Brainstorming Vanity Toll Free Numbers

Posted by Tollfreenumber.ORG  at July 4th, 2013

Lower prices and improved technologies have made toll free numbers a viable option for small businesses looking to increase sales and other vital metrics. Many companies and entrepreneurs who decide to get a toll free number also wish to get a vanity number, a number that contains a word or phrase relevant to the company’s business.

What vanity number should a small company get?

The answer obviously depends on the business needs of the company in question as well as on the numbers that are actually available. Here are some tips to take into consideration when brainstorming for a number:

1) The company’s name. This is the most straightforward choice of vanity name. For some companies the vanity number is so central to the business that they, in fact, name the company after the number, as is the case with 1-800-CONTACTS and many other companies.

If the company’s name is shorter than seven letters it may simply choose to add a couple of numbers to the end of the company. That’s how 888OCEAN.com selected its toll free number, 888-OCEAN-99.

2) Get a name that reflects the company’s industry. Sometimes it makes sense to name the vanity number after an industry rather than a specific company. 1-800-FLOWERS is a good example of a company able to use a vanity number associated with their industry.

3) Think about what you are trying to say with your vanity number. For some companies it might make sense to put the name of a key product in the number. This was the case for PoshAir (888-9-PoshAir), a company that sells a high end travel blanket also called a PoshAir. They were able to use a vanity number that referenced the name of their business but also the name of their first product.

Sometimes, the vanity number you need might not fall into a neat category. Take the Angel of the Winds Casino in Washington State. People didn’t know where the casino was located. Then they began to brand the casino using a vanity number, 877-EXIT-210. Did it work? “Definitely,” says Marketing Manager John Cronin, “It’s a success.”

While brainstorming, use web sites like tollfreenumber.org to do quick, free searches for available numbers. This might help as you begin to narrow down what word you would like to feature in your vanity number.

Above all, it is important that customers and potential customers remember your vanity number. Ralph Zimmer is a Managing Partner with Ostendorf Zimmer Yake & Borne LLC(OZBY), a general practices law firm in Baltimore. Ralph Zimmer’s toll-free number provider, tollfreenumber.org, also offered vanity numbers that allowed his firm to acquire the number 888-OZYB-4-ME. “People remember it,” says Zimmer, “and if it is catchy like ours …it works.”