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July 06, 2005

"How to Make Your Phone Number Memorable" by Michel Fortin

When people decide to buy from you or to at least inquire further, your contact information may not be in front of them at that specific point in time. Therefore, they'll probably want to avoid the hassle of having to look you up. They will try to skip the inconvenience of searching for your contact information by, among other things, asking others if they 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. Mark Twain once said: "Numbers do not stick in the mind, pictures do." Many prospects 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 know your number by heart, they won't call. Many lost sales happen for that 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. Such words (or devices) are also called "mnemonics." A phone number can be transformed into a word (or a set of words) that the mind can recall far 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 use a toll free 1-800 number for their sales 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 single 1-800 number that's easy to remember. And people who wish to buy from you or call for more information can practically do so in an instant.

Examples are 1-800-FREE-TRY, 1-800-CAT-N-DOG, 1-800-MARKETS, 1-800-NEWS-R-US, or 1-800-2-SLEEPY. With a choice of up to seven digits, businesses have some flexibility when selecting their own mnemonic. But in some cases, the availability of numbers could be very limiting. Since phone companies were running out of 1-800 numbers, 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.

An added advantage that comes with these new toll free numbers is the fact that they somewhat extend the choice of letters to ten -- when combining some of the first three digits in 888 or 877, since the 00 in 800 does not have any corresponding letters. An example would be phone numbers such as 1-8-TUNE-ME-UPS, 1-87-PRACTICE, 1-TUTOR-FOR-ME.

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, such as 1-800-9-FOODS-9 or 1-800-ALL-4-FUN. Try, if at all possible however, the use the same number. Mnemonics rely strongly on repetition. Thus, use repetitious numbers or those that rhyme with the word used -- such as 1-800-1-MORE-4-U.

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. An example is 1-800-FIRST-TRY.

If you don't wish to change your current phone number or if you have not much choice, you could still try to spell something with your current line. Two great websites that can help you are PhoneSpell.org as well as phoNETic.com. After you've entered your number, it will give you a list of possibilities, including those with the additional digit at the end. This is a useful tool, especially if you wish to convert a local number into a mnemonic.

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 -- including the extra digit. And for added convenience, it can do the reverse by showing you the corresponding phone number to a word you enter.

Posted by isoh at July 6, 2005 05:49 PM

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