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More than 30 valued TruContact™ Trusted Call Solutions customers and partners attended TransUnion’s inaugural Trusted Calling Summit in Austin, Texas this fall. Representatives from top brands across the country gathered to tackle the issue of Empowering Brands and Reducing Fraud, enjoy the tunes of the Live Music Capital of the World, and share challenges and opportunities.
At the event, presenters discussed the global decline of trust, specifically when it comes to business communications, and how TransUnion Trusted Call Solutions — in particular, branded calling for businesses — help close that gap.
One of the presenters, Mick Moss, Senior Director of Product Management, talked about how our Branded Call Display (BCD) is helping restore trust in the phone, improve engagement and keep scammers at bay. But there are other surprising benefits of BCD as well.
Here are some key takeaways from our chat.
Why is branded calling so important in today's communications landscape?
Consumers are immediately on edge when a phone call comes in, wondering who’s really calling and worse, if they’ll be scammed or defrauded. At TransUnion, our goal is to change this behaviour by making outbound communications more transparent and trustworthy. Branded Call Display enables businesses to clearly display their names, logos and call reasons on mobile screens, allowing consumers to know (within seconds) who’s calling and why — and feel confident to engage.
With several communication channels available, do consumers still want to answer the phone?
Typically, consumers don't like to answer a call unless they know it’s relevant. While there are different channels available, trusted voice communications really matter. For instance, if I’m getting a call back from a doctor's office or I’m in the middle of working on a mortgage refinance, I want to take the call. It's also about privacy. If I’m going to have a very detailed conversation with a financial services company or my doctor, it’s often over the phone since those discussions usually involve many questions.
There are other instances where phone calls are important, even if it’s not urgent or personal. Think about it: You have a delivery coming… maybe it is a new couch and you want to make sure it arrives on time and at the right place. Or it could be a food delivery — and the driver might need to confirm your exact location. In these situations, it’s crucial to answer the call promptly, especially if you want your food to still be warm! That’s why having clear, trusted voice communication really matters.
What are the main benefits of implementing BCD?
The key benefit of BCD is it allows businesses to have better engagement with their customers. It not only leads to a significant increase in the number of people answering calls but also enhances the meaningful results of those interactions.
The idea of BCD is as soon as a call comes in, there's already some inherent trust since the customer knows who’s calling — and that leads to better outcomes. It could be a lead generation that was closed or a reminder of that couch delivery, or it could be a situation where I was able to make a payment because of a reminder. All these outcomes are possible only when the user decides to answer the call.
One of the concerns with branded calling is it can still be scammed or faked. How does call authentication ensure that doesn’t happen and how do consumers know the call is authenticated?
Branded calling, when combined with end-to-end call authentication, works like a secure lane in which no one can intercept the call or impersonate a business using its number. It enables enterprises to establish a fully locked-down, authenticated voice channel with their customers — reinforcing trust.
We’ve already seen simply displaying a clear business name or logo builds confidence with consumers. Our goal is to use that trust responsibly and prevent fraudsters from exploiting this channel the way they have with email and text. That’s why strong authentication standards and guardrails are essential to keeping the phone channel a legitimate, trusted communication path.
Does the business or the phone carrier authenticate calls — and how does that work?
Call authentication is a collaborative process involving multiple parties: the business initiating the call, TransUnion, which verifies and transmits the call to the carrier, and the mobile operator delivering the call to the consumer. Together, they create a seamless, end-to-end process ensuring calls are fully authenticated.
Watch the call authentication video
How do you see BCD evolving over the next few years?
Over the last five years, the focus of BCD has been on informing the customer about who’s calling and why and authenticating calls. Now, we’d like to expand beyond the call itself. Imagine missing a call during a meeting but later seeing clear, meaningful details — and even interacting through a link or chat without needing to call back.
We’re also exploring trusted branding for inbound calls because enterprises receive four times as many inbound calls than outbound. Giving consumers verified information when they contact a business builds confidence and consistency.
What’s one myth or misconception about branded calling you’d like to clear up?
One big myth about BCD is an emphasis on answer rates alone While that’s important since we do see better engagement for individuals answering the call, we also want to look at outcomes. So, was this an outcome that was a good customer and service engagement? Was this an appointment reminder that was confirmed? Was it a billing reminder where the individual was able to make a payment? All this matters in terms of driving the whole business because at the end of the day, an enterprise doesn’t measure success by how many people answered calls but by the results of those calls when answered.
