Home Builder Logs In More Than 2,000 Calls a Month
with Vanity 800 Number
1-800-NEW-HOUSE
Background: Prior to using a vanity 800 number one of the
nation’s largest “on
your lot” home builders relied on multiple local offices in several states
to record its ad response. The company had no tracking system in place and no
method of gauging the effectiveness of its advertising.
Client: Barney Moore, Marketing Director • Northern
GA
Challenge: Develop a method to direct and track calls from
any of 43 locations in four to five different markets.
Strategy: Acting on research that stated vanity 800 numbers
have a 15-20% greater response rate due to their memorability, the client contacted
800response. A memorable vanity 800 number (1-800-NEW-HOUSE) was incorporated
into 30- and 60-second spots for all locations. Calls were automatically directed
to the right location based on the location of the caller.
Signed on for 1-800-NEW-HOUSE in August 1998 for routing to 43 locations.
Results: This home builder now averages more than 2,000
calls per month in response to its advertising. Marketing Director Barney Moore
explains that he can now determine the effectiveness of an ad by checking online
tracking reports.
As he points out, “Now I can determine how many calls I get for $10,000
spent, and I can say we get about 45,000 to 50,000 calls per year on 1-800-NEW-HOUSE.
If activity in a particular area of Georgia needs to be bumped up, I’ll
run 60 days of TV advertising in that region and check online reports to judge
whether it’s the right TV station and the right programming. It gives
me a comparison, and I don’t know how else you’d do that.”
Moore also points out the cost-effectiveness of regional vanity 800 numbers. “I
mailed out 80,000 pieces last week – a postcard offering a free fireplace
or deck – and without the 1-800-NEW-HOUSE number, I’d have needed
to run 43 different batches.”
Moore also attributes a spike in his company’s calls in January and
February each year to increased TV advertising using the 1-800-NEW-HOUSE number
during those periods. It’s a time when home builders/remodelers typically
line up new prospects before the spring push.
|