

1-800-DIRECT-TV or 1-800-PET-MEDS are examples of companies that continue to use vanity numbers in their television commercials & billboards. Their numbers by default send a clear message of whom they are. For name recognition purposes and method of how to call them.

It's important to note there are differences between consumer awareness applications as stated above with marketing and branding concepts. Marketing is the process of how a company desires to be perceived by its customers. Branding is the process of establishing a positive emotional connection with a company’s services or products.

For example - Beer companies are heavily branded names. As they have been extremely successful in creating a positive emotional connection with their customers.

Vanity Numbers are not created equal. In order for a vanity number to be effective. It must be the 1-800 prefix. The keyword or keywords must be clear for consumer recognition purposes and to foster instant and spontaneous consumer recall. Again, name recognition.

Real estate companies can certainly benefit from the use of vanity numbers. For example. If your an owner of a large real estate company in the state of Arizona. A great number would be 1.800.AZ.HOMES.

Like premium real estate domain names. Premium 1-800 prefix vanity numbers come at a premium value.

                      Lets examine the success of 1-800-CONTACTS.

1994 - 1-800-CONTACTS was 1-800-LENSNOW.

1995 - 1-800-CONTACTS was purchased for $ 163,500.00

1996 - Revenues soars to $ 3.6 million dollars.

1997 - $ 21.1 million in sales.

2002 -  $ 168 million in sales.

2003 - $ 187 million in sales.

2004 -  $ 211 million in sales.

2005 -  $ 237 million in sales.

2006 -  $ 237 million in sales.

2012 - 1-800-CONTACTS is sold for $900 million dollars !

It's not what a premium domain name or premium vanity number cost. It's the value they bring to your business.

James