{"id":1483,"date":"2022-09-07T18:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T18:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.800.com\/blog\/?p=1483"},"modified":"2023-04-06T15:44:50","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T15:44:50","slug":"easy-phone-numbers-to-remember","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.800.com\/blog\/easy-phone-numbers-to-remember\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuroscience Explains Why Vanity Phone Numbers are Easier to Remember Than Random Digits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019re in your car and see an interstate billboard for a florist. In a flash, you remember that tomorrow is your mother\u2019s birthday. Send Mom flowers; you remind yourself. You glance at the florist\u2019s phone number at the bottom of the billboard as you zoom past it at 70 miles an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that phone number is 800-FLOWERS, you\u2019re in luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the digits are random, forget about it. Because that\u2019s exactly what your brain is likely to do long before you can reach a rest stop where you can safely use your phone and dial all those random digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phone numbers like 800-FLOWERS <\/a>or 800-GoFedEx are called vanity phone numbers<\/a>. They have letters or combinations of letters and numbers that have a literal meaning that make them easy phone numbers to remember. They make up promotional messages describing or promoting the business, and this messaging is much easier to remember than a seemingly disorganized sequence of numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working Memory Helps Explains Why Vanity Phone Numbers Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our brains get sent 11 million bits of information every second. But they can only successfully process 40 or 50 of those data bits. What this means is that the vast majority of what\u2019s happening around you gets missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t worry. It\u2019s mostly useless information we\u2019re missing. For instance, if you pass a stranger on a crowded street and someone later asks for a description of what that person was wearing, you have no idea what or who they\u2019re even talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That individual didn\u2019t get \u201cprocessed\u201d because you didn\u2019t know them or recognize them, and nothing stood out in their demeanor, attire, or way they walked. So, in other words, you didn\u2019t need that particular data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we know that something is important, we put our brains to work to try to remember it. That process is called working memory. When it\u2019s a sequence of numbers \uff0d such as a phone number\uff0d we\u2019re trying hard to retain, that working memory process is called a phonological loop. This is us trying to make sense of a sequence so we can store it in long-term memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the thing. We struggle with retaining a random assortment of numbers because numbers only have symbolic meaning. What\u2019s a \u201ctwo?\u201d What\u2019s a \u201cfour?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it so happened that a seven-digit phone number represented your day, month, and year of birth, or the ages of your kids from oldest to youngest, your brain might easily retain that number. At least for a while (until, perhaps, your kids\u2019 ages no longer line up so conveniently).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that memory storage process would only work for you. Most others trying to recall that same number wouldn\u2019t have those same references, so they\u2019d have to rely on memorizing a random collection of digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good luck with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanity phone numbers, on the other hand, make up letters and words that have a sort of (hopefully) universal meaning that ties back to the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memory Chunking Helps Us Remember Vanity Phone Numbers Too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not enough to just form those phone digits into words. The words must allow your brain to connect them with the business quickly, easily, and cleanly. Neuroscientists would refer to this process as memory chunking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This blog post uses chunking. The bits of information are not presented as one horrifically long single block of copy. Instead, it\u2019s divided into subheads and, from there, further divided into paragraphs and then long and short sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. phone numbers work that way. First, the three-digit area code. Then, the three-digit prefix followed by the four-digit line number. As difficult as a random number sequence structured that way can be to memorize, it would be even harder if you had to try to retain it as a ten-digit sequence with no space breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanity phone numbers take chunking to the next level. Whatever the digits that make up the Federal Express customer service number, 800-GoFedEx, works a lot better. You basically only have to know a two-letter call to action (\u201cGo\u201d) and the company\u2019s commonly shortened name. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work With an Experienced Vanity Phone Number Partner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What promotional message makes an ideal vanity phone number for your business? Which numbers are available? That\u2019s the kind of conversation to have with the vanity phone number experts at 800.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We make companies memorable to their audiences with relevant and strategic vanity phone numbers that make it to long-term memory and motivate action. Visit 800.com<\/u><\/a> or call us at (800) 800-4321.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re in your car and see an interstate billboard for a florist. In a flash, you remember that tomorrow is your mother\u2019s birthday. Send Mom flowers; you remind yourself. You…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vanity-phone-numbers"],"yoast_head":"\nVanity Numbers are Easy Phone Numbers to Remember - 800.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vanity phone numbers work because our brains can process meaningful data easier than random numbers. 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