Rich Call Data: Benefits of Enriched Call Data

Rich call data transforms phone call interactions by showing much more than a telephone number on the incoming call screen.  

Unlike traditional Caller ID or CNAM which offers only a name and telephone number, rich call data delivers context that help recipients decide whether to answer the call, such as: 

• Brand logos 

• Call reason 

• Verified brand identity 

For businesses, enriched calling helps reduce friction, increase answer rates and build trust through caller authentication and consistent branded caller ID. This blog explains what rich call data is, how enriched calls are delivered and practical steps for adoption. 

What is Rich Call Data? 

Customers increasingly ignore unknown numbers – TNS research found that 72% of adults do not answer the phone to unknown numbers. 

Rich call data helps increase the answer rate by making calls recognizable and trustworthy before the recipient answers. Enriched calling helps improve customer experience for service teams, reduce abandoned calls for sales organizations, and cut fraud and spoofing incidents when paired with strong caller authentication.  

Organizations that deploy branded calling solutions that provide rich call data as part of their outbound calling strategies may see measurable improvements in engagement and lower complaint volumes. 

How Rich Call Data Works  

At a high level, rich call data appears on incoming call screens via a three-stage process: authentication, enrichment and delivery. 

1. Authentication 

Caller identity is authenticated using zero-trust mechanisms such as the TNS pre-call API, establishing trust that tell a network how confidently the caller’s number has been verified. 

Proper implementation of caller authentication is essential: without it, carriers may downgrade enriched call data and recipients may not receive verified branded caller ID. 

2. Enrichment 

Next, calls are enriched with the rich call data that will appear on the incoming call screen. Depending on the branded calling provider, this may include brand logo and call reason.  

3. Delivery 

Finally, the branded calls are transmitted across the network and rendered by the recipient’s device, delivering enriched calling experiences to consumers that help improve answer rates and desired call outcomes.  

Rich Call Data Delivery Models  

Before implementing an enriched calling strategy for a business’ outgoing calling operations, there are a few items of importance to consider – one of those being the approach to enriched calling delivery. 

There are two main approaches to deliver branded calling ID: 

• Network-based: integrates with carriers and displays content at the OS or carrier level, offering the broadest reach and the clearest branded caller id experience 

• App-based: render enriched content inside an app, which may be faster to market but depends on users installing and granting permissions 

Branded calling solutions such as TNS Enterprise Branded Calling, partner with carriers to provide network-based and app-based branded calling. This enables businesses that deploy Enterprise Branded Calling to deliver enriched calls without an app to millions of consumers across multiple network carriers along with consumers that have an app already pre-loaded on their device for Android phones that don’t support rich call data .  

Successful deployment requires carrier partnerships, onboarding with strong vetting practices for brand verification, and handset or operating system support for rendering branded caller ID. 

How to Deploy Branded Calling ID 

Branded calling ID solutions provide businesses with a new playing field for building customer trust and brand reputation – incoming call screens. 

Ninety-one percent of Americans own a smartphone and TNS research found that 78% of adults are more willing to answer a branded call from a company they recognize, providing businesses with ample opportunity to engage with their customer base and utilizing enriched call data to do so.  

For businesses that are looking to deploy branded calling ID solutions to their outgoing calling operations, the TNS Enterprise Team have put together their ‘Roadmap to Deployment’ – everything businesses need to know to make the right decision:  

• Onboarding: carriers and strong vetting practices must verify that a company owns and legitimately uses the telephone numbers being enriched with rich call data and that the content applies with policy. 

• Governance: Name and brand attributes that appear on an enriched call screen must be correct and authorized. Solution vendors and businesses should clarify responsibilities for content accuracy, hosting, data retention and dispute resolution. 

• Implementation and vendor: Choose which path is the best for your business: direct carrier integration or third-party branded calling platform. Variables such as speed, control, costs, coverage, content management and analytics should all be considered when choosing which implementation path is best for your business. 

• Privacy, security and compliance: Must be central to any branded calling ID strategy. Only necessary metadata should be shared, media assets must be stored with appropriate access controls, and contractual terms with carriers or vendors must clarify data usage.  

• Measuring success: Define KPIs before launch. Typical metrics include answer rate lift, conversion or resolution rates on answered calls, spam or complaint reductions and changes in fraud incidents. 

Strong caller authentication reduces exposure to spoofing but does not eliminate privacy obligations; organizations must follow regional rules for consumer communications and optin/optout expectations 

Rich Call Data in Practice 

For high-touch industries, such as healthcare, financial services, hospitality, etc., telephone calls are the quickest and most efficient way for businesses to get in touch with their customers.  

For healthcare in particular, the voice channel is the quickest communication method to relay important healthcare information and update patients on treatment plans, yet many healthcare organizations struggle to get their patients to answer their phones. 

Rich Call Data Healthcare Case Study 

One healthcare organization got in touch with TNS to deploy TNS Enterprise Branded Calling in the hopes that the branded caller ID solution would encourage their patients to answer their phones and engage with them via the voice channel. 

A healthcare organization piloted TNS Enterprise Branded Calling and saw a 41% increase in answer rates, driven by enriched call data delivered through the solution. 

The success of the pilot led to a live service, with the organization continuing to report being able to contact customers in fewer calls, saving time and financial resources, in addition to providing patients with dedicated customer service.  

Enrich Call Operations Today with Rich Call Data  

Rich call data may transform your business’ outgoing call operations by turning your customer’s smartphones into trust and brand building opportunities.  

Enriched calling may help improve the answer rates, engagement and/or authentication of your business’ calls – branded caller ID solutions can handle it all. To begin the road to enriched calling today, consider: 

• Starting with a readiness audit: map phone numbers, confirm number ownership, and list target use cases.  

• Pilot a small group of enriched calls to measure answer rate lift and iterate on messaging.  

• Work with carriers or a proven vendor to complete vetting and implement caller authentication for full branded caller id delivery.  

Adopting rich call data via branded calling as part of a modern communications strategy may help increase trust, reduce fraud risk via caller authentication and make voice interactions a stronger channel for customer engagement.