Are Memorable 0800 numbers a rip off?

March 4, 2011 - PRLog -- Birmingham, UK: “Often, many 0800 number providers charge a high premium for numbers that don't actually appear to be that memorable, with most of them just appearing to have double digits. However, having simple numbers within you number, along with the 0800 prefix can make it easier for your potential customer to remember,” says Jemma Fox of The 0800 Number Company.

Many people are familiar with 0800 numbers and therefore they only have to remember the following digits. Whereas if a customer is calling a number with a local, geographic area code on it, they have to remember the 5 digits of the area code plus a further 6 digits for the number, with 0800 numbers almost half the work is done already with the easy to remember national freephone 0800 prefix. Although this sounds like common sense, the more difficult you make it for your customer to remember simple contact information, the less likely you are to receive an inquiry call which you could then have converted into a sale. It sounds simple and that’s because it is, and yet is a very effective way to bring in more trade for your business.

Many businesses think that memorable numbers are only good for advertising campaigns for more passing media such as television and radio. It is true that they are ideal for TV and radio, because television viewers are seldom sitting at home armed with paper and pen ready to jot down a telephone number. However, they may have one nearby and a number which gets into their head and thus they can remember long enough to jot down is hugely beneficial. The same applies to radio, as most people listen to the radio during their commute home. If they hear a number for a product or service they really need, they aren’t going to be able to write it down whilst driving, so it is invaluable if the number if memorable enough for them to bear it in mind until they get home. However, it also applies to other media, such as billboards and contact information on vehicles etc., so it is important to consider where people are going to see your phone number before ruling out using a memorable 0800 number.

An area worth considering is Mnemonics. Mnemonics is a method used by many businesses in order to turn hard-to-remember 0800 phone numbers into an easy-to-remember word. Letters on a telephone's keypad can be used to create a number with word relation to the company. With the combination of an 0800 prefix and a following word to remember, the brain can store this more efficiently than a series of randomised numbers, even if a few are repeat.

This is one version of a memorable number, however, many individuals are not familiar with converting a word into numbers on a telephone keypad, and some even have different formats as seen with mobile phones.

Many companies do use the memorable 0800 number marketing strategy. Previous studies from response agencies have shown a 25% to 69% increase in caller response rates when using a memorable number.

Further information on memorable 0800 numbers can be found on the following website: http://www.the0800numbercompany.co.uk/

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