Call Labeling: How It Works + How to Handle Flagged Numbers

Unwanted calls continue to flood the telecommunication industry, and efforts to protect consumers have intensified, leading to more calls being labeled as “Spam Risk” or “Scam Likely.” 

If your business is getting caught in the web and seeing falling contact rates, it’s critical to understand the dynamics of call labeling. Read this primer on call labels and navigate today’s complex outbound calling environment.

How Does Call Labeling Work?

Many businesses are dying to know: Where did all these call labels come from? 

In short: the growth of call labeling is an outgrowth of federal regulators’ efforts to stop illegal robocalls and scams that continue to dog everyday consumers.

Although well-intentioned, regulators turned over significant power to telco carriers themselves to combat unwanted calls. In the process, carriers have implemented new technologies—namely, algorithms with little transparency—to identify spam and scams. Meanwhile, third-party apps have sprung up, giving consumers themselves the ability to screen calls. 

For businesses relying on outbound calls to reach leads and customers—people who have overtly consented to be contacted—this development has largely been a negative one. 

Why Do Calls Get Labeled?

Calls are typically labeled as spam or scam when a carrier’s chosen algorithm identifies potential issues with a given phone number’s reputation. 

Each carrier uses its own algorithm and scoring to determine whether a number may be spam, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact behavior that leads to a label. However, these are the factors typically considered:

• Call Volume and Pattern: Numbers making large amounts of calls overall or repeatedly dialing the same recipient are often labeled as spam.
• Call Duration: A high amount of very short (or unanswered) calls may signal to carriers that the caller is spam/scam.
• Call Attestation: As a result of STIR/SHAKEN protocols, originating providers are required to authenticate call traffic and attest to whether a caller is entitled to use the indicated phone number. Numbers not receiving full attestation may wind up being labeled.
• Customer Complaints: If consumers file complaints or use their smartphone software to report numbers, it increases the likelihood that a carrier takes action to label or block calls from a number.

How Accurate Are Scam Likely Labels?

You may already know this all too well: Spam and Scam Likely labels are not always accurate. The reality of the current environment is that legitimate businesses frequently get caught up in the call labeling web.

What to Do When Your Calls Are Flagged

The overall status of whether a number (or “caller ID,” or “DID,” in the parlance of the outbound lead gen and sales industry) is being flagged or blocked is referred to as its health or reputation. Caller ID reputation management is a critical practice at any business where contact rates and conversions are important KPIs.

Each carrier offers its own processes of recourse to rectify incorrectly labeled caller IDs. However, in practice, these processes are often very slow to provide a remedy—if they ever do.

That’s why, monitoring the real-time health of your numbers is an essential first step toward better performance. With a caller ID reputation management solution like Convoso’s ClearCallerID™, you can see the status of your numbers across all major carriers in one dashboard and take action when one is labeled. 

Ultimately, the best thing to do in this situation is to rest a flagged caller ID and, in the meantime, replace it with a clean one. With the right solution, your team can take a flagged number off campaigns quickly and avoid significant damage to your contact rates and revenue opportunities.

Beyond Call Labels—What Else You Need to Optimize Your Contact Rates

Many businesses are struggling with call labeling issues. But it’s too often thought of as the only reason contact rates might be falling. Be sure you’re incorporating these best practices to get the best performance out of your leads.

Speed to Lead

In the realm of outbound sales and lead generation, timing can make or break a deal. “Speed to lead” refers to how quickly a sales rep can reach out to a potential lead after they express interest. 

Research consistently shows that leads contacted within minutes are significantly more likely to convert than those approached later. By minimizing the lag between a lead showing interest and a representative making contact, teams can capture the lead’s attention while their interest is at its peak, thereby increasing the likelihood of a successful interaction.

Of course, achieving speed to lead depends on having a powerful predictive dialer that’s able to prioritize the freshest, warmest leads.

Smart Dialing Cadences

Dialing cadences, or the pattern and frequency of outreach attempts, play a pivotal role in contact rate optimization. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, smarter dialing cadences adjust to individual lead behaviors. 

For instance, some leads might prefer evening calls, while others respond better in the mornings. By analyzing previous interaction data and segmenting leads based on their response patterns, teams can personalize their outreach efforts. This not only increases the chances of making successful contact but also ensures that teams aren’t wasting resources on ineffective timing or methods.

Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

In today’s digital era, consumers interact with brands across multiple platforms—from social media and emails to phone calls and SMS. An omnichannel marketing strategy integrates all these channels to offer a consistent and seamless customer experience. 

For outbound sales and lead generation teams, this means leveraging multiple touchpoints to engage leads. For instance, if a lead doesn’t answer a phone call, they might still be reached via a follow-up email or SMS. By adopting an omnichannel approach, teams can ensure they’re meeting potential clients where they are, optimizing contact rates, and nurturing leads through various stages of the sales funnel.

Crucially, by taking pressure off their outbound dialing efforts, and lowering call volumes without lowering contact rates, this omnichannel approach can help teams avoid call labels in the first place.

Revolutionize Omnichannel Outreach with Conversational AI

Adding channels to your outbound strategy may make you worry about adding more to your agents’ plates. But today, that doesn’t need to be the case.

With a conversational AI-powered SMS and calling solution like Convoso’s Voso.ai integrated within your dialer software, you can automate conversations at scale and drive more conversions.

Learn more today about how our revolutionary intelligent virtual agent software can help you automate follow-up, pre-qualify, dial aged leads, and much more.