Vanity numbers first hit the scene in the 1970s, as an adjunct feature to AT&Ts toll-free number service. They didn’t get much traction until a 1984 law mandated that all toll-free numbers must be portable between long-distance providers. This portability suddenly made vanity numbers an attractive proposition, since a memorable number you can’t move with you can be as much a liability as a benefit.

Why Get One

As cell phones, with their inherent free long-distance and portability, grew in popularity some expected vanity numbers and other toll-free services to fade. What they didn’t count on was that vanity numbers would become a matter of prestige among businesses and their customers. Since vanity numbers were once the hallmark of established national corporations, any company with a vanity number appears more established and professional. A brand-new company can take on an air of experience and importance simply by having a vanity number.

Who Needs Them

Vanity numbers are most important for companies that do business at the national level. A clever vanity number makes your business easier to remember and the first number potential customers think of. It’s a bit like having a receptionist in some industries: few people notice that you have one, but everybody will notice if you don’t.

Another group that needs a vanity number is home-based workers. A vanity number hooked up to a service like Grasshopper, allows you to forward your calls to your cell phone and gives you the appearance of a large corporation, even though you have the overhead of a self-employed contractor.

Who Doesn’t Need Them

If your business operates purely at the local level, and does most of its promotions through word-of-mouth or other community efforts, a vanity number is probably an unnecessary expense. Business-to-business companies can also get by without one. That market is more about substance than appearance.However, an easy-to-remember vanity number can also set a business-to-business company apart from its competitors.

While any vanity number is certainly preferable to a normal one, they, too, can be problematic unless proper precautions are taken. Indeed – picking out the perfect vanity number is something of an art form.

Here are a few key steps:

Stay Away From “Hybrid” Numbers

The whole point of a vanity toll-free number is letting viewers abstract the numbers away by remembering letters instead. Unfortunately, some business owners manage to mess this concept up by using what are known as “hybrid numbers.” We’ve all seen these. It’s when a company uses a telephone number like 1-800-642-PETS.

While PETS is surely easier to remember than 7387, there’s still that pesky 642 to worry about. Chances are, more than a few viewers wont remember it. Instead, strive to get a full word or phrase, such as 1-800-PET-FOOD.

An excellent real-life example of what to shoot for is 1-800-FLOWERS (of course we know these aren’t always available but you can also check the 866, 877, 888 or 855 version)

Company Name Or Specific Benefit?

There are two basic choices a business owner has when deciding what his or her vanity phone number will spell:

• The name of their business
• The specific benefit or message being offered

Unless the name of your business also happens to express the specific benefit you offer (as is the case with 1-800-FLOWERS), always err on the side of putting the specific benefit in your vanity number. The reason is that unless your company name is already established and synonymous with your industry, it will not have real staying power with your target audience.

After all, how many people will automatically associate 1-800-BIG-DAVE with “Big Dave’s T-Shirt Shop” when the phone number offers no clue that you sell t-shirts?

Simple, Unmistakable Spelling

It should go without saying, but any vanity toll-free number you choose should be easy to spell. First, rule out any number containing the letters “Q” or “Z”, which are only available on relatively new and modern keypads.

More generally, think about how your vanity number will be sound when repeated in verbal conversation, TV or radio. Slang words usually have several different spellings and are thus a bad idea.

Same goes for possessive pronouns before words that begin with “S. For instance, if your company’s name is Sam’s Sandwiches, using this as the vanity number could confuse people. Do they dial one “S” or two? Avoid problems like these by using only vanity numbers with one, clear, unmistakable spelling.

If in doubt, practice verbally saying your proposed number to a friend or co-worker and asking them to dial what they heard. When more than a few people can effortlessly do this on the first try, go ahead and get the number.

Branding Your Number

Once you decide to do business with a vanity phone number and select a good one, don’t be shy about using it. In fact, some of the most successful companies in the country use vanity numbers as core elements of their branding. FexEx, for instance, slaps its 1-800-Go-FedEx number on all of its delivery vans, airplanes and packaging.

This is exactly the approach to emulate with your own vanity toll-free numbers. Make it the focal contact point in your TV commercials, radio spots, billboard ads, and even online campaigns like PPC and media buying. Done correctly, viewers will gradually come to associate that phone number with your business and using it to place orders will become second-nature.

Vanity numbers can be a huge benefit to any company so be sure to choose the best one for your company!

When you start a business there are obviously a number of things you need to think about. One of these things is your phone system. While it may seem fine to start with your cell phone, eventually you will want to expand, have a dedicated number, hire employees and so on. Using your personal cell phone probably isn’t going to work for long.

What is it you will really need though? A big expensive PBX system? An extra phone line? A virtual phone system is a low cost solution that may be exactly what you need.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing your phone system & plan:

Phone Numbers

Your phone number is the first thing to consider and hopefully will stay with you as your business grows. Your phone number will be how your customers communicate with you.

