Everyone in business knows that it takes more than one or a few touches to make an impression – here’s where to focus on ensuring you’re first in new consumers’ minds when they’re ready to buy.
As I sit here thinking of what to write, hands on keyboard and eyes on computer screen, something pops into my head.
A song, of sorts.
But it isn’t any normal Top 40 song you’d listen to on the radio – although I do hear this song on the radio (quite frequently, apparently).
It’s the phone number jingle for a local plumber in my area.
Now, I don’t ever spend my spare time researching plumbers. And to be honest; I don’t know the names of any other plumbing companies in my city since I have yet to need to have one at my house. But I do know this particular plumbing company’s name and phone number.
Why?
Well, if you are in marketing or advertising, the term effective frequency may be something that you’ve heard of before.
(This plumbing company has a lot of effective frequency on my brain).
If you aren’t familiar with this term, according to Wikipedia, effective frequency is “the number of times a person must be exposed to an advertising message before a response is made.”
Right now, my response is singing their phone number jingle in my head at my desk, but you better believe that in the future when I have a plumbing need, my response will be to immediately think of this company that I am already aware of and familiar with.
What does your company embody that you want consumers to know about you before they know anything else?
So how do you make sure that consumers know about and remember you? When it’s reported that the average consumer is exposed to up to 10,000 brand messages a day, what are you doing to make sure your brand stands out amongst the noise? There are a few key areas to pay attention to when it comes to gaining attention and retention from consumers.
Brand Logo
If you’ve been paying attention to brands you love over the past years, you’ve probably noticed slight changes in their logos. Whether it’s Google’s easy-to-read Product Sans font they created in-house for their new logo, or Dunkin Donut’s switch from the full name in their logo to just the orange and pink “DD” letters, one thing is for sure – logos are getting more and more modest. Just think of these easily-recognizable brands that you can effortlessly identify by their simple logos:
- Nike’s simple black check mark. (more on Nike for slogan)
- McDonald’s iconic golden arches
- Apple’s bitten apple
- Adidas’ Trefoil slanted bars
- Starbucks’ green crowned mermaid
Just search “iconic brand logos,” and you’ll find copious more brands recognizable by their logos alone. You’ll also notice that the majority of these iconic logos have evolved into more simplistic versions of their starting logos over the years, and many have eliminated the brand name from their logo altogether.
Make your logo work for you – while it should be tied into the business name somehow, of course, do some research and make sure that it has something that stands out, yet is easy to remember.
Advertising Slogans
This one takes a bit more effort but can truly be the push that brings your business more to the forefront of consumers’ minds if clever and catchy enough. “I’m Lovin’ It,” “Just Do It” and “The Quicker Picker Upper” are three that you probably will recognize immediately (McDonald’s, Nike, and Bounty, of course).
Some companies end up being known by their slogan more than their name, or they become so intertwined with one another that you almost cannot hear or see one without the other. Now, this may not be the case with your company and certainly is not how it works for everyone – but it is worth considering for your business. What does your company embody that you want consumers to know about you before they know anything else? What kind of emotion do you want to evoke when thinking of or hearing your brand name?
Perhaps you don’t have a specific slogan for your brand (or don’t want one), but how about for specific advertising campaigns? These can be switched up depending on the advertisement, and you can test out to see which seem to elicit more of a response than others. It can be the differentiator when it comes to consumers remembering something specific about your company.
Phone Numbers
In the digital day and age we are living in, you may not think of a phone number as one of the most important aspects of your branding – but that is far from the truth. If your company relies on appointment-setting for sales, then you need to pay attention to your phone numbers even more so. Do you want consumers to contact you for a particular service? Then you better be sure that you have a memorable way for them to do so. This is where vanity numbers come into play.
Some companies make their phone name their brand – or vice versa. Just think of 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-CONTACTS. Ever heard of them? I’m sure you are nodding your head yes. These two companies utilize vanity numbers to their maximum potential. And who doesn’t recognize these easy-to-remember brands?
But maybe there is no way to incorporate a phone number into your company name – and that is fine. While it is great to have your phone number reflect your brand or company name, vanity numbers can also be useful to advertise any specific product(s) or campaigns. Just think of campaigns that you advertise in mediums that clients may see/hear in passing but have a difficult time remembering. Vanity numbers are great options for ads that may appear in these places:
- Radio
- Television
- Billboard
- Podcast
- Landing Page
- And more…
It was found in a Chicago Tribune advertising survey that advertisers using vanity numbers were getting ten times the amount of response to those advertising with a local numeric number. Why? Well, what is easier to remember, a random assortment of numbers or a word? When about 84% of ad viewers are able to recall a vanity phone number after seeing it in an advertisement, I think you have your answer.
But don’t just take my word for it – CallSource’s vanity numbers are also trackable, so you can see down to the lead and if the appointment was set off of a vanity number to ensure that it is working efficiently for your business. Check out our vanity options here.
See why an 833 vanity number may be the best option for your business.
Now get to work on building your brand to be as memorable as it can be – through your logo, slogan(s) and phone numbers…soon consumers will be singing your praises in their daily lives before they even use your products or services!
Want more information on how to better your business to get more customers and help keep them coming back? Talk to a CallSource specialist today on how we can help.
