Introduction to phone words and patterned numbers

A Pattern Number is a telephone number which includes a special sequence or pattern of digits to make it more memorable or meaningful.  For example, 1300 600 111.

A Pattern Number is different to a Phone Word because it contains only digits.  A Phone Word, on the other hand, can contain letters or digits.

A Phone Word is a telephone number that spells out a word or phrase on a standard telephone keypad.

All 26 letters of the alphabet can be represented using the digits 2 to 9 on a modern telephone keypad.

All modern telephones show the letters corresponding to each digit on the keypad. For example, 1300-DIAL-ME corresponds to 1300-3425-63.

Whether a Phone Word or a Pattern Number provides the best solution depends upon a number of factors, including your target market.

A Pattern Number is especially useful when:

  • Your target market does not speak English, or speaks English as a second language.
  • Your target market is the aged.
  • The word or name that describes your brand or product offering is frequently misspelt.
  • All of the Phone Words that may be suitable for your business are in use by someone else.

Yes! 1300 Pattern Numbers specialises in providing Phone Word and Pattern Number solutions to small and medium sized businesses.

Every business, no matter how small, can benefit from having a memorable Phone Word or Pattern Number. And now, Phone Words and Patterned Numbers from 1300 Pattern Numbers are affordable for even the smallest business.

  • A 13 number has 6 digits e.g. 13 INFO (13 4636). Callers from a standard fixed line telephone pay a low, untimed charge to call the number. There is a significant annual government charge associated with 13 numbers. We therefore believe that 1300 and 1800 numbers represent superior value for the majority of small to medium sized businesses.
  • A 1300 number has 10 digits e.g. 1300 TRAINS (1300 872 467) Callers from a standard fixed line telephone pay a low, untimed charge to call the number.
  • A 1800 number has 10 digits e.g. 1800 NEW BED (1800 639 233). The call is usually free to callers from a standard fixed line telephone.

Forgotten telephone numbers mean lost sales opportunities. If your potential customers have to search a directory or the Internet for your telephone number, there’s a good chance that they will find one of your competitors and call them instead. Your advertising budget is being used to generate sales for the competition!

Most people find it much easier to remember words and phrases than to remember numbers. Phone words also work because they are easy to communicate verbally.

For example, 1300-DIAL-ME corresponds to 1300-3425-63. In radio advertising, a listener driving their car is unlikely to remember the telephone number, but is very likely to remember the phone word number. Phone words also work especially well in television, outdoor and print media.

Yes! Many larger businesses and an increasing number of small businesses understand the benefits of using Phone Words and Pattern Numbers.

Almost all telephones in Australia now have letters on their keys. Because of this, most people understand how to dial a phone word number.

The demand from businesses for Phone Word numbers is very high. It is now more important than ever that you secure your memorable Pattern Number or Phone Word now.

Getting started

Yes. The extra digits, known as overdial, are discarded when the caller dials your number. This was once an issue, especially on mobile phones, but the major carriers have since upgraded their infrastructure to support it. Overdialled numbers may not work on some services, such as Skype. A very small number of older PABX and VoIP systems may have trouble using overdial, but many can be programmed to support it.

Not at all. You can choose any memorable phone word that you wish. You may even have several phone words for different campaigns or products.

However, you must not promote a Phone Word which infringes someone else’s trademark, or is misleading or deceptive. If you have any concerns, we advise you to seek legal advice.

You must not promote a Phone Word that infringes someone else’s trademark, or is misleading or deceptive.

If you have any concerns, we advise you to seek legal advice.

In most cases, you can choose any Phone Word that is available.

However, you must not promote any variants of the same number which spell out words or phrases that may be offensive, or which breach someone else’s trademark.

Yes, you can. Your phone word does not have to match your business name, as long as you don’t infringe someone else’s rights, such as a trademark.

If you have any concerns, we advise you to seek legal advice.

After you have placed your order, we aim to have your new Pattern Number or Phone Word up and running as quickly as possible. Many of our Pattern Numbers are available for connection by the following business day. Some numbers and special orders may take 3-5 working days.

