Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQs
A Phoneword is simply a phone number that spells a word by using the letters on your telephone keypad. The Phoneword is either a 13 number, a 1300 number or a 1800 numbers.
The major difference is how call costs are divided. The total cost of calls to 1800 numbers are the responsibility of the business who leases the number. Costs of calls to 13 and 1300 numbers are shared by the caller who pays $0.25 and the business who pays the remainder.
13 numbers are comprised of six digits in total, the 2 digit prefix (13) and the four digit suffix. e.g.: 13 CABS. THE 13 number range is typically used by larger national companies. Your customers can call your 13 number from any landline in Australia for the cost of a local call. All 13 numbers attract an annual government tax.
1300 numbers are comprised of ten digits in total, the four digit prefix (1300) and the six digit suffix. The suffix can have up to an additional 4 digits. This type of service allows your customer to call you from a fixed line telephone anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call.
1800 numbers are comprised of ten digits in total, the four digit prefix (1800) and the six digit suffix. The suffix can have up to an additional 4 digits. This type of service allows your customer to call you from a fixed line telephone anywhere in Australia for free.
We usually recommend Phonewords over numeric numbers because for most applications a numeric number is like a commercial that people think is funny but can’t remember what the commercial is for. It may be nice at the time, but it doesn’t increase the response rate in the same way that a Phoneword does because while a nice numeric number is easy to dial, it’s not easy to remember. And no one ever calls a number because it is easy to dial.
There are however, a couple of situations where numeric numbers have advantages over Phonewords. We recommend using a numeric number when you have a foreign language audience or elderly audiences. If your business targets these audiences 1300 Easy Dial can help you find a numeric number that’s easy to remember such as 1300 400 500. For more information on how to purchase a numeric number, call us on 1300 EASY DIAL.
This is the kind of problem most businesses wish they had! If you find that you are receiving too much business with your Phoneword, call us and we will provide you with some ideas on how you can turn this problem into an opportunity.
No. You still keep your exisitng phone number with your carrier. We will simply overlap your new Phoneword over your existing line and will bill you only for the calls made to your new 1300/1800/13 Phoneword. You will still receive your normal phone bill for line rental and outbound calls from your current telephone carrier.
No. Your Phoneword will ring directly to your existing mobile, home or office line, and you still keep your existing phone number as well.
Most Phonewords can be leased at postcode level, which means that you can target specific regions with your Phoneword. For example, if you are a hairdresser, you can choose to have your Phoneword in your suburb only or you could add surrounding areas. In fact, the larger your catchment area the more business your Phoneword will generate.
Phonewords are available in every city and town in Australia.
1300 Easy Dial has a wide range of Phonewords. View our current list of available words or call us on 1300 EASY DIAL (1300 327 934) to speak with a consultant about your specific requirements.
You will have exclusive rights to the use of your chosen Phoneword in your selected region.
Unfortunately, yes they can. As there are three to four letters on every number key on your telephone keypad, each Phoneword can translate from 729 to 4096 different words, dual words or word combinations.
If your brand is trademarked, and your competitor secures the matching Phoneword, they can only advertise the Phoneword in it’s numeric form. They can also lock it away forever ensuring you never gain access to the Phoneword benefits.
This practice is definitely not supported by 1300 Easy Dial, however, due to the Trade Practices Act, we cannot stop supply to any company wishing to secure any Phone Word.
1300 Easy Dial licenses and sells telephone numbers only, irrespective of what the numbers translate to.
Because there is no one to one correlation between a phone number and a particular Phoneword, there is no priority given based on a phone number spelling a particular business name.
As such, a phone number that spells a particular business name will also spell many other things including company names, brand names, generic words, and word combinations.
There are 3 to 4 letters on each number key on your telephone keypad. This means that every Phoneword will translate from 729 to 4096 different word combinations.
For example, the telephone number 1300 468 763 spells the following combinations:
1300 HOT ROD
1300 GOURMET
1300 INTRODUCE
and many more!
