Can you use phone number searches to build targeted lead lists?
Getting your hands on a quality prospect list today can be a lot more difficult than it was a few years ago. It used to be easy to acquire large lead lists of business phone numbers or email addresses from data compilers and lead generation companies. However since so many companies have gone out of business in the past few years many of the names in these databases are no longer valid, while those that are left have often been resold again and again.
However there is another, more creative way to build your own B2B prospect list. Using phone number searches and reverse lookup tools for toll free numbers you can quickly build a targeted list of active numbers. Utilizing the most advanced toll free number search tools you can hone in on specific niche markets using keywords and phrases that are used in vanity phone numbers. There are a number of additional benefits to this.
Firstly, it won’t cost you anything to call them. Secondly the best reverse phone number lookup tools also instantly provide provide a range of data all in one place about a given company. This often includes alternate contact information, the company’s web domain name and a description of their services as well as how long they have had the number. This gives your call center agents access to significant information in an instant which can be used to tweak pitches, sound more knowledgeable about the client’s business when you can and be able to hone in better on their needs.
This may sound a little tedious to do yourself. However when you consider that you can outsource the harvesting of these phone numbers to a virtual assistant for as little as $1 an hour it is also one of the least expensive ways to build a prospecting list.
By using the leading phone number search tools you will also find that your results include a list of other related toll free numbers which should you join a toll free number affiliate program you could offer as an add on service or bundle with your current offering to increase your revenues. Or perhaps you can even host phone number search tools on your own website that will not only provide an extra income stream but help you capture more incoming prospects from the web.
1. Shared Usage
You should only have to put out money for exactly what you need. If you want the best premium toll free vanity phone numbers, but you don’t need them for the whole country, you should be able to get them just for the areas where you provide service. Shared usage with another provider, so you can use that toll free number just for your area, will enable you to get a better number, increase advertising effectiveness, and reduce expenses.
2. Toll Free Fax Included
You should be demanding free fax service from your toll free service provider. Free fax service makes it easier for your customers, saves them money, and makes them more likely to do business with you. It also saves you money by not needing an extra line, and provides an easily traceable record for the future.
3. Access to Call Details Online
You shouldn’t have to wait for your phone bill to know what is going on with your toll free numbers. Online access enables you instantly to track marketing campaigns and make adjustments on the fly to maximize your marketing ROI as well as identify problems immediately. Of course, it also makes it easier to measure employ performance daily and weekly and keep up production.
4. Voicemail to Email
Voicemail to email and call notification by email services instantly alert you to business opportunities as well as enable staffing on demand, which can dramatically reduce overhead and rocket your profit margins.
5. Call Blocking
Call blocking ability is essential for businesses today. It not only saves you big on your phone bill, but it will also save your staff an incredible amount of time, making sure they are maximizing production at all times. The best toll free providers should also enable you to block calls by area code and prefix.
6. Non-Blockable Caller ID
Non-blockable caller ID means you will always know who is calling your business phone lines, enabling you effectively to block problem callers as well as capturing a prospect's number 100 percent of the time so no business opportunities are ever missed even if the original call is.
Vanity phone numbers have proven to be one of the greatest marketing tools for improving branding and increasing advertising effectiveness, but it doesn’t end there. The recent changes in the economy are demanding that companies not only fight harder to expand their market share in their current niches but also become the company of choice in other niches within their industries in order to maintain revenue levels and grow. Vanity numbers can help accomplish this goal.
Vanity numbers that spell out words can be used to target specific groups and needs within your given industry, enabling your enterprise to carve out big slices of market share and dominate them. Obviously there are advantages to having generic vanity phone numbers for your industry if they occupy the number one spot like 800-FLOWERS, 800-CONTACTS, or 800-MORTGAGE. However, if you can’t get your hands on these for some reason, then look at targeted vanity phone numbers that can help you take over different market segments one at a time. These phone numbers make it easier to maximize marketing ROI with more targeted campaigns. Once you have locked in a top position in a certain niche, it is going to cost your competitors much more to try and compete with you in it, no matter how good their products or services. Then, while they are planning attacks on you in one area of your industry, you have the luxury of a head start to go after other niches with new vanity phone numbers while they are not paying attention.
How can you put this marketing strategy into play for yourself? Start by looking at customer needs and desires. Then take a look at how your company differentiates itself in your industry. Typically, you can harness factors like being easier and faster to deal with than your competitors in order to grab attention and drive prospects to action. Use words like FAST, EASY, EZ, and NOW in your vanity phone numbers for maximum effect. You may not even be the fastest or easiest in your industry, but it is all about perception. Harness the power of winning vanity phone numbers and grow your business.
Radio advertising accounts for just under 10 percent of all advertising dollars. It’s effective, universal, and mobile. That’s why many Custom Toll Free clients do direct response marketing over the air waves.
The folks at Radio Lounge USA are in the business of producing direct response ads for their clients. They advise companies to make the call to action clear and give listeners a URL or phone number that’s memorable.
“If you are driving users to a toll free number, make sure you are not advertising some random ten digits that are difficult to remember. Use vanity phone numbers,” is their advice.
Here are a few general tips for using radio advertising with your custom toll free number:
Know your audience. Pick stations and time slots that best match your audience demographics.
Repeat, repeat, repeat. Once you’ve chosen a particular time slot or show, stick with it. That guarantees enough repetition of your ad and your toll-free number with a particular audience (morning drive time, gardeners, talk show fans) that your information will be remembered.
Try “roadblocking.” The term “roadblocking” means running your ads on several stations during the same weeks. Businesstown.com explains why roadblocking can be highly effective.
You’ll also find some great advice for successful radio advertising here.
