subject: What Are Alpha-numeric Telephone Numbers? [print this page] Anyone who watches American films or catches up with American television shows, which must surely include a large proportion of the population, may be aware that even fictional businesses in the US advertise their services using alpha-numeric telephone numbers. These can be exploited to humorous effect on-screen, but their presence is indicative of the significance of the alpha-numeric number in American society and popular culture. However, here in the UK there are hardly any businesses taking advantage of alpha-numeric numbering techniques to promote themselves.
Alpha-numeric telephone numbers are not an entirely new system, but rather represent a technique for choosing telephone numbers based on the way in which their digits relate to the corresponding letters of the alphabet arranged on all landline and mobile telephone keypads. For example, if a business in the UK was attempting to attract custom for its dry cleaning service, it might be beneficial to choose alpha-numeric 0800 numbers. which could be advertised as 0800 WECLEAN. This would result in the customer dialling the well known freephone prefix 0800 followed by 9325326, which corresponds to the letters provided in the advert. It seems that this could be used as a powerful marketing tool by many businesses as it is in the US, but it has hitherto failed to catch on in the UK.
There is a relatively simple explanation for this transatlantic inconsistency and it is based on the history of telephone services in the US rather than a lack of imagination amongst businesses in the UK. Alpha-numeric numbering was introduced very early in the growth of telephone communication in America, with two digit area codes linked alphabetically to the corresponding name of the region to which they related. As such, the US population has been used to thinking about their numbers alphabetically as well as numerically from the very beginning, whereas this system was never put in place in the UK.
It is only in recent years that UK customers have begun to associate the numbers on their keypads with letters of the alphabet and it is all thanks to the popularity of text messaging using mobile phones. This new found familiarity with alpha-numeric systems might open up the UK market in the future and cause businesses to focus their choice of number to accommodate this change. There are already one or two services that have decided to take this route rather successfully in the UK, although it is perhaps surprising that more companies have not adopted a similar technique, with many relying on combinations of memorable numbers rather than alpha-numeric lettering to drive their contact details into the mind of the consumer.
Anyone who feels that their business would benefit from the use of an alpha-numeric telephone number can use a variety of useful online services which can automatically convert any phrase into its numeric representation, although since the market for these services is minimal in the UK most will cater to American customers. However, if you disregard the dialling code, it can be a useful way to help craft your ideal alpha-numeric telephone number for your business, which you can then choose to use in any way you wish, with traditional number marketing also an option depending on your audience and needs.
