For many businesses, voice drops and ringless messages are a major asset. Not only do they save time and money, but they have a way of boosting company morale and reducing human error. However, if you’re using voice drops in your business, you need to make sure that you’re closely adhering to the Truth in Caller ID Act before you commit to a service. Before breaking down how that act could impact your business, it’s important to understand voice drops and ringless voicemails in general.
How do voice drops work?
Ringless voicemails and voice drops are, for the most part, fairly self-explanatory. Instead of spending time dialing individual customers, waiting to hear their voicemail greetings, and leaving a message, voice drops enable you to dispatch pre-recorded voicemails to the backend of customers’ phones. This cuts out unnecessary wait times and reduces the likelihood that your call will be dropped, ignored, or otherwise screened out.
It’s been posited that customers are less likely to delete voicemails they haven’t heard and are more likely to ignore calls from unknown numbers. This has a few potential benefits. Firstly, you’re increasing the amount of customers you can effectively reach. Also, one person manually dialing through a contact list could take hours, whereas voice drops can accomplish the same feet much more quickly. Plus, ringless messages even have the potential to increase the amount of customer responses you receive. So how does the Truth in Caller ID Act fit into all of this?
Truth in Caller ID explained
The Federal Communications Commission issued the Truth in Caller ID Act as a form of consumer protection. Think about your own phone. Have you ever received a call from a number that was eerily similar to a number stored in your contacts? Have you ever been called by a number that purported it belonged to a government agency or a business’s customer service department? This is known as “caller ID spoofing.” It’s often used to help scammers illegally collect information, defraud their victims, or otherwise cause harm.
Under the Truth in Caller ID Act, this behavior is prohibited and outlaws telecommunications services and IP-enabled voice services that knowingly transmit inaccurate or misleading caller information. It’s a strong deterrent against scammers. Tying that into voice drops, remember how customers are less likely to answer unknown numbers, or even answer at all? A big part of that is due to ongoing government education efforts regarding how to handle spoofed phone numbers and scams. Authorities recommend, unless you’re certain of a number’s origins, you don’t answer at all. And if you do answer by mistake, they advise you to hang up immediately.
With voice drops, you don’t violate the Truth in Caller ID Act because you’re not providing your customers inaccurate or misleading information. Instead, you’re going directly to their voicemail inbox. It’s a great way to make sure you aren’t running afoul of any government mandates that could have consequences for your business. But if you decide to invest in voice drops and ringless voicemails, it’s important to do your research.
Finding the right service
There are a few things you should look for in a voice drop service. First, do they ethically handle your customers’ information? If this info isn’t present on their website, ask a member of their team. Second, what is their reputation like? Do you know business colleagues who use the service? Do they present solid online reviews or do past users warn you to stay away? Lastly, does their pricing model fit within your budget? While voice drops can increase your earning capacity and outreach efforts, you shouldn’t empty your pocketbook for them. Voice drops can be an incredibly effective marketing tool, but only if you make sure to use them correctly.
