July 31, 2019

The Phone Numbers You Just Purchased Could Already Be Flagged Spam

Many call centers assume that carriers give them Direct Inward Dialing (DID) numbers with good reputations. Unfortunately, some companies have discovered that the numbers they get have already been flagged as potential spam.

If your call center has flagged numbers, you can expect to lose a lot of business. Today’s smartphones make it easier than ever for people to avoid unwanted calls. Some of the most popular service providers now warn customers about calls from flagged numbers. Smartphone users can also download apps that block calls from numbers with bad reputations.

Without fresh numbers in good standing, you will find it difficult to contact your customers for sales and support.

Why Are Some Numbers Flagged Upon Delivery?

Companies that sell phone numbers to call centers have limited options. Eventually, they have to recycle numbers that have been used by other businesses.

When you buy a large pool of numbers, there’s a chance that some of those numbers have tarnished reputations. If the company that used the number before you didn’t follow good public relations practices, then consumers may have already reported the number.

In fact, some businesses may release flagged numbers that no longer work for them. These flagged numbers get put back into a pool and sold to other call centers. Often, the bad reputations follow those numbers from company to company.

How You Can Avoid Flagged Numbers for Your Call Center

Obviously, you want to avoid purchasing flagged numbers. You don’t always have full control over which numbers you receive, though.

3 Ways to Reduce Flagged Number Usage

Follow these guidelines to reduce the amount of flagged numbers used by your call center and sales representatives.

1) Always Check New Numbers for Flags

Assume that each new batch of DIDs contains at least a few flagged numbers. You always need to check new numbers for flags before you use them. Caller ID Reputation can score each of your numbers, so you know which ones to avoid.

A flagged number breakdown will also tell you which services have flagged the numbers. The more information you have about your numbers, the more likely it is that your call center agents can reach customers.

When you find flagged numbers in your latest batches, contact your provider for a refund or untarnished number. You shouldn’t pay for a number you cannot use.

2) Consider Buying Numbers From a Different Carrier

If your DIDs provider sends you flagged numbers, then you should consider buying phone numbers from a different provider.

Carriers can take steps to clear phone number reputations when companies start using them. If the carrier cannot remove flags from certain numbers, then it should not sell the tainted DIDs to your call center.

Look for carriers that ensure you get clean, unflagged phone numbers. Some providers do better jobs than others.

3) Purchase More Numbers Than You Think You Need

Since you know that your next batch of DIDs might contain a few flagged numbers, you should purchase more phone numbers than you think you need.

If your call center plans to use 100, you might want to purchase 120. Having extra DIDs means you can run your call center at full capacity even if some of the numbers you get are flagged. It’s like insurance that protects your business from the adverse effects of bad numbers.

You should also get multiple numbers for each area code that you plan to call. You want your calls to look like they come from a local dialer. If you only have a flagged number for a certain area code, then you basically lose contact with everyone in that region.

Ordering some back-up numbers for each area code helps ensure that you have a clean DID that lets you reach your customers.

Keep Your Call Center’s New Numbers Clean

Your call center also needs to play a role in protecting numbers from getting flagged. As long as you follow a couple of guidelines, you can make it less likely that smartphone service providers and call-blocking apps will flag the numbers you use.

Rotate Your Phone Number Pools to Avoid Flags

If you use the same phone number to contact customers in an area code, you increase the chance that someone will flag or block the number. Instead, get several clean numbers for each area code and rotate them. The more often you rotate, the harder it becomes for carriers to recognize and flag your number.

Ideally, you shouldn’t use the same number more than 50 times per day. Any amount over 50 will eventually get the number flagged as spam.

Evaluate Your Numbers Frequently

Improve your company’s reputation by evaluation your DIDs frequently. Even when you follow FTC guidelines, numbers can get flagged at any time. Plus, scammers can ruin your numbers with caller ID spoofing that makes you look bad.

Unfortunately, you can’t trust carriers to always sell you good DIDs.

Keep Your Phone Number Reputation Clean

Don’t let flagged numbers make your call center less effective. Caller ID Reputation has the telemarketing tool you need to evaluate numbers before you use them. You can also evaluate the numbers over time to make sure they haven’t been flagged.