The key to a successful Phone Word is making it memorable. Many businesses choose their business name or a close representation of it. In some cases, you may achieve better results by choosing a Phone Word that is easier to remember than your business name.

Because phone words are phonetic, it is best to choose simple words and avoid exotic or unusually spelled names. For example, if your business name is Jayne’s Flowers, you should avoid 1300 JAYNES because the spelling of “Jayne” is less common than “Jane”, which sounds the same. This may result in misdirected calls.

Choosing a memorable phone word is important. Please contact us for helpful advice relevant to your business.

We have a huge catalogue of premium phone words and pattern numbers available for you to choose from.

Our database has almost 2,000,000 numbers.

To find one that’s perfect for your business, you can search our database.

All 26 letters of the English alphabet can be represented using the digits 2 to 9 on a modern telephone keypad. Almost all telephones show the letters corresponding to each digit on the keypad.

For example, 1300-DIAL-ME corresponds to 1300-3425-63.

The monthly price of your Pattern Number or Phone Word is shown on our Prices page. Our numbers are available on a month-by-month basis, with no long-term commitments and no hidden charges.

Calling a Pattern Number or Phone Word

Yes. Callers can dial Phone Words from almost any modern handset. However, if you prefer, calls from mobiles can be excluded.

A Phone Word is also an ordinary telephone number. Therefore it will work with any service that supports calls to 13, 1300 or 1800 numbers.

However, some services may not support overdial (where the length of the telephone number is greater than 6 digits for 13 numbers, or 10 digits for 1300 and 1800 numbers).

A 1300 Phone Word is charged at a low, untimed rate from a standard fixed line service. A 1800 is free from a fixed line.

Higher charges may apply from mobile telephones.

Overseas callers can usually access 13 and 1300 numbers, depending upon the overseas network operator. Your customers can call your number by prefixing it as follows:

overseas access code + country code (61) + your phone word number
Example:

To call 1300-DIAL-ME from the United Kingdom:

overseas access code (00) + country code for Australia (61) + 1300-DIAL-ME
= 00 61 1300 3425 63

1800 numbers are often supported by overseas network operators. However the network is likely to charge the caller for the call. A Freecall 1800 number is only free from Australian fixed lines.

As we have no control over the capabilities of overseas networks, we recommend that you promote a standard fixed line telephone number to your overseas customers.

Your Pattern Number or Phone Word will work the same way as any other number. The number of calls that you can simultaneously receive on your Pattern Number or Phone Word number is limited only by the capacity of the telephone service that you use as your answer point.

Using my Pattern Number or Phone Word

To use your Phone Word or Patterned Number, you do not need to connect any new telephone lines. Instead, calls to your Pattern Number or Phone Word are automatically directed to your existing telephone service.

The telephone service to which your calls are delivered is called an “answer point”.

You don’t need to connect a special telephone line to receive calls to your phone word.  Instead, calls to your phone word are automatically directed to your existing telephone service.  The telephone number of that existing service is called your “answer point”.

We like to provide the fastest possible service.  The quickest way to change your call routing (answer point) is via our the My Account section of our website.  This saves time because when you log in to My Account, you are identifying yourself, so we don’t have to ask you for written authorisation on your company letterhead.  It also enables us to process your request much faster once we receive it.

A change to your answer point may take one or two business days to become active. If you need to regularly change your answer point, we recommend that you select a fixed telephone number as your answer point and use call forwarding from that service instead.

Yes. You can set your answer point to a mobile number in the My Account section of our website.

Alternatively, you can do this by first setting calls to your phone word to be directed to a fixed line service. Then when you go out on the road, you simply redirect calls from the fixed line service to your mobile phone.

If you need to be able to do this, please contact us to discuss your options.

If you have chosen one of our complete packages, we will look after this for you.

Alternatively, if you have licensed the number from us, but use another supplier for your telecommunications, please contact them for guidance. If you’re not sure what to do, we’re always pleased to offer helpful advice.

