How to Use a Virtual Number for Marketing Purposes

Virtual phone numbers are also commonly called remote call forwarding numbers.

Virtual Number MarketingA Virtual number can be used for many purposes, one of them is marketing. While you may already have a business phone number to advertise, you may want to reconsider and order virtual numbers as a test. Here’s what you need to know.

What is a Virtual Number?

Virtual phone numbers are also commonly called remote call forwarding numbers. They are similar to toll-free numbers, and in fact, might even be toll-free depending on the number you order. For example, with a virtual number, there’s no physical phone attached to the number. Rather, the number is assigned a “ring to” number where all of the incoming calls will be routed.

How can you get a virtual number?

First, decide if you want to use a virtual number.  In other words, do you have a need for one?  An example of a typical virtual phone number use would be to provide an easy way for your customer to call your office for sales or customer service.  You can do that with a virtual call forwarding number.

For instance, if you had a business that sold mail order cupcakes and your office was based in Philadelphia but you had many customers on the west coast, you may want to advertise local phone numbers in Los Angeles or San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego or Beverly Hills.

The same would be true if you had a global business based in the UK.  If your marketing plan included international sales to the US or Thailand or Costa Rica, you can get a local virtual phone number in all of those places and have the calls ring to your UK office.  Your UK business would appear local and convenient to whatever country or city you are targeting.

Thus, if you have a call center in Chicago but want callers from Tampa Bay, Florida to dial a local phone number for Tampa Bay, you could order a virtual Tampa Bay phone number but designate its ring-to number as your Chicago call center.  Your callers in Tampa Bay will feel as though they’re making a local call and will be unaware that they’re actually speaking to someone in Chicago.

Why Use a Virtual Phone Number for Marketing?

If you’re running a national or international marketing campaign, using virtual numbers gives your campaign a local flavor. Callers may prefer supporting a local business. In the case of international ads, your existing phone number would either be a long distance call for your callers or potentially difficult to dial. Plus, you can’t necessarily use your toll-free phone number because it won’t work outside of North America. Global call forwarding numbers solve these problems, instantly giving you a local presence while also eliminating barriers to calling your company.

Another advantage of using virtual phone numbers in your marketing campaigns is the ability to track performance based on the call volume of your numbers. For example, if you run a national ad using your main 800 number, you won’t be able to glean meaningful data from your call logs. Incoming calls could be from anywhere including from existing customers. On the other hand, if you have virtual numbers dedicated to each campaign, your call logs will tell you exactly how many calls each campaign generated. Take it even further by using local numbers for each geographic area you want to track.

  1. Determine the geographic areas you want to track during your marketing campaign.
  2. Order virtual phone numbers for each of those areas.
  3. Place your virtual phone numbers in the appropriate advertisement, making sure that the number only appears in one ad.
  4. Review your call logs during and after the campaign to gauge which ads generated the most interest.

You can also use two different virtual numbers to A/B test your ads. For example, if you want to test two different headlines in an ad, use two different virtual phone numbers to see which headline resulted in the most phone calls.

Since our virtual phone numbers are month-to-month and contract-free, affordable, loaded with features, and have no cancellation fees, they’re perfect for marketing campaigns. Once the campaign is over, you can cancel the virtual number without penalties. Local, toll-free, and international virtual numbers are available.

View worldwide database of call forwarding virtual numbers here