Is It Time to Get a Toll Free Number?
Most people get a local number when they start their business and don’t realize until much later that they should have gotten a toll free number. The signs are there, but most businesspeople don’t recognize them.
Take this short survey to help you decide if it is time to make the switch.
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If you answered yes to 1-3 questions, you may not need a toll free number, but might want to look into it.
If you answered yes to 4-5 questions, you are on the borderline and may benefit by getting a toll free number. If you said yes to 6-7 questions, then you definitely need a toll free number. This will give a new dimension to your business.
Photo by Leo Reynolds
7 Essential Steps to Starting a New Business
When you decide to form a small- to medium-sized business, the first steps are obvious: think of something people want, get a DBA, hire employees, etc. After you have created the company, then it is time to get to work, right? Not necessarily. In today’s technology age, there are several steps that you should do now.
1) The Business Plan
Developing a business plan is a must, but it doesn’t need to be complex. A few pages outlining your business overview, industry background, product or service, business model, strategy & team provides the foundation of your plan. Having a solid business plan is a requirement to get SBA (Small Business Administration) loans. For guidance, take a look at Score’s business plan template.
2) Raise Capital
It’s not an easy time to raise capital for a new business. Many larger institutions have reduced lending programs for small businesses and venture capital has seen a downturn over the last couple years. The bright spot in local small business lending seems to currently be with local credit unions. Able to more intimately assess risk in their local markets, some credit unions have still been actively underwriting SBA loans.
3) Legal Structure
If you plan on bringing on partners or investors or will be signing contracts, you’ll want to set up a legal structure and incorporate your company. Your main options setting up as Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or Corporation. Each structure has its advantages & benefits. Services such as LegalZoom provide cost-effective online tools to help guide you through this process.
4) Protect Your Company’s Name
Securing your brand identity is important, and becomes increasingly so as time goes by. The USPTO website has a section for trademarks where one can conduct a search to see if another business has an existing name similar to yours, and if they are in your industry.
5) Establish a Web Presence
Creating a website is essential these days. Your website needs to be much more than a postcard on the web if it’s going to be a lead generation machine. The cost of choosing a domain and hosting your site has come down dramatically over the last few years. Not to be ignored are social media options like Facebook, Twitter and a blog. These can give you a huge boost to your Google visibility.
6) Phone System
The telephone will be the primary means of sales, support and business relations for your new enterprise. Choosing a toll free number (such as 1-800-Widgets) will allow you to take calls from across the country. You’ll want to consider getting a virtual pbx which will provide the power and functionality of a Fortune 500 phone system, but with no hardware to buy or maintain. Even if your company has only one employee, you can also take advantage of multiple extensions. You can create virtual departments, make announcements and route calls from any extension to any number—your home, office, or cell.
7) Create Your Business Identity
Customizing your own letterhead, business cards, and even e-mail signature with your company name and logo helps establish credibility and brand recognition. It also helps spread the word. Once you create a company logo, use it everywhere; on business cards, brochures, letterhead, your website, even in your e-mail signature.
If you do these seven steps before you open for business, it will save you a lot of time in the long run and make your business run smoother from the get-go. And make sure to join us on Facebook, where we are growing our online conversation with our customers. Find out the latest updates, ask questions, learn tips, and stay connected.
Photos by Rachel from Cupcakes Take the Cake
1 800 Toll Free Vanity Numbers – Choose and Profit
Toll Free Numbers Can Be Valued Similarly to Domain Names
In 1991, the FTC ordered that toll free numbers become ‘portable’; meaning owners of 1-800 numbers were no longer tethered to their telecom companies that owned the copper running into the buildings. It allowed for the rise of owning “Vanity Toll Free Numbers” such as 1-800-Flowers (a publicly traded company with over $919 million in sales last year) to those selling vanity numbers like 1800-Yellow-Pages (for a reported $10 million). And while most small business owners won’t gain such valuations, the mnemonic value of having a 1800-Business number can’t be denied. In California alone, insurance companies with inferior (IMHO) marketing content (no offense 1800-General, really) have built very successful marketing programs with easy-to-remember toll free numbers.
Currently there are 800, 866, 888, and 877 toll free numbers available, but one does consistently hear Ryan Seacrest on American Idol repeat the call-in vote numbers as “866, not 800 numbers.” I wonder what call statistics they saw in people who saw an 866 number on the screens and instead still dialed the 800 numbers? This is not to say that toll free numbers that are not 1800 are not valuable, but it is a realistic element to consider when deciding which numbers to purchase. Any discussion about valuing toll free numbers and not mentioning this reality of current consumer behavior would not be comprehensive or honest. BTW, the previous link is from a private citizen who posted a web-page that lists the season’s 866 numbers for dial-in voting – and it outranks AmericanIdol.com’s own website for anyone searching online. You’ve got to love the Internet.
