Spam Likely (T-Mobile), Spam Risk (ATT), Potential Spam (Verizon), and call blocking apps. (Nomorobo, Robokiller, etc.) have become a huge problem for legitimate businesses.
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To be fair unwanted spam and robocalls are a huge problem for consumers. None of us like getting those calls, and as a nation, we dislike them so much that we have become conditioned to stop answering our phones. 87% of people don't answer calls from unknown numbers, and this is creating big problems for businesses that rely on the phone call. 25-years ago, you never missed a cell phone call because many of us only carried them for emergencies.
My, how things have changed!
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Fast forward to today, and businesses are struggling to keep up with how fast things are changing. Even a few years ago, this wasn't a big problem.
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Phone numbers with negative labels have less than a 10% chance of being answered. It's simply a problem you cannot ignore, and it will devastate your contact rates, not to mention how bad it is for your reputation.
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The problem is complex, but the good news is there are some simple ways to address the issue, and the solutions can be slightly different for the small business vs. the enterprise.
Below we will outline some of the best practices you can adhere to, which will get you on the road to cleaning up your phone numbers and connecting with your customers again.
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Carrier Algorithms
Industry experts suggest keeping call volumes on phone numbers between 75-150 calls per day per number. Doing this is no guarantee you will not get flagged; however, it decreases exposure. Keep in mind this is not about who is calling; the algorithms don't know who you are, it’s about the phone number, how it has behaved in the past, and whether the algorithm says the call is likely bad. More phone numbers give you an advantage and flexibility.
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Monitor Phone Numbers
Your caller id reputation is vitally important. One of the easiest things to do is monitor your phone numbers for negative labels across carriers and call-blocking apps.
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Remediation
This is a little more difficult. For smaller businesses, publicly available options such as Free Caller Registry can work for you. Larger enterprises may need professionals to successfully remediate negative labels, especially enterprises with hundreds or thousands of outbound numbers. We offer several options at 448 Connect and will help you determine which is best for your business and budget.
Calling Best Practices
Make sure you are doing the basics. TCPA compliance, maintain your DNC list, practice good list hygiene, and don't overcall your customers. The available solutions are to help legitimate businesses; however, even a legitimate business can behave like bad actors.
Branded Calling
Branded Calling is a newer technology to hit the market, which can place a 32-character caller ID on calls made to cell phones. Businesses using this technology are seeing huge bumps in their answer rates, and engagement rates. Letting your customers know it's YOU who is calling is a great way to get them answering your calls again.
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These are just a few tips on solving this problem. The best place to start is find out if your phone numbers are flagged.
Call us today for a free consultation.