When you start off locally, your customers are likely to be pleased to see their own, established area code at the beginning of all your communications and calls to action. It’s the familiarity that establishes trust; a local business, dedicated to the people who matter most – the local population.
However, when you expand, or if you’re looking to attract customers from further afield, you may want to become associated with a suitable ‘bigger’ number. True, it shouldn’t really matter, and it should be your products, services and how you do business that make the difference – but your telephone matters nonetheless. Here’s why, and how to promote your new, unforgettable number.
The psychology of phone numbers
We’re a curious bunch, us humans. We have a penchant for certain numbers and are superstitious about others. For instance, a survey conducted by The Guardian, which took in 44,000 participants, had a resounding victory when it came to everyone’s favourite number. Yes, you may already have guessed it – lucky number 7.
As for the reason why: When asked to choose a number between 1 and 10, we usually disregard 1, 10 and 5 instantly, as they’re on either end or in the middle. Even though 7 is an ‘odd’ number, it feels far enough away from both 1 and 10 to be random. Still, as we remember the number 7 so strongly, it’s evidently not random.
The same applies to phone numbers; we remember them. We associate the number ‘1’ with a beginning and ‘10’ with an end, making them useful for integrating within the format of a new phone number. 11 is eye-catching, because it differs from our usual visual interpretation of 1 – 10, and the numbers 5 and 8 are considered to be ‘edgy’ and ‘smooth’, respectively.
Therefore, when you’re looking into how to foster effective business phone number promotion, the best place to start is with a completely clean slate; i.e. choosing a new phone number. At Planet Telecom, you can choose from thousands of memorable and catchy phone numbers perfect for your marketing and promotional campaigns.
Once you’ve picked a number, you immediately need your existing clients to see it, so an email to everyone on your contacts list, possibly as part of your regular digital marketing campaigns, is a must. A new header on all of your landing pages and the homepage of your website is another essential. Any social media channels you use are the ideal place to put the number front and centre and, if you have the time, a quick courtesy call to your customers gives you the opportunity to tell them yourself.
If you already have in mind any upcoming promotional offers, think of a way to integrate the number. For instance, ‘The first X customers to call our new number will receive Y reward.’ This way, you can encourage people to add your new number to their contact list, and those people will hopefully be jumping at the chance to make contact. Another easy way to promote the number is by recording a voice message that greets all incoming callers, reminds them of the new number and redirects them to it without them having to redial.
Finally, while this all may sound a little complicated, you can do almost all of the above with Planet Telecom. From choosing a new number, to recording a voice message, to having all of your calls redirected, simply call 08000 886 886 today. It’s an easy number to remember, and our team of experts will make the process wonderfully simple for you, too.