And how competitive is the market for toll free numbers? Chances are, the toll free number of any variety (1800 or otherwise) + your business name, is not available. This hasn’t stopped a lot of other creative marketers from getting toll free numbers that are constructed as:
866+Product-Name (1866-Widget-2000)
800-Call-to-Action (1800-Cash4Gold)
There is a solution to not getting the 1800 number, however, in that studies show an increasing amount of consumers ‘Googling’ toll free numbers in order to find more information about the company or services before calling. This gives owners of non-1800 toll free numbers a chance to display low-cost ads through Adwords that redirect those visitors to your specific website – with the correct number displayed. Better yet, place that number right in the ad copy – a percentage of people will call without clicking the ad – saving you the click-fee. Sorry Google, I still love your technology and your wonderful, wonderful cafeteria. Please invite me back.
Photo by justinbaeder
Vanity Phone Numbers in Pop Culture
Most people are familiar with vanity phone numbers; a number that spells out a certain phrase or even your company name. This is commonly called a “phoneword” and is the alphanumeric equivalent of a telephone number.
Vanity phone numbers are more advantageous than standard numbers because they are more memorable and also give you another area where you can expand your brand.
In the past 10-20 years, they have also become prevalent in pop culture from commercials to use in sitcoms. And, as we all know, if something techie is popular in a sitcom, then it has already become popular with the cool tech crowd.
Scrubs
One of the best uses of a vanity number in recent memory is on the show Scrubs. In it, Donald Faison’s character, Dr. Chris Turk, managed to get 916-CALL-TURK.
Turk: J.D., big news! Guess what my new cell phone number spells!
J.D.: Why’d you get a new cell phone number? Your old number spelled “kufunninapuh.”
Turk: Yeah, well this one’s 916-CALL-TURK. Yeah, so now all you gotta do is call Turk!
J.D.: How’m I supposed to remember that? I’m begging you, stick with “kufunninapuh”!
Turk: Come on, man, this is the best thing that’s ever happened to me besides getting married.
J.D.: She’s not here.
Turk: It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me!
J.D.: But “CALL-TURK” is eight numbers.
Turk: I know, actually it’s just CALL-TUR, but I’m hoping people will dial the “K” anyway.
J.D.: I’ll always dial the “K” for you.
Instead of using the standard 555 number that television uses to keep real numbers from being abused by TV watchers, the producers of the show actually purchased the number. When called, a recording would thank fans for watching. If you were lucky and a cast member was nearby, they would pick up the phone and talk to you.
It was a great way to reach out to fans and help brand the show. However, the number is no longer in service. I suspect that when the show moved to ABC, NBC turned it off.
(Yes, it’s in German, but that kinda makes it funnier.)
Something interesting to note here that most people don’t realize is that a vanity number doesn’t have to be a toll free number. Obviously, if you want to reach customers outside of your area code, you should consider a toll free number, but if you aren’t worried about that limitation, then you have 3 more numbers to use with your catch phrase.
MY BOYS
TBS created a commercial using one of the characters from My Boys and a vanity number: 1-800-TBS-FUNNY.
Not only does it help advertise the show, but it also helps to create a clever marketing gag for the station.
Sadly, nobody picked up the phone when I tried calling it, but it was a real phone number. I am surprised that they do not have an auto attendant to deal with any calls. Maybe they should take note of what Scrubs was doing.
PhoneSpell
Ever been curious what your number might spell? The majority of our numbers aren’t going to spell anything that is memorable, but every once in awhile, something neat will come up. I went to PhoneSpell and put in my home number and cell phone with and without area code. Nothing really cool came up except for the cell phone without the area code. (And in the interest of not wanting to be plagued by phone calls, I won’t post that here. 
) You can also put in your phoneword and it will give you the resulting number. (In case you didn’t want to try to do the “math” in your head while looking at a phone.)
Once you have the number in mind, head on over to RingCentral to get it set up. You can check and see if the toll free number is available first making things very flexible and giving you the chance to make changes if someone already has it. (Plus, it means that you don’t need to call the number to see if it is taken.)
Have a specific local number in mind? Let RingCentral help you with that too. Just call sales at 800-574-5290 and they can look into your vanity phone number and find out what’s available.
A vanity number can be a great resource for your company, website and sales team. Wouldn’t you like for people to be able to call you by just remembering a word or two?