Telemarketing phone numbers are not all equal. When I use the term "telemarketing phone numbers," what does that mean? I’m referring to the phone number that is displayed as Caller ID on the cell phone or landline phone, telling the call recipient who is calling.
Telemarketing companies, outbound call centers, and sales teams have adopted automated and click-to-dial technology to increase the productivity of the callers. When using these technologies, it is easy to purchase Caller ID numbers to utilize for the outbound Caller ID that displays on each call. Going back 10+ years ago, many companies provided these Caller ID numbers at no charge because the telephone company providing the numbers was compensated a fraction of a penny for each CNAM (Caller Name) lookup requested by the terminating carrier. It made sense to provide the numbers at no cost to customers that placed a high volume of phone calls (outbound call centers).
With changes in technology and in the telecom ecosphere, there is no compensation for the CNAM lookup (also referred to as a DIP fee). Quality Voice & Data had to quickly move to a different pricing model and we began charging $2 per number. Some companies think that is too much to pay for each Caller ID number. And it is a fair question to ask. However, if you’re comparing the cost of QVD’s Caller ID numbers vs our competitors, be sure you’re comparing apples to apples.
There are some low cost DID (Caller ID number) providers in the market. The thing to keep in mind is that if the DIDs are cheap, but they don’t get answered, then what are you really gaining?
The biggest expense in a call center or outbound sales floor is the labor expense. People are our greatest resource and our biggest expense. Even the dialing technology is a fraction of the expense equation. Telecom expense is a very, very low expense when you look at the typical costs of operation. Of course, as a responsible manager you look to save money wherever you can. At face value, if you can pay $.10 per DID instead of $2.00, that looks like a very good purchasing decision. However, there are some key reasons that our DIDs are worth every penny that our customers pay.
Our telemarketing phone numbers (Caller ID Numbers) are not recently recycled. QVD maintains a massive quantity of DIDs in every area code in the U.S. The quantity is so massive that each DID is rested a minimum of 6 months and in most cases 12 months before it is reassigned to another customer to be used as an Outbound Caller ID number. We understand how crucial it is to use Caller ID numbers that don’t come with a negative reputation from a previous call center or dare we say, robocaller.
QVD is mindful that premium DIDs are more likely to be answered. With that fact in hand, we invest in sourcing DIDs for multiple sources with a priority to purchase premium DIDs at all times. What is a premium DID? Here are a two examples: A telemarketing phone number with the area code 212; this is killer for the New York City market. A telemarketing phone number with the area code 202; this is golden for calling both businesses and consumers in the Washington DC market.
The QVD analysts that assign the DIDs understand how list management works in an outbound sales call center, political call center, or market research call center. They make intelligent recommendations about the quantity of DIDs that is recommended and which area codes will be most likely to get answered. Then the telecom analysts create detailed reports to gain insights to answer rate by Caller ID DID.
Finally, each QVD number is monitored in real time to identify if it is showing up as scam likely, spam likely or telemarketer. Also, we know if a call is likely to be blocked by one of the major carriers. Note, we can eliminate the problem with blocked calls (calls that the carriers don’t terminate) by pairing our Trusted Call Completion elastic SIP with our Caller ID numbers.
Angela Garfinkel currently serves as Director for Quality Voice & Data. With 30+ years of call center and business process outsourcing experience, Angela provides the QVD team with key insights to support product development, marketing and sales. In addition, Angela teams up with Dean Garfinkel for strategic planning and leadership development.