Yes, you can. You can choose just to licence the phone word from us. The same price applies, but you won’t be able to use your included call allowance.

We understand the need for flexibility in business. So you can choose the complete package now and move the telecommunications component to another supplier later if you wish.

Licensing

You can keep your Pattern Number or Phone Word for as long as you want, provided your account is kept up to date. This is important, because a well promoted, memorable Pattern Number or Phone Word quickly becomes an extremely valuable business asset.

If you decide that you would like to cancel your subscription, you must return the telephone number to us.

If you sell your business, you can transfer the licence for your Pattern Number or Phone Word to the new owner, subject to us completing appropriate background checks.

If you have this requirement, please contact us for specific guidance.

Our Pattern Numbers and Phone Words are intended for use by the business to which we have licensed them. You cannot licence the number to a third-party unless we given our written consent.

If you have this requirement, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss a possible arrangement.

Yes, you can have as many of our premium Pattern Numbers and Phone Words as you like. For example, if you use a special number for a specific marketing campaign, you can easily track how many responses you have had to that campaign.

Accounts and Billing

You can view your invoices and payments in the Manage Account portal. Here’s how:

  1. Log in to My Account by clicking on the My Account link at the top right of any page on our website.
  2. Enter your username and password where indicated.
  3. My Account will display a list of your account numbers. Click on the account number of the account for which you wish to view invoices and payments. Usually there will be only one account.
  4. Click on the Invoices tab to see a list of all your recent invoices, with the most recent at the top. Alternatively you may click on the Unbilled items tab to see a list of recent payments and charges that will appear on your next invoice.
  5. To view an invoice, click on the invoice number in the leftmost column of the listing.

You can sort the invoice listing by any column by clicking on the column name at the top of the listing.

If you wish to print an invoice, follow the instructions above to display the invoice, then click on the Print link.

Our current policy is to retain copies of your past invoices for a minimum of 7 years after the end of the financial year to which it relates.
For example, an invoice dated 21 March 2018 would be accessible until at least 30 June 2025 (30 June 2018 + 7 years).

You can view your call history in the My Account portal. Here’s how:

  1. Log in to My Account by clicking on the Login link at the top right of any page on our website.
  2. Enter your username and password where indicated.
  3. Manage Account will display a list of your account numbers. Click on the account number of the account for which you wish to view calls. Usually there will be only one account.
  4. Under the Your services tab you will see a list of all the services that you have with us.
  5. Locate the relevant call plan service in the list, and click on the View calls link.
  6. Enter the date range that you wish to view (the default is for the last 30 days), and click the View calls button.

You can sort the call listing by any column by clicking on the column name at the top of the listing.

Yes. To do this:

  1. Log in to My Account via the link at the top right of any page on our website.
  2. You will see a list of accounts that you hold with us.  Click on the account number of the account that you wish to see.
  3. Next you will see a list of your services.  Click on the View/export calls link next to the applicable service.
  4. Enter the date range of the calls that you wish to download.
  5. Click on Export to Excel.

If you have a telecommunications service with us, in My Account you can see a list of calls that have been made to your phone word.

The last 4 digits of the caller’s number are not shown. For example, (02) 1234-5678 will appear as (02) 1234-xxxx.  This is to ensure that callers with unlisted numbers do not have their number exposed.

The obfuscation of the last 4 digits of the caller’s number is a legal requirement under Australian privacy legislation.  Therefore, we are prevented by law from providing the full number.

We accept Visa, Mastercard and American Express. There is no credit card surcharge.

You can update your credit card details by using the My Account portal. Here’s how:

  1. Log in to My Account by clicking on the My Account link at the top right of any page on our website.
  2. Enter your username and password where indicated.
  3. My Account will display a list of your account numbers. Click on the account number of the account for which you wish to update your payment details. Usually there will be only one account.
  4. Click on the Payment tab.
  5. Enter your card details.
  6. Click the Submit button.

Our billing system will automatically use your new card details for all future payments. In addition, if you have an overdue balance, the new card details will be used to settle your account.