Amazon Connect Outbound Calls: Configuring Local Caller ID to Reduce Spam Flagging

When faced with an urgent issue about an order, more than half of customers prefer to pick up the phone and call⁽ⁱ⁾.

That’s why call centers play a crucial role in delivering exceptional customer service and building lasting relationships.

Amazon Connect takes this a step further by enabling brands to engage customers proactively across multiple channels, often addressing concerns before they even reach the contact center.

However, outbound calls, especially international ones, can sometimes get flagged as spam, reducing response rates and frustrating customers.

Take the case of a cloud-based solution provider. Their customers frequently ignored their calls, leading to lower engagement and growing dissatisfaction.

To fix this, they needed a way to dynamically display a local caller ID based on the country the agent was dialing, ensuring their calls reached customers without being mistaken for spam.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how we successfully implemented this solution, transforming their customer engagement in the process.

Know the Customer

The customer is a cloud-based platform designed for attractions, entertainment, and leisure venues, streamlining operations while enhancing the guest experience. Their solution supports ticketing, point-of-sale (POS) systems, CRM, digital waivers, gift cards, email communications, entry management, and seamless checkouts, among other essential processes.

How Spam Barriers in Outbound Calls Impacted Engagement

They faced several key challenges that affected overall communication effectiveness. Additionally:

• Calls to customers in different countries were often flagged as spam.
• Customers were reluctant to answer calls from unfamiliar or unverified numbers.
• Lower answer rates led to decreased engagement and missed business opportunities.

Improving Response Rates Through Region-Based Caller ID Assignment

The objective of this project was to develop a solution that:

• Dynamically assigns a local outbound caller ID based on the recipient’s phone number region
• Ensures higher answer rates and minimizes the risk of calls being flagged as spam
• Enhances customer engagement by displaying a familiar local number
• Seamlessly integrates with the existing telephony infrastructure for efficient call routing

Customizing Outbound Caller ID with AWS for Seamless Regional Calling

Since AWS does not offer outbound caller ID customization as a built-in feature, a customized solution was implemented to meet the customer’s needs. The approach involved:

1. Enabling Caller ID Customization

• A support case was raised with AWS to enable the “Calling Phone Number” block, allowing outbound caller ID customization.

2. Developing a Lambda Function for Region Detection

• A Lambda function was created to detect the customer’s phone number region (e.g., UK, US, Australia).
• The function dynamically returns the respective country code (e.g., “UK,” “US,” “AU”).

3. Updating the Outbound Call Flow

• The outbound call flow was modified to incorporate the Lambda function’s response.
• Based on the detected country, the system dynamically assigned a local phone number for outbound calls.

Testing the Solution

To ensure accuracy and functionality, we carried out the following steps:

• Logged into the Contact Control Panel (CCP).
• Placed outbound calls to customers in different regions (US, UK, Australia).
• Verified that the system correctly assigned local phone numbers based on the detected region.
• Reviewed logs to confirm accurate phone number assignment and proper call routing.

Reducing Spam Labeling and Increasing Call Pickup Rates

Our customization solution provided several key benefits, including:

• 30-40% increase in call answer rates as customers recognized familiar local numbers.
• Significant reduction in spam labeling, improving outreach effectiveness.
• Enhanced customer experience and engagement, leading to higher satisfaction scores.
• Improved operational efficiency, enabling agents to focus on more productive conversations.

Conclusion

By leveraging AWS Lambda and customizing Outbound Flow, the team successfully implemented Dynamic Caller ID Assignment, eliminating spam flags and boosting customer engagement.

Now, calls display a local number based on the customer’s region, creating a more personalized experience and reducing the likelihood of being flagged as spam. This enhances trust and increases answer rates, as customers are more likely to pick up calls from familiar local numbers.

Additionally, agents spend less time on unanswered calls, enabling them to focus on meaningful conversations and drive better outcomes.

Statistics Reference:

⁽ⁱ⁾ First Orion