National Dial A Word Registry license and sell telephone numbers only, irrespective of what the numbers translate to.
It is the responsibility of the company with the rights/enhanced rights to the Phoneword on how it is displayed/advertised.
It is now possible for your customers to contact you on your Phoneword via SMS. By allowing your customers to send you an SMS, you can expect a significant increase in advertising response rates.
SMS to Phonewords also has the added advantage of customers being able to contact you out of your normal business hours. This ensures you never miss out on an opportunity.
Customers can send you different ‘key words’ in their SMS to help determine which advertising medium is the most effective.
The cost to send an SMS to your Phoneword is the same cost to send a standard SMS.
Technical FAQs
You may have noticed that some Phonewords are longer than others.
The minimum number of digits required after dialing the 1300 / 1800 prefix is six. However most Phonewords are longer than six letters, and these ‘extra letters’ or digits are called Overdial. Phonewords with the ’13’ prefix have 4 letters after the prefix.
The maximum number of digits after dialing a 1300 / 1800 prefix is 10. The maximum number of digits after dialing a 13 prefix is 5.
Additional letters dialed are treated as ‘dead’ numbers and are ignored by the phone system, not affecting the call in any way.
In general, overdialing simply helps to make phone numbers easier to remember.
Of course not. You still keep your existing phone number(s). Your new Phoneword is simply an addition to your existing phone numbers without the need for any new lines or hardware. You will still capture all existing inbound calls from your current numbers plus 100% of calls generated from your new Phoneword.
To help analyse your call activity, visit our call reporting section.
No you don’t. You still keep your existing relationship and phone number with your present carrier as always.
You do, however, have the option of porting your Phoneword with any other carrier you wish at any stage in the future.
We do have a preferred telco provider. They can help you with connecting your phone word.
Yes. This is called telephone number portability. It allows consumers to move address anywhere in Australia without any risk of losing their 13 / 1300 / 1800 Phoneword.
Even if you decide to switch your telecommunications provider, you are guaranteed to keep your 13 / 1300 / 1800 Phone Word wherever and whenever you move and connect it to whoever you like.
Phone Words in Australia started taking off towards the end of 2004. The reason the market rapidly expanded was due to two fundamental issues being resolved.
The first was telephone keypad standardisation. There were several versions of non-conforming keypads in the marketplace which had letters on different number keys. This issue has now been resolved and it is no longer legal to sell or import telephones in Australia that do not conform to the standard.
The second challenge was a technical issue called overdial. Any Phoneword that was longer than 6 letters would not always connect. Since most of the Phonewords were longer than 6 digits, no one would use them.
With these two problems now resolved, and with text messaging awareness and usage setting new records, the Phoneword market has opened up and is now exploding at an extraordinary rate.
Timing FAQs
It is important to understand with Phonewords that there are a very limited supply. They cannot be put on hold, so it’s first come, first served.
Results have shown that the bigger companies are missing out on quality Phonewords to the smaller companies who simply have a much faster decision making process.
When domain names were released a few years ago, people initially did not see the value however, in a short amount of time demand has skyrocketed. This time has almost come with Phonewords, like domain names, of no longer being a matter of price, but a matter of supply. They simply will no longer be available.
Why not secure a Phoneword today, before your competitor does and you will become the predator, not the prey!
As you could appreciate, your Phoneword will become your company’s greatest marketing asset for many years to come.
As such, we take a great deal of care setting up your service so it’s done right, the first time. It can take two to three working days to provision your service once you have secured your Phoneword.
1300 EasyDial has a large pool of Phonewords, the majority of which have never been released and made available in the Australian marketplace. As of the first quarter of 2015, many Phonewords in our registry will be made available to any interested parties.
