As little as 10 years ago, it was a business standard to select a number that could also serve as a catchy acronym, vanity numbers like 555-got-leak, or 555-got -bugs were great ways of encouraging customers to remember your number and call you when they got to a phone which always had the alphabet on the 8 primary keys.

When you use an acronym for your phone number in your marketing mediums, you must keep in mind the behavior and resources of your prospects and understand that due to handheld device limitations, not all mobile users will have the ability to respond to your acronym and conveniently initiate a call to your company via a vanity number.

I seldom use my home phone even if I am at home, I often reach for my Blackberry where my minutes are unlimited and my contact information, calendar and email are all just a key stroke away.  I am one of approximately 29 million blackberry users according to a 2009 article on twice.com.  But, one of the drawbacks of my Blackberry is that the keyboard is configured more like a computer keyboard than a phone, therefore the alphabet is not listed on the 8 primary number keys on my device.

This is important information for both small business entrepreneurs and large corporate marketers to know when selecting and implementing the all so popular vanity phone numbers.  When marketing your business effectively, you must consider the consumer’s resources when attempting to drive sales or services.  Instead of inspiring customers to call you, your catchy vanity phone number could be frustrating prospects (who like me use a Blackberry) resulting in missed marketing opportunities and reduced engagement.

I can’t tell you how many times I have found myself in a situation where I was unable to respond to an advertisement for a business using my Blackberry because the ad gave a vanity phone number.  Actually, this article is a result of those many bouts of personal frustration where I was unable to call everyone from my credit card company to the plumber who was in front of me in traffic.  I reason that If I cannot call them using my Blackberry handheld, it stands to reason that there are at least 28,999,999 other people who can’t as well.  And that is a message worth sharing with my fellow entrepreneurs.

One way businesses can maximize their vanity phone numbers for an increasingly diverse mobile society is to offer the numbers in addition to the vanity letters.  For instance 888 555 BUGS should be 888 555 BUGS (2847) underneath or after.  Using this method you provide convenience for non-mobile and mobile users regardless of their device and ensure that your vanity acronym serves its purpose of reinforcing your brand recognition, creating ease of contact and driving customer engagement.

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About the Blogger:

Will Corrente is “The Connection Optimizer™” and Managing Director of Corrente Consulting International Inc. a small business entrepreneur consulting firm and professional connection company based in West Palm Beach, FL.  Feel free to email him questions, comments or suggested stories and follow him on Twitter @willcorrente.