Juniper Research Report Identifies Impacts of Negative Call Experiences―and Evaluates Solutions
In their report, Brand Authentication and Call Experience Management Solutions: Overcoming the Impacts of Robocalling and Improving Call Management Experiences, 2021, Juniper Research provides an overview of the current call experience in the U.S. The report dives into the impact of negative calls; tactics used by fraudsters; how regulatory agencies are helping; and how call experience management solutions elevate the call experience for stakeholders across the telecom ecosystem.
According to Juniper, along with regulatory mandates like STIR/SHAKEN, with which Communications Service Providers (CSPs) must comply, it’s imperative that enterprises augment those actions by adopting solutions that help reduce robocalls and call spoofing, and restore trust in the telecom ecosystem. They note, “Failure to implement trusted calling solutions will diminish the value of many telecommunications services, as carriers will not be in a position to efficiently identify and block fraudulent traffic on their networks.”
Here are some highlights.
Pluses and minuses of the phone call.
In the report, Juniper focuses on how voice channels help promote positive brand reputation, build consumer confidence, and increase the likelihood of repeat customers.
But, negative call experiences caused by illegal and unwanted robocalling have a significant impact on customers and their perception of enterprises, ultimately damaging customer loyalty.
Negative impacts include:
- Reduced contact rates
- Consumer complaints
- Damage to brand reputation and consumer confidence
- Wasted time
- Vulnerability to further fraudulent activity
There’s also a direct impact to enterprises in terms of customer churn, the resulting loss of sales, reduced employee efficiency, and increased operational costs.
Robocalls: the primary problem.
The number of illegal and unwanted robocalls in the U.S. skyrocketed 340%, from 9 billion in 2016 to 39 billion in 2020. While federal laws are in place to address the dramatic rise in robocalls, regulators like the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) are putting the pressure on Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to take responsibility for solving the problem of robocalls and call spoofing.
Carriers have been instructed to implement STIR/SHAKEN call authentication and/or a robocall mitigation solution by June 2021. Juniper notes, “The implementation of STIR/SHAKEN will have a considerable impact on the reduction of illegal and unwanted robocalls received from 2022 onwards. In 2021, we expect there to be over 41 billion illegal and unwanted robocalls in the US. Yet, the number of these calls is expected to fall to 25 billion by 2025.” But that won’t be enough to immediately solve the problem for enterprises.
The many benefits of call experience management solutions.
Juniper suggests that enterprises would be wise to consider adopting call experience management solutions to augment carrier efforts, noting, “Leveraging voice channels as a means of communications with customers will become increasingly important to these enterprises, as the adoption of call experience management solutions grows, and more of the ecosystem adopts these frameworks.”
What’s more, Juniper posits, the impact will ripple across the entire telecom ecosystem.
“Whilst the value of outbound voice communication cannot be understated for brands, solutions that enable greater authentication and trust amongst consumers will be critical to maximizing the value proposition for all stakeholders, including brands, carriers and customers.”
Call experience management solutions benefit enterprises, carriers, and consumers. Juniper says such solutions, “offer a cost-effective and centralized way for stakeholders reduce the impacts of robocalls by helping carriers implement STIR/SHAKEN call authentication and advanced call analytics, and reducing wrongful call blocking and tagging through the verification of legitimate brands.”
In the end, this helps improve the experience for carriers, enterprises, and consumers. Benefits for enterprises and mobile network carriers also include efficiency gains, while enterprises can promote and protect their brand. Consumers get fewer robocalls, the ability to trust brands again, and protection from scams and fraud.
Juniper provides an overview of the call experience platform market, along with existing solutions by various players in the industry. The paper provides an overview of Neustar’s Trusted Call Solutions (TCS), including Branded Call Display (BCD).
More about Branded Call Display.
Through a centralized platform BCD lets you reassure customers it’s you calling by displaying your full name, business location, logos, e-business cards, social media links, and more, on the mobile display. At the same time, Neustar provides the STIR/SHAKEN component that verifies that the number, and the data, have not been spoofed.