Legal lingo: How law-themed phone numbers drive new business

How law-themed phone numbers drive new business

If you’re a lawyer seeking new clients, a memorable phone number is only going to help your bottom line.

Why? Because many consumers don’t regularly interact with lawyers and are unsure of whom to call in a legal crisis. As such, when seeking help they’re far more apt to call a memorable number that has stuck in their head through advertising on the internet, print media, TV or billboards.

Recent studies show 75 percent of customers remember ads that feature memorable phone numbers, a ratio nine times higher than their recall with plain numeric numbers. Savvy marketers understand that, and that’s why 72 percent of highway billboards, 58 percent of magazine ads and 57 percent of TV commercials now feature vanity numbers. Internet and mobile searches are also becoming a huge component of legal marketing; one study shows 76 percent of adults seeking an attorney use online resources for their searches, creating huge opportunity for vanity number promotion.

While numbers without words are too abstract to remember for long, vanity numbers are stored in our long-term memories because they’re linked to the meaningful or familiar, neuroscientists explain. They can also offer portability, a nationwide presence and the perception your legal practice is larger and more credible. In Dial800 case studies, such numbers have led to 25 percent revenue increases. Some aspects to consider when choosing a 1-800 number for your legal practice include:

  • Research shows consumers are much more likely to remember the 1-800 prefix than other prefixes. Companies attempting to use other prefixes typically find 20 percent of their calls misdialed to the 1-800 version.
  • Options include incorporating words, repeater numbers or a combination. Some studies suggest words without numbers are easiest to remember; other choices include repeating words or adding extra letters or digits not actually used for dialing. The result should describe who you are or what you do in a short, sharp marketing message.
  • Your word choice might reflect your general function, your specialty area or an aspect of your practice. For example, a general number might be 1-800-MY-ATTORNEY, a number focusing on your specialty might be 1-800-DIVORCE, 1-888-DRUG-CRIMES or 1-800-BANKRUPT. A number pointing to positive outcomes might be 1-888-DONT-LOSE.
  • Consider vanity numbers in different languages to appeal to different client demographics.
  • Think about whether your word choice will continue to fit as your practice grows and evolves.
  • Avoid confusion by discounting abbreviations or alternate spellings.
  • Consider different numbers for different corporate departments or different pay-per-call campaigns.
  • Think about how clever imagery or music might be incorporated into your number for advertising purposes. How might you use different numbers for radio jingles or TV ads?
  • Consider whether you might match a vanity number with a domain name for cross-media marketing.

Dial 800 has access to some 250,000 1-800 numbers. Contact us for advice on a strategic choice for your legal practice.