Vanity 800 Pitch Helps Agency Win Account,
Boosts Sales for Skeptical Client
1-800-NEW-SOUND
Background: In July of 2001, an ad agency account
executive called 800response looking for a vanity 800 number for their
client, the oldest hearing instrument dispenser in Missouri, despite
the fact that the account executive had yet to pitch the prospect.
In January 2002, the agency won the account and was still trying to
convince the client to use a vanity number
Client: Mike Marino, Owner • Eastern
MO
Challenge: Mike Marino was skeptical that the company’s
50-plus-year-old target demographic would be willing to dial a vanity
number.
Strategy: The agency account executive convinced
Marino to sign up for a 30-day trial, with the promise of a full refund
of the monthly service fee and no cancellation charges if results were
not as expected.
February 2002 – Client agreed to test 1-800-NEW-SOUND.
October 2002 – Client added 1-800-NEW-EARS.
November 2003 – Client added 1-800-NEW-HEARING.
Results: “These vanity numbers have doubled
my business!” reports Marino. He is sold on the positive effects
of using vanity 800 numbers in his business. “First and foremost
for me is the tracking – I’ve been advertising for a long
time, and until I started with this service, it was only guesswork
as to which campaigns and media buys were working."
“I use 1-800-NEW-SOUND for TV, 1-800-NEW-EARS for print and
1-800-NEW-HEARING for special promotions. The 10-minute
infomercials are really kick-ass, because the number stays on the screen
the entire time."
“I’ve definitely made many changes to my campaigns and
media buys after reviewing the online tracking reports. I can see which
times are working best, which print buys work best,” Marino adds.
He continues, “The phone is very important because our business
is mostly appointment-driven, not a lot of walk-ins. I’m able
to do a lot of prescreening on the calls prior to setting appointments.
This way, we have all of the information on what we need by the time
we have the person in the office.”
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