A vanity number, otherwise known as a phoneword, is a number that a business chooses that spells a particular word or phrase, usually a word or phrase that is associated with that business’ product or service. For instance, Stanley Steamer, a carpet cleaning company, uses 1-800-STEAMER as its vanity number. While the letters actually spell out a word, they only do so because the numbers used to spell out the word hold the letters that correspond to each number. Look at the dial pad on a telephone: each number corresponds to a few letters. Therefore, when you’re creating a vanity number for your business, you can literally spell out a word by using the numbers.
But why are vanity numbers so popular? To put it simply: vanity numbers help people remember a business’ number. Let’s look at the Stanley Steamer example:
- 1-800-STEAMER contains part of the company’s name, which also tells the customer what the business does.
- This vanity number is a simple word; therefore, if someone is looking at a dial pad and trying to spell it, it will be a relatively simple task.
- Potential customers don’t need to worry about memorizing a random string of numbers if they want to easily learn Stanley Steamer’s number.
- Having part of the company’s name in the phone number indicates professionalism. If a company has branded everything down to its own phone number, then its customers will know that it means business.
There is also a luxurious element that comes with vanity phone numbers. People have not always had the option of choosing a phone number that spells out a word; furthermore, only companies who are willing to spend the money on these vanity numbers are the the ones who will get them. Therefore, vanity phone numbers are also popular because of their “classy” aspect. If everyone could easily get a vanity phone number, then it would not be nearly as valuable. Vanity phone numbers are as popular as they are today because they indicate professionalism, help customers remember your business’ phone number, and are signs of class.
I think easy-to-remember and free calling services; these two features have made these numbers so popular among customers.
Vanity numbers make it much easier to instill your number into someones memory
Having a vanity number is a must if you want people to remember your number. Even if you don’t have a complete word something that is easy to remember is essential
I enjoyed reading this article. As a vanity 800 number and service provider, I’d just like to chime in with some statistics to back up this opinion. We conducted a consumer study, reaching over 1k respondents, and confirmed that:
Key Finding 1: 75.4% Average Higher Recall Rate of Vanity 800 Numbers over Numeric Toll-free Numbers:
After viewing sample ads with one of these response tools, consumers have significantly higher recall of vanity 800 numbers versus 10-digit toll-free numbers.
Key Finding 2: Consumers have a 57.6% Average Higher Recall Rate of Vanity 800 Numbers over URLs:
Respondents find it easier to recall a vanity 800 number over a URL after listening to ads featuring both response tools.
Key Finding 3: When it comes to toll-free numbers, the 800 prefix is most widely known as being toll-free:
888, 877, 866 and 855 have much lower recognition rates.
If you’re interested in more stats, we have them posted online: http://www.800response.com/vanity-800-benefits/white-papers/
It does wonders for brand recognition also
A vanity number helps me tremendously when it comes to seeing a billboard or anything else with some sort of special offer on it. Businesses with these numbers do much better for customers IMO. BTW Google voice offers something like this also but I couldn’t find anything that was for me.
I know a lot of companies that use this and it’s very professional and shows the customer the different kinds of class. Also shows its a good proper well known company.
This is a great article and it’s true these are very classy and show true professionalism in the company. It does help show what kind of work they can do for you. It’s also a very simple way of doing business also. Great article.