Research Confirms the Strength of the "1-800-" prefix

The 1-800 prefix is a powerful component of the 1-800-Therapist brand. Since 1994, the effectiveness of 800 vanity numbers continues to increase.

Evolution of Toll-free Numbers:

  • Thirty years after being introduced as a convenient way for businesses to pay for the calls of customers who contacted them, there are almost 13 million working toll-free numbers. As toll-free service became more widespread, toll-free subscribers found novel ways to use the service, such as transposing the digits into letters on the phone keypad and spelling out words to create vanity 800 numbers for use as response and branding tools in their advertising materials. Since 1997, an additional 10 million numbers have been added to the list to accommodate the demand from businesses of all sizes.

 
Consumer Use of Toll-free Numbers:

  • Consumer polls show that the telephone is still the favored purchasing channel for 45% of consumers.
  • In 2002 research uncovered that 90% of Americans use toll-free numbers. Consumers use toll-free phone numbers for a variety of reasons – to contact customer service centers, make purchases, and research future purchases.
  • With consumer reliance on vanity 800 and toll-free numbers to contact businesses, these consumer response tools will remain a key component in advertising campaigns to reach consumers and generate  response.

Business Use of Toll-free Numbers:

  • With more than 70% of small-business advertisers preferring to receive phone calls by customers over any other form of contact, it is expected that the use of toll-free numbers in advertising will continue to increase.

 
Vanity 800 & Toll-free Numbers in Consumer Advertising:

  • This study focuses on consumers and measures their recall rates of vanity 800 numbers compared to their recall rates of numeric toll-free numbers when featured in advertisements. It also looks at the most widely recognized toll-free prefix by consumers, and identifies the phone number format that consumers prefer to dial when contacting a local business.

 
Source: Consumer Recall Rates of Phone Numbers in Advertising, 800response, January 2008