What Does Rich Call Display Mean When It Comes to Branded Calling?

A recent TransUnion study found nearly 60% of consumers surveyed said they didn’t answer certain phone calls — because they came from an ‘unknown caller’ and they didn’t recognize the numbers — only to later realize those calls were important. According to the Omdia Research report, Rebuilding Trust in Calls, 92% of enterprises surveyed believed branded calling improves answer rates, and 68% reported it improves the call experience. That puts branded calling with rich call display notification, or Rich Call Data (RCD), in a unique position to help shape the next generation of branded calling for businesses.

RCD is the standard that’s part of the STIR/SHAKEN identity token that includes name, logo, telephone number and reason for the call. Now that we’ve established what RCD is, we’ll take a closer  look at the question, “How does branded calling work?” and how it began with Caller ID.

What’s the difference between caller ID and call display?

Caller ID, which shows the phone number of the caller, was a feature added to landline phones in the 1980s, but it’s estimated less than 5% of today’s cell phone devices deliver the name of the person calling them. That means if the name isn’t in your address book, you’ll likely only see the originating phone number and its associated city and state.

Branded caller ID (or call) display informs the recipient who’s calling by using the cell phone caller ID name display to present the name and phone number to tell the recipient who’s calling. As mentioned above, rich branded calling brings even more context to a call with additional capabilities, including logo, location, reason for the call, etc.

Download our eBook: Five Reasons to Brand Your Calls.

How do I turn off enriched call display?

Initially, branded calling relied on the need for the consumer to download and configure a third-party app to enable the service. But because getting customers to download apps has typically been challenging, this led to very low adoption rates (<1% of active devices, based on internal data).

The ability to offer branded calling ubiquitously hinges on ensuring call authentication occurs at a network level so only known, trusted entities get into the ecosystem. Today, the industry is moving to a standards-based network approach coupled with rich call content. This eliminates the need for apps and again, enables the addition of even more context to the mobile display. That means businesses can securely reach even more customers and deliver richer content than previously possible.

How can I show my name when I call someone?

There are a number of conditions service providers, device manufacturers, enterprises and consumers must meet to deliver a rich branded call. These include:

• Onboarding: Businesses must work with a trusted vetting agent that will vet their telephone numbers and determine if they are what they present themselves to be — and whether they have the rights to use specific phone numbers
• Rich content retrieval for display: Mobile operators will have to retrieve rich call content and call authentication information from a trusted source and pass it to the mobile device
• Compliant device: Consumers must have devices able to render rich call content information on the mobile displays

Next, enterprises need to closely review their current call environment and company telephone numbers to consider:

• Selection: Determine which numbers will be used for making branded calls. Are they active? Which telecom providers ‘own’ these numbers? Are they for ‘outbound only’ use?
• Performance audit: Are your calls currently getting through? Are they being mislabelled as spam or blocked? Is the correct caller ID example being applied — or is the wrong company name coming up when you call?
• Personalization: Which company logos or images should be associated with which telephone numbers?
• Security audit: Are your telephone numbers currently being spoofed? Are caller ID systems saying it’s your company calling when it’s really a fraudster?

Adopting RCD involves many moving parts and specific areas of expertise, and third parties that specialize in branded calling for businesses can be instrumental in moving organizations forward.

Learn more about how our Trusted Call Solutions and award-winning Branded Call Display can help you enhance engagement, protect your brand and increase revenue.