• Do you need a phone number or do you already have one?

  If you already have a toll free number (or local), Grasshopper offers number transfers (or number porting). At sign up, simply choose the ‘Transfer an existing number’ option. It’s easy and you won’t have to worry about updating business cards or marketing materials.

• Do you want a toll free number for your business?

  Toll free numbers can have an extremely positive impact on small businesses. It not only helps you look more professional to customers and potential customers but also has proven to elicit more calls from customers than a traditional number.

• What kind of toll free number?

  There are three main types of toll free numbers out there – True 800 numbers, general 800 numbers and vanity numbers. True 800 numbers contain the “800″ prefix, general 800 numbers include 888, 866 and 877, and vanity numbers spell out your product or business name. Here are some tips on choosing a toll free number.

Office Space

Have a home office? Work from the road? Have a co-working space? The great thing about a virtual phone system is that no matter where you work, you can have your business number forwarded to any number on any phone.

If you are often out of the office, it makes a lot of sense to have a virtual number. Anytime a potential customer calls, you won’t have to worry about missing the call because you can simply forward it to your cell phone. Receive a voicemail? The voice mail will be emailed to you, ensuring that you can listen to it or read it (with the Read Your Voicemail feature) at any time.

Additional Extensions

When you start a business, you intend to grow, make money, hire employees, etc. When thinking about your phone system, determine if you are going to need to add extensions. (Note – all Grasshopper plans offer unlimited extensions).

• How many employees do you have?

  If you have employees, you are probably going to want to give them their own extension with their own voice mail box. More importantly, if your employees are not located in the same place, it is even more important that they be able to have their own extension that can be forwarded to their phone.

• Do you have a sales or support team?

  If so, consider creating extensions dedicated to those departments. This way, when a call comes in, you know exactly what it is in regards to. Are you the sales and support team? By creating specific extensions, you will know what the call is about as it comes in, allowing you to mentally prepare before you even answer.

Minutes

This is probably the biggest factor when choosing your actual virtual phone system plan. For most 1-2 person operations, a plan with a large number of minutes probably isn’t going to be necessary. However, maybe you have a partner in another city, do a lot of cold calling, or the majority of your meetings are done over the phone.

You also need to factor in how many employees you have. How often are they on the phone? Do they speak with clients? Is there a sales or support team that is constantly taking calls? If so, a plan with more minutes will be necessary.

A virtual phone system is a great option for small businesses and Grasshopper offers three plans to fit your needs.

Here are a few common facts about 800 numbers that you may not know.

• A “true” 800 number is simply a toll free number with an “800″ prefix.

• You own your 800 number.

• 800 numbers are portable. If you change service providers, you can take your 800 number with you.

• 800 numbers that spell out a company name, product, etc are called “vanity numbers”.

• 800 numbers have been around for over 35 years.

• 800 numbers are regulated by the FCC.

• 800, 888, 866 & 877 are all toll free numbers. The only difference is the numbers themselves.

• 800 numbers can be used for home numbers as well as business numbers.

• 855, 844, 833, and 822 numbers have been reserved to be used as toll free numbers in the future.

• AT&T paid over $1.32 million to acquire the vanity number 1-800-YELLOWPAGES (* wiki)

An 800 number is a great way to make your small business sound professional for a low cost. Get an 800 number along with all the great features of the Grasshopper virtual phone system.

Most of us are familiar with big names like 1-800-FLOWERS, 1-800-CONTACTS or 1-800-MATTRESS but there are so many other numbers out there, creative ones. Since it’s Friday we thought we’d have a little fun and show some of the lesser known 800 numbers out there.

Here are 5 of our favorite 800 numbers:

• 800-Giant-Men

  The Gentle Giant moving company sure knows how to grab our attention.

• 800-Virus-No

  McAfee makes it known just what their product does. Backwards but you still get the point.

• 800-Junk-USA

  College Hunks Hauling Junk found just the right 800 number. Unless of course they used 800-Junk-Hunks

• 800-44-Store

  Public Storage may not have gotten the exact vanity number they were looking for but you get the point and it’s easy to remember.

• 800-905-Geek

  Geeks on Call can help you get your computer or IT issues fixed in a hurry. More importantly, they aren’t afraid to admit they are geeks and their 800 number proves it.

What other 800 numbers out there stand out in your head?

“How do I dial a vanity number on my Blackberry?”

If you don’t know what a vanity number is, it is a custom phone number (toll free or local) that spells out a particular word. Here are a few examples:

• 1-800-Flowers
• 1-800-Contacts
• 1-888-BestBuy

So, how exactly do you go about dialing a vanity number on your Blackberry?

Well you could try to figure out what letter corresponds to what number, or you could simply hold down the ALT key. That’s it!

By holding down the ALT key, you can dial every letter on the keyboard, spelling out any number you need, including your Grasshopper vanity number!