If you can remember as far back as 90′s you can remember a time before the internet. Before your voice or your business had a direct connection to the world. A time when the term “brick and mortar” was the norm and not slang for, what some term, as an out dated business model. For the record, I still think brick and mortar businesses have their place. If you are a retail business and you are on Rodeo Drive or Park Place then you probably have a great deal of brand awareness. Though is brand awareness enough to offset the exorbitant rent in high end retail markets? Even if it is, how does a business without brand awareness or a prime location get noticed? If you asked that question just a decade ago most would say you don’t stand much of a chance. The simple fact is that one out of five businesses fail within their first year. But, since the advent of the internet and people flocking to use it, businesses today have a major advantage. They can create a presence on the internet for relatively low cost and get worldwide exposure.
Before the internet, the most similar way businesses created a simple connection to their customers was through vanity numbers. Telephone numbers that were easy to remember or spelled out their name or another word on the dial pad. So businesses would pay handsomely for xxx-5000 or xxx-4444, for example. If your business was in photography you might look for a number that was similar to xxx-photo. I think you get the idea. In fact, there was a whole industry around the buying and selling of vanity numbers. It’s of much less importance today.