800response Infoline: June 2008

     Four Steps to Higher Response Rates to Your Ads!

Here are four easy ways to ensure that you can track advertising response and hone campaign efforts to generate more leads.

1. Include a Timely Offer and Strong Call to Action
Give people a reason to call and get them to act fast! Include an offer in your ad campaigns that will make prospects and customers call right away. Put a deadline on a current promotion, or tell buyers what they will get right now from your service. For example: “Call 1-800-NEW-FLOOR to receive $100 off your first tile order.”

2. Use a Phone Number as the Direct Response Tool
It is imperative to your success that you give people an easy way to contact you immediately after hearing a commercial, viewing a billboard, or watching TV. The best way to do this is by featuring a phone number in your ad. Getting someone to call means you are one step closer to making a deal. By providing a phone number you're offering a one-on-one customer experience - giving prospects a direct route to your selling team.

3. Feature a Vanity 800 Number as the Direct Response Tool in all Ads
Your phone number will not be much help if folks cannot remember it. Activate a vanity 800 number like 1-800-NEXT-HOME or 1-800-NEW-RIDE. A vanity 800 number that relates to your business will reinforce your brand, deliver a consistent message, and will always give consumers the ability to contact you immediately. Plus, someone who hears your radio ad featuring 1-800-NEW-HOME or 1-800-NEW-RIDE may be looking for a house or a new car three months down the road. They will recall your vanity 800 number from the radio ad and call YOU before they call the competition!

4. Prominent Placement of the Direct Response Tool
Feature your vanity 800 number prominently on the screen, and leave it there throughout a television commercial. Mention it at least three times in a radio ad, and make it the focal point of a print ad. Make sure it is easily heard and understood – visible and easy to read – and your ads will pull higher response rates and you'll look smart!

If you can find a vanity 800 number that correlates with your business then snatch it up quickly! These numbers are rare and hard to come by. They can cost as little as a few hundred dollars a month, and they can increase their incoming call volume two or three-fold. And, we all know that more calls equals more opportunities for signed deals.

     Why Use a Vanity 800 Number in Your Ads?

When you're working to develop or adjust your advertising campaigns be sure to consider using a proven response generating tool to get more incoming leads, capture caller addresses and demographics and take advantage of the powerful call data that is captured with fifteen web-based call tracking reports.

Here are some recent statistics on advertising with vanity 800 numbers:

84% Improvement in Recall Rates with Vanity 800 Numbers in Visual Ads*
Data shows that when vanity 800 numbers are used in visual media (TV, print, billboard) advertisers can expect to see an 84% improvement in recall rates over numeric phone numbers. Sixty-five percent (65%) of consumers were able to correctly recall a vanity 800 number that was featured in a visual image – simulating a billboard or print advertisement. In comparison, only 31% of consumers could correctly recall the numeric toll-free number in a visual image.

Consumers Are 9x More Likely to Recall Vanity Numbers in Broadcast Ads*
An audio advertisement featuring a vanity 800 number yields a nine times higher recall rate compared to an audio file featuring a numeric phone number. Of the survey respondents, 72% correctly recalled the vanity 800 number, with just 5% correctly recalling the numeric toll-free phone number in otherwise identical audio clips.

800 is the Most Widely Recognized Toll-free Prefix*
Survey results confirm that 800 is by far the most widely recognized toll-free prefix among consumers, with a 94% recognition rate. Just 55%, 56% and 70% recognize 866, 877, and 888 as toll-free respectively.

Consumers Prefer to Dial a Toll-free Vanity 800 Number to Reach a Local Business*
After viewing an image that simulated a Yellow Pages^TM advertisement, survey data also shows that 58% of respondents prefer to dial a vanity 800 number to reach a local business, rather than dialing a local or toll-free numeric phone number.

*2008 Consumer Recall Rates of Phone Numbers in Advertising: Vanity 800 vs. Numeric Toll-free Numbers

     Customer Spotlight: 1-800-NEW-RIDE

“I believe in keeping our advertising simple. Using a memorable phone number with staying power brings in the prospects.”

-- Marketing & Sales Manager

Visit the Case Studies section of our site to read the full success story!