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.