Choosing Your 800 Number – Keep It Simple

So you've decided to take advantage of the great power of having an 800 number, but how do you choose the optimal number for your business? How do you make the most out of the use of your new toll free number? One of the most important factors to consider is keeping your toll free number simple. While having an 800 number lends credibility and offers a range of great options for improving your operations, one of the greatest benefits of toll free numbers is providing your customers with an easy to remember way to contact your company. You normally only have seconds to imprint your contact information into the minds of your prospects. No doubt at some point you have heard a radio commercial or seen a TV ad that interested you, but you just couldn't write the number down in time. It doesn't matter how great your product or service is, if your customers cannot contact you, you will not realize revenue from your marketing budget and could soon find your company going out of business.

The easier your 800 number is to remember, the higher your response rates will be and the more people who can pass your number to their friends, creating more prospects and building your business by word of mouth to maximize your advertising effectiveness.

One way to keep your 800 number simple and easy to remember is to make it a vanity number. The combination can either be numeric or a word spelled out. Numeric vanity numbers simply have a string of easy to remember digits such as 800-800-8000 or 888-888-8888. Word vanity numbers are incredibly powerful; however, the word spelled out needs to be simple, not complex and confusing. Avoid abbreviations in your 800 vanity number, which are hard to remember and ultimately can have the opposite of the desired effect. If necessary, choose a different similar word; for example, instead of trying to abbreviate the word "mortgage" try using the word "loan" instead. Also, while in some industries it may pay to take a more generic vanity number that runs into eight digits instead of the normal seven, unless it is very easy to remember, it can be confusing. Thankfully, the old days of spending hours on the phone trying to determine a great 800 number are long gone; now there are a number of online toll free number tools, including Numspell, which can help you find an appropriate and successful 800 number in just seconds.

Keep your 800 number simple and customers will appreciate the ease of doing business with your company.

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