What is a vanity phone number? And how do you get one for your business? Here’s everything you need to know…
If you are looking for interesting and effective ways to market and build your brand’s image, you might want to consider the option of buying a vanity phone number.
Such phone numbers are easier to recognize and remember, making it easier for clients to reach your business.
What is a Vanity Phone Number?
A vanity phone number is a phone number that is custom-made for your business and has a unique sequence that makes it easier to remember or identify.
A good vanity phone number includes some key characters such as a business name, thus allowing customers to easily associate the business with its vanity phone number, e.g., 1-800-Google (1-800-786-5353)
In cases where a vanity phone number does not include the name of a business, it can use a unique combination of numbers such as 800-777-0000.
A vanity phone number is available either as a local number or a toll-free number. The majority of these numbers are, however, toll-free.
In the majority of cases, toll-free vanity phone numbers are only available on a first-come-first-serve basis.
What this means is that regardless of the business phone service that you buy your number from, it will be subject to availability.
Here are some examples of real vanity phone numbers from renowned companies:
- 1-800-FLOWERS (Corresponds to 1-800-356-9377)
- 1-800-GoFedEx (Corresponds to 1-800-463-3339)
- 1-800-GOT-JUNK(Corresponds to 1-800-468-5865)
How To Vanity Phone Numbers Work?
A business phone service is designed to run via the internet. Such services use a protocol referred to as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).
As such, it’s quite common to hear the term ‘business VoIP services’ being used to refer to business phone services.
Such kinds of services are noticeably less expensive compared to using a traditional landline, which is why the majority of businesses use them.
Unlike the traditional landline, vanity phone numbers come with useful tools for analysis, call redirection, call monitoring, customized greetings, and more.
You can use a VoIP service as long as you are connected to the internet via a device such as a laptop or a smartphone. The connected device will be used to forward all incoming calls to a mobile phone or landline.
Vanity phone numbers that are toll-free have specific dialing codes. The most common and well-known code is 800, even though there are other codes as well such as 833, 888, and more.
In the majority of cases, businesses opt for toll-free vanity numbers as opposed to local vanity numbers. That’s in consideration that toll-free numbers cost considerably less to run compared to local vanity numbers.
When purchasing a toll-free number, one thing that you must keep in mind is that these numbers are not made to be traded, hoarded, or resold.
As such, you simply cannot buy a toll-free number with the hope of storing it and/or selling it after some time.
The good thing with owning a vanity number, however, is that such numbers don’t charge a premium.
The only cost that you can expect is a defined fee that is charged by the phone service provider.
What Are The Benefits of Having a Vanity Phone Number?
If you are wondering why you should get a vanity phone number for your business, the following benefits should be the motivating factors.
1) Better Brand Recognition
By including the offered product or service in your business’s phone number it becomes easier for your prospective customers to know what your business is all about. You can use specific phrases to directly market your business and impact your audience better.
There are endless ways to customize your vanity phone number so that it becomes easier for customers to instantly recognize your business or know what your deal with. The end result will be an increase in the number of people that know about your business.
2) Enhance Brand Reputation
In addition to brand recognition, it is also easier to earn a higher business reputation when you provide your customers with a reliable and easy way to reach you. One of the most important factors to your clients is the quality of your customer support.
Every client wants to be assured that you have invested in great customer support so that they can always get help whenever they need it. The use of a vanity phone number goes a long way to show your customers that you are, indeed, willing to provide them with premium customer support.
3) Affordable Asset for Advertising
Since it is possible to use a vanity phone number as a way of marketing your business, you can think of it as a budget-friendly way of marketing your company.
Besides, such numbers have budget-friendly calling plans which means that you can focus on productive calling campaigns.
With a higher ROI and a possibly higher conversion rate, a vanity phone number can be an affordable game-changing asset for any business.
4) Allows for Easier Communication
Unlike traditional landline numbers for businesses, vanity phone numbers are easier to access and remember.
This can keep customers motivated to get in touch with you whenever they have helpful suggestions or complaints that can help to transform your business in a positive manner.
Besides, with toll-free vanity phone numbers, your customers don’t have to worry about being charged to air their suggestions, whereas they could easily move to a new business that meets their needs without costing them.
5) Makes Your Business Look Professional
One of the major selling points for a majority of businesses is professionalism, yet not so many business owners know about this or take it seriously.
When advertising, your business comes out more professional and presentable when you include your vanity phone number along with your business name and brand logo.
Every customer will interpret a professional business as one that is more serious especially when it comes to meeting its customers’ needs.
How Can You Get a Vanity Phone Number?
To purchase a vanity phone number, you will be required to have a business phone service. A business phone service is supposed to run on the internet.
As such you should have a device connected to the internet, such as a computer, tablet, smartphone, or laptop to be able to use a modern business service.
What this means is that you are not required to purchase any special equipment to be connected to a vanity phone number. Once you are ready to get a vanity phone number, the final step will be to choose the best business phone service. The most popular are:
Once you have chosen the ideal service provider, all you have to do is think of the perfect vanity phone number phrase for your business.
You can use a host of search tools available online such as the CallSource search tool and others to determine the perfect name.
How Much Do Vanity Phone Numbers Cost?
The cost of buying a vanity phone number varies from one company to the other and will vary further depending on how you customize your number.
If, for example, you choose a provider like Phone Number Expert, you should expect to be charged anything from under $100 to over $1,000.
While some companies charge a high fee, there are others such as Grasshopper that don’t charge to set up a number for you.
Their monthly subscription fee is, however, higher, even though all their plans include unlimited minutes.
Final Words
With the information in this article, it should be easier to acquire a perfect vanity phone number for your business.
As long as you choose a good vanity phone number for your business, you will be on your way to reinforce your brand and improve your customer service in a way that will earn you more customers.
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Richard Goodwin
Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.