Benefits FAQs
1300 Easy Dial’s Phonewords and other services are designed to help any business generate more calls, leads, and sales.
Believe it or not, Phonewords aren’t for everyone. Each company has its own goals and objectives. Below is a list of points which reflect the type of company who would significantly benefit from the use of a Phoneword :
- Word of Mouth – Companies who receive large amounts of referrals
- Conversion Rates – Must have strong conversion rates over the phone
- Serious Growth – Have the ability to adapt and handle sudden growth
- Advertising – Proactively advertise and promote their goods / services
- Competition – Companies who are involved in a highly competitive industry
Phonewords are extremely limited in supply. 1300 Easy Dial can always license or sell a Phoneword to almost anyone. However, our major goal is not just to supply, but more importantly, it’s matching the right Phoneword with the right company.
Many companies genuinely believe that their customers remember their phone number. In reality, your customers are simply copying and dialing your number straight from the telephone directory or from the internet. A scary thought considering your customers are also being exposed to your competitor’s advertisements. Any advertising dollars spent promoting a regular telephone number as the call to action is mostly wasted. Virtually everyone forgets the telephone number within 60 seconds of hearing or seeing your ad. A tragic waste of advertising dollars!
Unfortunately, customers don’t write down phone numbers when they hear or see them advertised. This is why you are much more likely to remember a Phoneword (1300 HOLIDAY) six months after you see or hear it advertised (when you are ready to book your holiday) rather than a regular phone number (9334 5477) which will be forgotten within seconds. Your Phoneword will work for you 24/7, 365 days a year, even when you’re not.
Only a few years ago, the internet changed the way in which products and services were marketed and sold. In today’s time-poor environment, consumers have embraced the convenience of “armchair browsing.”
But what if consumers didn’t even need to turn on their computer to find you. Quite often they are on the move, without access to computers and a phone directory. What if they could easily connect to a business without needing to go to any effort at all?
Welcome to the proven marketing power of Phonewords! Phonewords have become the Ultimate Lead Generator (and the perfect asset) for many companies, helping:
- Deliver more inbound enquiries from your existing marketing expenditure (don’t spend more, just get more calls)
- Make your marketing up to 19 times more memorable
- Funnel leads to you first with your competitors often missing out
- Ability to better analyse call activity with call reporting
- Companies can now receive leads via sms
- MORE CALLS = MORE SALES = MORE PROFITS
Pricing FAQs
Every Phoneword is different. For example, the Phoneword 13 TAXI sold for just over one million dollars, and that was 4 years ago, well before the concept started taking off. 1300 HOME LOAN recently sold for over one million dollars as well.
Calculating Phoneword Pricing However, poor quality Phonewords (‘Danger’ Phonewords) are often worthless. Remembering, the value is derived from the benefits you receive, not the price you pay. There are a number of factors which influence the value of Phonewords. Below are just a few:
- Supply and Demand
- Generic or Brand
- Number of possible translations
- Quality of Phoneword
- Pre-release interest
here are a number of factors that influence the value of each Phoneword asset. In general, the better the quality, the more valuable the Phoneword.
Depending on your advertising budget and how much business you receive through word of mouth will often give you an indication of the value of the Phoneword for your particular business. It is often said that a Phoneword is the perfect marriage to word of mouth marketing.
Typically the more you spend on advertising, the stronger your conversion rates, the greater the impact your Phoneword will have.
Your investment in licensing or acquiring a Phoneword is directly related to the value and benefits that can be obtained from your Phoneword.
As such, if you select anything else other than the most relevant, ‘easy to remember’, ultimate Phoneword, people will not remember it and you will not get the results you want.
Monthly license fees and acquisition costs vary significantly, depending on the specific Phoneword you’re after. To obtain a price, please contact us today.
To achieve maximum impact from your new Phoneword, consider displaying it in the following areas:
- Business Cards
- Shop Signs
- Uniforms
- Vehicle Signs
- On Hold Messages
- Letterheads
- Website Home Page
- Website Contact Details
- Promotional Products
- Stationery
- Magnets on Front
- Counter
- In Store Posters
To help reduce unnecessary expense, rather than replacing all of these products immediately, consider adding your new Phoneword to these products when you are ready to re-order them.