The traditional telephone number format is seven digits plus three for the area code, like (555) 555-5555 but with vanity numbers you can see a number like 1-888-Carpet-Care. So not including the area code, how can a number be longer than seven digits?

People today are comfortable with dialing vanity toll-free phone numbers but sometimes a person will ask us how a number can have more than seven digits. The answer is they don’t. When you see a vanity phone number with more than seven it’s only so that you can remember it (i.e., 1-800-PROGRESSIVE). Everything dialed after the 7th digit does not matter.

On a landline, when you dial a number and enter in the digits after the 7th one the call will still be connected and the phone line will begin trilling (the sound you hear while you are waiting for the other party to answer the phone).

On a cell phone you can enter all the digits before pressing call/send and the call will still be connected. For example, if you saw 1-800-More-Sleep being advertised and called 1-800-667-375337, your call would still be connected. Everything after the 7th digit is irrelevant to the handling and processing of your call.

The big advertisers across the country have done their research and their test groups. They know people are more than comfortable dialing vanity numbers and they know how important it is to stand out from the competition and get more calls off every piece of advertising they do.

Here are some examples of companies using numbers over 7 digits long:

Here at Ignition we put our phones down once in awhile to read the Wall Street Journal.  Yesterday’s article titled “The Customer-Service Quandary: Touchy Feely or Do It Yourself?” brought up some great points we emphasize when we speak to businesses that are considering licensing a vanity number from us.

The article does a good job of differentiating between why some companies are pushing customers away from the phone and other’s are pushing them towards it. Ultimately the reason companies don’t make their phone numbers readily available is because they are trying to reduce cost. They feel that customers will tolerate reduced customer service in exchange for saving some money. Not having a number conveniently accessible to your customers often creates a frustrating experience and risks that customer’s business.

Here are some highlights from the article:

• “We’re actually trying to figure out how to get customers to call us more often,” says Tony Hsieh, chief executive of Zappos, which is legendary for being a customer-service operation that happens to sell shoes. “Our goal is by the time the customer gets off the phone, it’s like they’ve made a new friend.”
• Zappos’ phone number is on every page of its website. One reason, says Mr. Hsieh, is that the lifetime value of a customer who calls the company for any reason is five to six times as much as the value of a customer who never calls.
• …for lean retail startups growing at an exponential pace, it’s easier to acquire new customers than to worry about those who might be alienated by a lack of customer service.
• that in the age of social media, any customer-service interaction, good or bad, can go viral.

Show your customers you care by having an unforgettable vanity phone number and put it everywhere!

Check out the article HERE.