What is Local Caller ID?
You’ve seen it on your phone screen– calls from businesses displaying a local phone number of the city you call home. You know this as Caller ID, but sometimes the company calling isn’t actually from there.
This number strategy is known as Local Caller ID, which global businesses use to enhance their call termination (outbound calling). You probably have some questions about this local call display service.
Look below to see how setting up local caller ID service with outbound-capable numbers can help your business promote trust and professionalism in the new markets you’re exploring.
What is Local Caller ID?
Local Caller ID (LCID) is a business outbound voice service that displays a local area code and phone number of the city your customers and contacts are in.
Other names for Local Caller ID: local presence dialing, call termination, local direct outward dialing (DOD), local direct inward dialing (DID) with two-way voice, outbound caller ID service, and calling line identification (CLI).
LCID allows global businesses to better communicate with customers in markets where they don’t have a physical presence. Local Caller ID is mainly used for outbound calling, but it does serve a call origination (inbound) strategy too.
What Local Caller ID is not: Local Caller ID is not Call Spoofing. LCID is a legitimate business outbound dial strategy, whereas Call Spoofing is a deceptive and harmful fraud tactic used to scam people.
How Local Caller ID Works
Local Caller ID displays the registered business phone number through a VoIP provider on the phone screen of the call recipient. The process works like this:
Step 1: You set up your business’s Local Call ID with a VoIP provider.
Step 2: The provider updates its database with your new Calling Line Identification (CLI) information.
Step 3: Your updated LCID displays correctly when you call your customers and contacts.
Providers of VoIP service, such as AVOXI, make it easy for you to manage your business’s local caller ID service right from your preferred environments. Using SIP trunk technology, you can integrate local presence dialing into your existing phone system and contact center platforms.
The Business Benefits of Local Caller ID
There’s a lot of value that comes with incorporating local caller ID service into your business phone number portfolio. The benefits include:
Having Local Presence
You can establish your company as a local business in the community without having a physical office space. Local Caller ID phone numbers allow you to engage with customers and contacts while fostering trust in the areas you want to be in.
Improving Answer Rate
Local caller ID service can help you improve your business’s call answer rate. For example, China customers are 2 times more likely to answer calls from companies using local phone numbers.
There’s a sense of familiarity with a recognizable prefix which can give customers and contacts comfort in answering those calls.
Boosting Customer Engagement
Even if they can’t answer the phone right away, Local Caller ID empowers customers to call back. Local DIDs with two-way voice communications provide call-back functionality, giving your customers an easy way to call in and engage with your business on their own time.
Local ID Match
You can match Caller IDs to the customers you’re reaching. That way, call recipients see your business phone number as a local number every time.
Cost-Effective
Answering a local call is way more cost-effective for your customers than a long-distance phone call. Even though you’re an international company, Local Caller ID numbers are always charged at the local rates– never international ones.
Types of Caller ID Displays
There are three types of Caller ID displays to think about for making outbound calls. Talk with your VoIP service provider to see which display aligns with your business’s local presence dialing objectives.
LCID
LCID is short for Local Caller ID, which displays a business’s local telephone number on the call recipient’s device. This outbound caller ID service works on landlines and mobile format numbers and has the greatest amount of global coverage– spanning 80+ countries among the leading VoIP providers.
CNAM
CNAM stands for Caller ID Name, which shows the phone number and the name of the business calling. CNAM is more limited and only works on landlines in the US and parts of Canada.
BCID
BCID stands for Branded Caller ID, which shows the business’s logo and reason for calling. BCID works on mobile, but only for customers whose mobile phone service is within the VoIP carrier’s network.
Commonly Asked Local Caller ID Questions
Local Caller ID service is generally set up in your contact center or phone system environment and webphone. This is where you can also make changes to the outbound caller ID.
Each VoIP service provider may have a different setup. Be sure to check with your provider for detailed instructions on how to set up your business’s Local Caller ID.
Grow Your Local Presence Using Outbound Caller ID Service
There’s so much opportunity to build an in-country presence and create customer experiences using phone numbers with Local Caller ID. The more you understand the benefits of local caller ID, the better you can grow your local presence and reach new customers.
Here at AVOXI, we help businesses like yours grow their local presence, improve answer rates, and boost engagement that drives productive conversations. If you’re ready to leverage outbound caller ID service to enhance your outbound call strategy, check out our webinar to see just how it’s done.
Look & Sell Local
Looking for a simple way to make better connections and increase global answer rates without having a physical market presence? Local voice + caller ID is the way to go.
