Phone marketing has had its ups and downs. The highly desirable phone call has suffered in recent years at the hands of fraudsters intent on stealing consumers’ money and identity. For enterprise marketers, it means reaching prospects by phone is increasingly difficult. However, despite the rise of robocalling, call spoofing, and the subsequent erosion of trust, consumers still value calls over texts or emails for receiving urgent and important information.
Over the last two decades, this caused a growing divide between desire and distrust. The good news is this disconnect is dissipating thanks to advances in regulations and technology. New technologies are available, such as branded calling, which can be seamlessly integrated into a company’s digital marketing strategy, helping deliver an omnichannel experience that helps build trust. As a result, in 2025 enterprise phone call marketing may expect to garner greater success in reaching customers and enhancing engagement.
The Consequences of Not Answering
When consumers send calls to voicemail, the consequences can be severe – like missing a bank fraud or house alarm alert – or even a matter of life and death, in some cases. Recently, a Michigan lottery winner made headlines when he ignored multiple calls from lottery officials trying to inform him about his $257,000 prize because he thought the calls were a scam.
Then there’s the case of call spoofing that happened just this week. A young woman believed a call really was from Wells Fargo saying she had fraudulent activity on her account. After following all their requests, she learned her bank account had been emptied. Luckily, in her case she was able to recover her funds.
Customers Want to Answer
In a recent Forrester study, nearly everyone surveyed said phone calls are the most important outbound contact channel to them, even though email and text are the most used. Although 80% of customers block calls from numbers they don’t know, nearly the same number also feel phone calls are important for communicating with businesses.
While digital channels can address a wide range of customer needs, the phone provides a uniquely intimate way to reach consumers that goes deeper. In fact, 6% of consumers prefer to receive a call for critical health or financial matters.
According to Juniper Research, “The use cases for branded calling are widespread, with any enterprise which contacts their customers via phone calls benefitting from branded calls. This will include but is not limited to healthcare services, banks, insurance companies, and social media platforms.” Ultimately, branded calling keeps consumers informed, making it possible to trust phone calls again.
What’s Driving the Disconnect?
According to 2024 Federal Trade Commission data, imposter scams were the primary way consumers were defrauded, and phone scams caused the highest losses per person. These threats have led to a significant disconnect among consumers who want to answer calls from businesses but are afraid of fraud. Seven in 10 say they have left a call unanswered only to find out later it was legitimate.
For enterprise marketers, the hidden costs of a missed phone call go beyond lost revenue opportunities. It may impact customer relationships, brand reputation, and overall marketing ROI. Missed calls represent lost opportunities for conversions, lead generation, and customer service interactions, leading to a ripple effect of negative consequences.
Regulatory Requirements Enable Technology Innovation
The communications industry gained traction in identifying fraudulent calls, helping usher in the era of authenticated branded calling with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandate that phone carriers implement the protocol known as STIR/SHAKEN in their networks. STIR/SHAKEN enables carriers to authenticate and digitally “sign” calls to validate the help prevent robocalls and call spoofing.
Re-establishing Trust Using Contextual Brand Identity
The rise of digital distrust has damaged the credibility and effectiveness of phone calls. However, FCC oversight and carriers’ ability to reliably authenticate calls helps reduce spoofing, block robocalls, and restore trust in the phone, a much-needed tool for outbound enterprise marketing campaigns.
Branded calling technology allows enterprises to add rich call content to the mobile phone display during the outbound call to the consumer. It’s like a supercharged caller ID capability that can include company name, location, logo, and reason for the call. Certain calls will show a checkmark indicating that they’ve been authenticated. Now enterprise marketers can quickly and easily integrate branded calling campaigns into their marketing mix, since the technology is already supported by all major U.S. mobile carriers.
Research shows that most consumers feel branded calls improve the customer experience when expecting a call from a particular business. More specifically, 73% said they would be more likely to answer the phone and view the company more favorably if a business displayed its name and logo on calls.
What Enterprise Marketers Can Expect
With this technology, companies can create fully branded calling experiences by displaying their business information and the reason for the call directly on the recipient’s mobile phone screen. Consumers do not need an app to receive these branded calls, which are verified with end-to-end call authentication to help ensure that the call wasn’t spoofed.
Having this information on the phone screen delivers immediate, reassuring context to the consumer, arms them with the information they need to confidently answer calls, and inspires trust. As a result, enterprises can achieve much higher contact rates and enhance engagement.
By adding branded calling to their digital marketing channels, enterprise marketers regain a highly effective tool for engagement, and customers gain a reassuring experience that helps them feel more comfortable answering the phone.
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Jonjie Sena, Global VP at TransUnion
Jonjie Sena is the Global Vice President of Enterprise and Carrier Communications Strategy for TransUnion, responsible for driving the go-to-market strategy for Contact Center and Communications Solutions. In this role, Jonjie and his team focus on helping businesses overcome the impacts of the robocalling epidemic and restoring trust in phone calls.