Local Presence Dialing: Power Outbound Calling with Multi-Regional Numbers

Local presence dialing is becoming a standard feature built into many enterprise phone systems, outbound dialers, and customer experience platforms.

In this article, we’ll break down how service providers and technology vendors can develop their own local presence solution to serve customers in Asia-Pacific.

What is local presence dialling?

Local presence dialing is a capability that is configured within a phone system, outbound dialer, or SIP Trunk. It enables the calling party to call from a number that is local to the recipient.

The purpose of ‘local presence’ is to increase the answer rate of outbound phone calls by showing a familiar number to the recipient. Especially when the call is originating from an international office and would otherwise show an out-of-area number.

Local presence is often used by enterprise contact centers when making outbound calls into a different region. It can also be used by multi-national corporations (MNCs) when staff are calling or teleconferencing between global offices.

How it works

The process of local presence dialling involves several key steps:

1.      Identification of Recipient Location: The system identifies the recipient's location.

2.      Selection of Local Caller ID: A local caller ID is selected based on the recipient's location.

3.      Display of Chosen Caller ID: The call is made, displaying the chosen local caller ID.

What are the benefits of local presence?

Local presence dialing will be familiar to any communications provider delivering multi-national UCaaS, CPaaS or contact center solutions.

Local presence has two important benefits, for both enterprise and consumers:

Increased call answer rates

Given the increasing volumes of nuisance calls and SMS, many people are naturally cautious about answering calls from unfamiliar numbers. That’s where ‘local presence dialing’ comes in.

Research reveals that people are 4 times more likely to answer calls coming from local numbers, compared to calls appearing to come from international numbers.

Therefore, by enabling outbound calls via a local number – organisations can significantly increase call answer rates. This is key for outbound contact centers who need to contact large numbers of people – such as market research and fundraising organisations

Support for 2-way calling

Local presence also means consumers have a low-cost local number they can call back if it suits them to do so. This is a win-win for customer experience. Organisations can provide a self-service pathway, and maintain high contact rates, simply by using local numbers in outbound campaigns.

This can be especially useful for industries like insurance and tourism, where customers may need to dial-in from international destinations.  

How can service providers enable local presence dialing?

Local presence dialling can be a complex solution to deliver if you’re unfamiliar with the numbering system or regulations in a particular region.

Given this complexity, it is best practice for international service providers to use a local voice carrier to source and host numbers on their behalf.

Access local number inventory

Symbio Connect customers can power local presence dialing through our multi-regional number inventory and numbering APIs.

Symbio is the local numbering partner for many of the worlds’ top communication providers. Symbio can provide local number inventory in multiple Asia-Pacific countries, including:

·        Australia

·        New Zealand

·        Singapore

·        Malaysia

·        Indonesia and the Philippines

Local market expertise

The use of local phone numbers is strictly regulated in many countries, and the Asia-Pacific region is no exception. For example, in Singapore, businesses cannot hold local PSTN (Level 6) numbers unless they have a registered Singapore business and office address, among other requirements.

Understandably, when scaling cloud communication services into Asia-Pacific, international service providers can be unsure about which enterprise use cases are permissible.

The first step is always to seek independent legal counsel. In addition, as a specialist in Asia-Pacific, Symbio can provide market insights grounded in deep industry experience.

Compliant number hosting

Symbio is a fully compliant voice prover in Asia-Pacific. Our network adheres to industry standards for scam call blocking, and is enhanced by technologies to reduce communications fraud.

We work closely with you to understand your communications use case and traffic profile – so we can determine the best solution for your requirements.

Moreover, as a Tier 1 carrier in several domestic markets, we have relationships and experience which can help you navigate local markets and regulatory requirements.

Symbio is your partner for local numbering and carrier voice services across Asia-Pacific.