Caller ID Best Practices for Outbound Telemarketing Programs

Caller ID strategy is an often-overlooked part of setting up a new outbound telemarketing campaign — it isn't one of the "Big 3" items (calling list, script, and offer) that usually get discussed first. Here's why it deserves a spot alongside them.

Caller ID best practices — do's

Use a ten-digit phone number that isn't toll-free. An 8XX number reads as a telemarketing call to nearly everyone, and most people won't answer it.
For smaller lists (under 2,000 leads), use a non-8XX number in the same area code and prefix as your corporate office — this alone can lift answer rate by 10-20%.
Source your ten-digit number from a Caller ID specialist like Quality Voice & Data rather than your primary phone company. Specialized providers can insert the display name into the national CNAM database in hours, not the weeks a phone company often takes.
For larger lists (over 2,000 leads), identify the area codes with the heaviest concentration of leads and assign a local Caller ID number to each. If 80% of a 10,000-lead list sits in 50 area codes, buying 50 local numbers with matching CNAM names for those and using your corporate area code for the rest can add another 15-25% in contacts.
Answer incoming calls to your Caller ID numbers during normal business hours, and make sure a called party can submit a Do Not Call request when they call back.

Caller ID best practices — don'ts

Don't over-dial your list. Set daily, weekly, and program-to-date maximum attempt rules — for example, one attempt per day spaced two to three days apart. After about seven attempts, the odds of reaching someone drop sharply, and more attempts raise the odds of a regulatory complaint.
Don't use a deceptive CNAM name. A generic label like "Customer Service" isn't legal — the name has to accurately represent your company, product, or service, per the Truth in Caller ID Act.
Don't overcomplicate it. Even a single non-8XX Caller ID number beats an 8XX number. Start there, then layer in area-code-specific numbers as your list analysis supports it.

If you're not sure how Caller ID fits with your dialer technology, Quality Voice & Data's Local Caller ID specialists are happy to walk through your specific setup.