In the era of robocalls, scams, and spam calls, consumers have become more cautious and selective about answering unknown calls. This has posed a challenge for legitimate businesses that rely on outbound calling to reach their customers and prospects. How can they restore trust and improve contact rates in a hostile calling environment?
One of the solutions is to adopt transparency through call labels. Call labels are tags or indicators that display the purpose or intent of an incoming call on the recipient’s phone screen. They can help consumers make informed decisions about whether to answer or ignore a call, based on their preferences and expectations.
Call labels are not only beneficial for consumers but also for businesses. In this post, we will explore how transparency through call labels affects businesses in terms of customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and compliance.
Customer Satisfaction
One of the main advantages of transparency through call labels is that it can enhance customer satisfaction. Customers appreciate knowing who is calling them and why, especially if they have given consent or expressed interest in receiving calls from a business. Call labels can help customers avoid unwanted or irrelevant calls and also increase their curiosity and engagement with calls that match their needs and interests.
For example, if a customer is expecting a call from their bank about their account status, they would be more likely to answer a call labeled as “Account Services” than a call labeled as “Unknown” or “Potential Spam”. Similarly, if a customer is interested in donating to a charity, they would be more receptive to a call labeled “Charity” than a call labeled “Telemarketing”.
By using call labels, businesses can show respect and consideration for their customers’ time and preferences and also deliver value and relevance through their calls. This can lead to higher customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.
Brand Reputation
Another benefit of transparency through call labels is that it can improve brand reputation. Brand reputation is the perception and opinion that customers and the public have about a business, based on their experiences and interactions with it. A positive brand reputation can help a business attract and retain customers, increase sales and revenue, and gain a competitive edge in the market.
Call labels can help businesses build and maintain a positive brand reputation by avoiding negative or misleading labels that can damage their credibility and trustworthiness. Negative labels are those that warn or discourage consumers from answering a call, such as “Scam Likely”, “Fraud Risk”, “Nuisance Likely”, or “Spam Risk”. These labels can harm a business’s image and reputation and also reduce their contact rates and conversions.
To avoid negative labels, businesses should follow best practices for outbound calling, such as:
- Obtaining consent and authorization from customers before calling them
- Using verified and authenticated phone numbers that match their caller ID information
- Avoiding excessive or abusive calling patterns that may trigger spam filters or complaints
- Complying with the relevant laws and regulations for outbound calling, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry
By following these best practices, businesses can ensure that their calls are labeled accurately and positively and also demonstrate their professionalism and integrity to their customers and the public.
Compliance
A third advantage of transparency through call labels is that it can help businesses comply with the evolving rules and standards for outbound calling. Outbound calling is subject to various laws and regulations that aim to protect consumers from unwanted, abusive, or fraudulent calls. These laws and regulations are enforced by federal and state agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
One of the recent developments in outbound calling regulation is the implementation of the STIR/SHAKEN framework, which stands for Secure Telephone Identity Revisited (STIR) and Signature-based Handling of Asserted Information Using Tokens (SHAKEN). This framework is a set of protocols and procedures that enable phone service providers to verify and authenticate the identity and authorization of callers and to attest to the level of confidence they have in the caller’s information.
The STIR/SHAKEN framework is designed to combat spoofing, which is the practice of manipulating or falsifying caller ID information to deceive or mislead consumers. Spoofing is often used by scammers and spammers to trick consumers into answering their calls or giving out their personal or financial information.
The STIR/SHAKEN framework assigns three levels of attestation to outbound calls based on the degree of verification and authentication that the phone service provider has performed on the caller’s information. These levels are:
- Full Attestation (A): The phone service provider has verified and authenticated the caller’s identity and authorization and has a direct relationship with the caller or the caller’s service provider.
- Partial Attestation (B): The phone service provider has verified and authenticated the caller’s identity and authorization but does not have a direct relationship with the caller or the caller’s service provider.
- Gateway Attestation ©: The phone service provider has verified and authenticated the source of the call but not the caller’s identity or authorization.
The level of attestation that a call receives can affect how it is labeled by the recipient’s phone service provider or device. Calls with full attestation are more likely to be labeled positively or neutrally, while calls with partial or gateway attestation are more likely to be labeled negatively or suspiciously. Therefore, businesses should strive to achieve full attestation for their outbound calls by working with their phone service providers and ensuring that their caller ID information is accurate and consistent.
By complying with the STIR/SHAKEN framework, businesses can avoid negative labels and blocks and also enhance their transparency and accountability to their customers and the regulators.
How Call Labels Can Boost Your Business
Transparency through call labels is a key factor that affects businesses that use outbound calling as part of their marketing and communication strategy. Call labels can help businesses increase customer satisfaction, improve brand reputation, and comply with outbound calling regulations by providing accurate and relevant information about the purpose and intent of their calls. Businesses should leverage call labels as an opportunity to restore trust and engagement with their customers and also to differentiate themselves from the unwanted and illegitimate calls that plague the calling ecosystem.
