Do 800-numbers Matter?

I can recall the first time I heard of an 800-number. It was back in the dark ages of long distance phone charges. Do you remember those days?

Many working folks these days – Millennials, mostly – don’t recall those days because those days died long before they were born. We didn’t have the Internet in those days or even cell phones. What we had were printed materials like phone books or just plain advertisements that would show the toll-free numbers of business. The word “toll free” was the hook.

You see, back then, to call Grandma who lived a thousand miles away meant waiting until later evening hours when it wasn’t “long distance” calling to call her. The charges during the day were seriously out of reach.

That kind of selling environment was a killer for anyone looking for customers nationwide.

So they got an 800-number. It was key to building sales.

What 800-numbers Became

If you had an 800-number then you had a brand. It really was that simple. An 800-number was not only a signal that you cared about acquiring new customers it was a status symbol. It meant you were established and trust worthy.

Of course, nobody then really understand what it took for businesses to get such a number or what they cost. What regular folks understood is that they wouldn’t have to pay to do business with anyone using that 800-number. And frankly that was a huge selling feature.

Think about it. When the airlines got 800-numbers their business exploded. Why? Because they became free to contact. It was a huge customer benefit and anyone with an 800-number got huge business.

Vanity Numbers Sold Hot Dogs

I can recall a local meat company who got an 800-number that spelled out “hot dogs”. All people had to do was remember the word “hot dogs” to call them. That 800-number increased their sales ten fold overnight.

Their story, and many others like them, sold the idea of vanity numbers for businesses. And it still works. From lawyers to one-hour cleaners, the fact you can call them using a catchy word instead of a number is still a thing.

The Internet Changed Everything

Then the Internet came along. We went from 50 million people being online in 1993 to just a decade later having billions online. Is it any wonder that Amazon and other Internet pioneers who were able to hang on and figure it out became so massive?

At first, those with toll-free numbers just used the Internet to promote their phone numbers. But then, over time, those phone numbers became just kind of a byword in business marketing. The Internet made the novelty go away. A website, and not necessarily a toll free number, because the latest thing in reaching out to customers.

Cells Phones Changed Everything Again

Then came cell phones, and then cell phones with Internet. And just like that, 800-numbers came back in style.

How did THAT happen?

Consider this: of the world’s 8+ billion people experts say more than 7.4 billion of them are using cell phones.

Imagine it. Guys in the pizza business – a model that still relies on the good old fashioned connection technique of voice – rejoiced when all these technologies combined. Customers were literally carrying around a business in their pocket.

Those with 800-numbers benefitted right away with the habit-forming cell phone in everyone’s hands. Emergency road services, hair salons, and even the post office business models all changed to a whole new level because their customers could call them on the fly and arrange for business on their way home from work.

Do you still need an 800-number today?

Yup.

And it’s not expensive. In fact, if you don’t spend the pocket change to get a toll free number these days, you’re a fool. There are no long distance charges any more. In fact, businesses we work with just set up their toll free numbers to forward to a cell phone. It doesn’t even go through phone exchanges any more. For less that the cost of a burger you can pay to have phone calls from your toll free number forwarded to any number that you want.

Toll free number are fast to get, inexpensive to own, and essential to your business growth.

Don’t believe me? Call me at 888-499-5333 to discuss.

Stay Away from the “F” Word of Digital Development

Yes, there are free website builders online. Truth be told, the “f” word of digital development is told all over when it comes to building your digital profile online. Just about any host, service or digital development component is offered in some “free version”.

In fact, we confess: back in the 1990s we started on a free web host called GeoCities. Of course, in those days less than half a million people were on the Internet. Today nearly every person on the planet is online.

Our website we found back then is still running. It’s not called what it once was, and we’re not doing business with it in the same way any more, and there’s certainly nothing free about running it to be found. We couldn’t stay on the free stuff and survive. And thank goodness we can’t.

Isn’t your business better than “free”?

If there is one thing we’ve learned in working with auto shops, insurance brokers, retailers and other local business professionals its that there are many really wrong assumptions about getting business online.

One of the most persistent assumptions is that if you just put it online, people will flock to it and buy. If you’re there on Facebook, the buyers line up, right? If you get mentioned on a big channel or via some popular podcast, you’re on your way, right?

Is that what happened when you opened your shop? Does just hanging your shingle do it anymore? Did it ever?

It is Not Free

Nothing about doing business online is free. Nothing. We can let this devolve into a discussion on politics but there’s no need to go there. You know that already if you run any kind of business. It just doesn’t get there without investment and expense.

But for every nickel you spend in permits, fees and taxes there seems to be a never ending stream of other expenses just to get ready to sell.

We hate to be brutally honest but the digital landscape is no different. It’s not free.

It’s not Cheap

What’s the cost of digital development? That question is like any other part of your business. Do you invest in the bigger location or the smaller one? Do you park it on Main street or on a side street? Do you advertise to get business or build a customer base and then advertise?

There are endless decisions – consequential decisions – when it comes to establishing and running a business.

And there are traps everywhere. I recently helped a guy who spent $10,000 getting a website designed. He felt he had done enough by having a beautiful site that did everything he felt his customers needed.

But he called me because he couldn’t figure out why none of his customers were using it.

Five minutes after checking it out I had to break the news to him. There were two very simple reasons why his website wasn’t working and both of those reasons were tied to him doing things cheap.

First, nobody could find his website because he invested zero in marketing it. That just wasn’t in his budget. He figured he could just tell people about his website and they would come. After all, when he first launched his business that is what he did. He told family, neighbors and friends and they all showed up to support him.

Of course, his website came later, after he had established himself. Why shift from the proven formula, eh?

He is in the car restoration business. What good is a website his customers don’t need when he’s already got them as customers? His website should be about acquiring new customers and he was doing nothing to attract him.

But that wasn’t even the hardest part of the conversation.

His website was with a host that charged him $5.99 a month. There’s a billion of those out there and he bought the hype about paying a year in advance for cheap hosting. Yeah, he put his entire online business in the hands of a host that cost less than lunch.

I’ll never understand the mentality of doing this. Especially if I invest $10k in developing a website. Cheap hosting is never going to deliver your best. Ever. You need a host that is lightning quick and able to handle the demands of what you hope will come: customers.

Of course, all this should have been made clear to him up front by whoever was guiding his digital development.

The Online World is Still the Real World

Whatever fantasies you have about selling online, check ’em at the door. The online world is still the real world. Whatever issues in the real world exist that prevent you from connecting with customers exist online – and more.

So forget what you think you know. Avoid the “free” and the “cheap” when it comes to building your business online. If it sounds too good to be true, guess what? It’s too good to be true.

We tell you this not to avoid building your business online. It can be done.

As long as you keep your feet on the ground.

It costs money. It takes time. It requires a lot of expertise as well as all the business savvy you have acquired in getting your business off the ground in the first place.

Why You Need a Toll Free Number