How to Turn your Phone Number into a Marketing Tool

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by Michel Fortin

When people decide either to buy from you or to at least inquire further, your contact information may not be in front of them at that point in time. Therefore, before they look you up, they will probably try to skip the inconvenience of searching for your contact information by, among other things, asking others if they would happen to know.

The telephone is the most commonly used form of communication. Since we think in pictures, phone numbers are far from being memorable for most people. It's Mark Twain who once said: "Numbers do not stick in the mind. Pictures do." Many prospects for instance, who may have only seen your number once or twice, will most likely be too busy to look it up in the phone book. If they don't remember your number by heart, they won't call. In fact, many lost sales happen for that very reason.

Hooked On Mnemonics
Fortunately, letters of the alphabet that appear on the phone's keypad can help turn a plain, easy-to-forget number into a hard-to-forget word. Also called "mnemonics," a phone number can be transformed into a word (or set of words) that the mind can recall much more easily and efficiently. And since 1-800 numbers are universally recognized at toll free, mnemonics make a phone call to your business that more enticing.

Most companies employ a 1-800 number for their sales, order, or customer service departments. Needless to say, if the number spells the company name, its nature, or better yet its greatest benefit, then the sales potential will increase as a result. Your contact information may no longer be needed if you have a 1-800 number that's easy to remember. And people who wish to buy from you or call for information can do so in an instant.

For example, "1-800-FREE-TRY," "1-800-CAT-N-DOG," "1-800-MARKETS," "1-800-MAGS-R-US," or "1-800-2-SLEEPY" are all phone numbers with mnemonics. With a choice of up to seven digits, businesses have some flexibility when selecting their own mnemonic. While in some cases that could be very limiting, up until recently phone companies were running out of 1-800 numbers, thus leaving businesses with little choice. The recent introduction of 1-888 and 1-877 lines now offer a certain degree of opportunity to businesses who wish to harness the power of mnemonics with their toll free line.

With these new numbers, an added plus is the fact that these numbers somewhat extend the choice of letters to 10 (when combining the first three digits "888" or "877," since "00" in "800" does not have any corresponding letters). An example would be phone numbers such as 1-8-TUNE-ME-UPS or 1-87-PRACTICE.

Tips And Tricks
If you are looking at mnemonics for your own phone number, your choice does not have to include the entire 7 or 9 digits. Numbers can be used at the beginning, at the end, or within the mnemonic itself, such as 1-800-9-FOODS-9 or 1-800-ALL-4-FUN. However, mnemonics rely strongly on repetition. Thus, try to use repetitious numbers (if you use more than one) or those that rhyme with the word the number spells.

Also, you can extend the number by one digit and thus add an extra letter to your mnemonic. If you were to dial the extra digit at the end you would still be connected to the right number. And some phone numbers have very few mnemonic possibilities. Therefore, allowing a random final digit can open up a lot more options.

Mnemonics can also be applied to local phone numbers, including the area code. However, using area codes should be a last resort since customers will not appreciate knowing at the last minute that the call is a long distance one, in addition to the fact that in most cases the number won't work for local residents.

If you don't wish to change your phone number or if you have not much choice, you could still try to spell something with your current line. A great Web site that can help you (and it's free) is www.PhoneSpell.org. After you've entered your number, it will give you a list of possibilities, including those with the additional digit at the end.

You can enter a six to ten digit phone number and they'll show you all the possible words and phrases your phone number spells. And for added convenience, it can do the reverse by showing you the corresponding phone number to a word you type in.