Every day, thousands of UK businesses make calls to customers who want, need, and expect to hear from them. Yet an alarming number of these legitimate calls go unanswered, creating a ripple effect that extends far beyond missed conversations.
The culprit? A phenomenon we call the "caller ID blindspot"—the gap between what traditional caller ID provides and what modern consumers need to trust and answer calls. Hiya’s data shows that 68% of UK consumers actively avoid calls from unknown callers to dodge telemarketers and suspicious callers. Businesses that are making calls that consumers want to receive are caught in the crossfire.
The scale of the problem
The reality is that while businesses focus on perfecting their scripts and training their agents, they're overlooking a fundamental barrier to success. When customers see "Unknown Caller" or an unrecognised number on their phone, 92% assume it could be fraud. Without knowing who is calling them, call recipients cannot tell who is calling and why, making them guess if the call is wanted.
This isn't just a minor inconvenience. It's a systematic problem that's quietly eroding business performance across any industry that relies on the phone call to reach customers and prospective customers. And it’s no longer enough to dial from a local area code or assume leaving a voicemail will help you make more live connections.
Across industries, the inability to connect erodes customer trust
For businesses across industries, reaching customers by phone is increasingly difficult as scammers impersonate brands, damaging trust and deliverability. Voice is the definitive choice for time-sensitive conversations.
There is no communication channel that’s as immediate and convenient as the phone call. Emails and text messages result in a delayed response time. And, while video calls provide the same real-time interaction as voice, they are often not a convenient method of communication—especially between businesses and consumers. Voice offers the optimal channel for nearly all time-sensitive interactions, including deliveries, service issues, speed to sale, health appointment follow-ups and more.
Some of the industries hit hardest by the inability to connect and the impact to their business include:
- Insurance companies struggle with quote follow-ups being ignored, hampering their ability to respond quickly in competitive markets. When 78% of customers buy from the first company to respond, every unanswered call represents a lost opportunity.
- Retail businesses find their calls to existing customers consistently ignored, leading to reduced customer satisfaction and unresolved service issues. The irony is stark: customers who actively want to engage with these brands are avoiding their calls simply because they don't recognise the number.
- High-consideration retail sectors—from automotive to healthcare—face perhaps the steepest challenges. Inbound inquiries go ignored, follow-ups are declined, and critical appointment reminders fall on deaf ears, disrupting entire customer journey workflows.
The hidden operational crisis
Beyond the obvious revenue implications lies a more profound operational crisis that's quietly devastating contact centre performance. Low connection rates create a cascade of problems that extend far beyond missed sales opportunities.
Customer satisfaction: Customers expect prompt follow-up after requesting a quote, appointment, or support. Missed connections create delays that frustrate customers and erode trust.
Employee experience: Agent frustration reaches critical levels when teams spend their days leaving voicemails instead of having productive conversations. This leads to higher staff turnover rates, increased recruitment costs, and the constant challenge of training new team members who may leave just as they become productive.
Operational efficiency: The productivity losses due to the inability to connect compound quickly. Agents waste valuable time redialing numbers, productivity metrics suffer, and the overall efficiency of outbound operations plummets. In an industry where margins are often tight, these operational inefficiencies can significantly impact profitability.
Since implementing Hiya, we've seen a 42% increase in answered outbound calls, with a noticeable 30% reduction in call blocking and spam labeling issues. Branding our calls has built greater trust with our customers, and we’ve received positive feedback from clients who appreciate knowing it’s us calling.
A proven solution emerges
While the problem is widespread, a growing number of UK businesses have found an effective solution: branded caller ID. This technology transforms how outbound calls appear to recipients, replacing an anonymous caller with a trusted business name, logo, and reason for calling, giving the call recipient confidence to answer or call back.
The results speak for themselves. Businesses implementing branded caller ID report an average 31% increase in contact rates and 18% improvement in conversion rates. Perhaps most compelling from a business case perspective: the average return on investment occurs in just 2.25 months.
The transformation is immediate and measurable. When customers can see who's calling and why, it creates immediate trust —increasing the likelihood of a live connection and creating more opportunities for meaningful conversations and successful outcomes.
The path forward
The evidence is clear: the traditional approach to outbound calling is no longer sufficient in today's trust-conscious environment. Consumers have fundamentally changed their behaviour around unknown callers, and businesses must adapt accordingly.
Forward-thinking companies are already making this transition, recognising that branded caller ID isn't just a nice-to-have feature—it's becoming essential infrastructure for effective customer communication.
Ready to see what your customers see when you call?
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