Vanity Phone Numbers Vs. Dynamic Numbers

A vanity number is an amazing tool, but it’s essential that a business use it effectively to increase advertising value. It’s imperative to recognize when your firm should and should not use a vanity number. Toll-free providers will try to convince law firms to slap their vanity number on everything from print ads to online marketing campaigns. Blindly using a vanity number on all your marketing initiatives could prove to be a costly mistake.

The truth is vanity numbers should not be thrown into every aspect of your firm’s marketing strategy. Each medium is different and in the age of online marketing it is more and more important for firms to understand the key differences in lead generation. There are no quick answers for marketing. A vanity number can absolutely improve your rate-of-return for traditional advertising and word of mouth campaigns, but a great marketing strategy takes advantage of a variety of different tools.

A vanity number excels in several areas including: recognition and memory. Those two aspects are key for radio, billboards and TV ads where listeners may not have direct access to a phone and must remember what they hear. If a potential client is in the car, he or she will have to wait until they arrive at their destination to call. A vanity number will help them recall the number. However, not all advertisements work the same way.

Online marketing and print media are different animals altogether. If you’re looking at an ad in a newspaper, then you’re probably close to a phone already. It only takes seconds to dial the number you see in the ad. When a law firm’s paying top dollar for a large print ad, it’s a good idea to track the leads that come in from that ad as accurately as possible. Giving print campaigns a unique number called a dynamic number is a great way to improve tracking. It immediately separates the leads that came in from the print ad from other incoming calls.

Similarly, many firms have a diverse online marketing strategy encompassing more than a single traditional home website. Online ads, targeted landing pages and satellite sites can create a web of online marketing. Sometimes even clients aren’t sure just where they first clicked on a law firm’s site.  In these cases, dynamic numbers offer detailed reports to show how effective your online marketing efforts are. When a potential client reaches out to your firm, a dynamic number can help trace the originating point of contact if it was through a print or online source.

Think of it this way: a dynamic number marks an ad to trace traffic while a vanity number drives that traffic through recognition.

Vanity Brands, Dynamic Tracks

The downside to a dynamic number is that it is often hard to remember and not helpful for overall law firm recognition. That’s why a vanity number comes in for branding materials like cards, magnets, free offers or other marketing products a firm may give out. A vanity number creates an important association and allows potential clients to mentally latch on to a law firm. As an example, if a law firm is giving away free Frisbees in a local park then a Frisbee that flies by with “1-800-ATTORNEY” on it will make a bigger impression than one with a dynamic number like “1-887-321-6159.”

While a dynamic number is no longer relevant after a potential client has been accepted, the vanity number should continue to play a role in the client’s experience. The new client should encounter the number on marketing materials like newsletters and holiday cards. Later down the line, the vanity number will give clients an easy way to refer the law firm to friends and family.

Balance In All Things

Striking a balance between dynamic numbers and a vanity number can be accomplished. They must work with and not against each other. At 1-800-ATTORNEY we’re working to give our clients the best of both worlds. Potential clients who Google “1-800-ATTORNEY” without adding the name of the firm will find their way to the participating law firm in their area by reaching the main site.

The first thing they will see when landing on the 1-800-ATTORNEY page is a profile devoted to the participating law firm. Web forms allow potential clients to contact the law firm directly in a way that is effective and easy to track. The profile itself can be rich with fresh content and articles. It also provides a strong link to the law firm’s main website. There’s no limit on how many pages or links a law firm can add to their profile.

The ideal strategy is to combine both a vanity number and dynamic numbers to give potential clients numerous ways to find your firm. Implementing different tracking tools will allow your firm to analyze which advertising mediums and campaigns work best for your practice and that’s the ultimate goal – making your law practice the very best that it can be.