What is a phone number?

A phone number is a unique combination of digits assigned to mobile network subscribers so they can communicate through calls or text messages. You use phone numbers in your mobile marketing initiatives to send your subscribers marketing messages via SMS and MMS.

Phone number formats vary across different countries, but the US and Canada use the North American numbering plan, which consists of ten digits.

What does a valid phone number consist of?

To understand the components of a standard phone number, see the table below:

ComponentDescription
Country codeThis is a unique code the International Telecommunication Union assigns to each country. The US and Canada share the country code +1.
Area codeThis three-digit number identifies the state or region the phone number is from. The Federal Communications Commission assigns the area codes.
Subscriber numberThis seven-digit number identifies a specific phone line within the area code.

For example, in the phone number +1-213-555-1234, +1 is the country code, 213 is the area code, and 555-1234 is the subscriber number.

3 benefits of mobile marketing

Sending marketing messages to your subscribers’ phone numbers offers numerous benefits:

  1. Omnichannel communication: Adding SMS to your marketing efforts gives your audience an extra channel to connect with your brand.
  2. Money savings: Mobile marketing is more cost effective than traditional marketing channels and often has a higher ROI.
  3. Increased customer retention: Sending relevant messages to people on your SMS list helps improve customer loyalty through the implied immediacy of texting. 

To send highly personalised SMS and MMS messages to your target audience, you need a marketing automation platform like Klaviyo. Use Klaviyo AI to segment your audience and write message text that resonates with each segment.

Sign up for Klaviyo to send targeted messages that drive results.

Additional resources