Nearly Nine Out of 10 Decision Makers Rank the Phone as the Most Important Outbound Channel for Meeting Customer Service Goals and Increasing Revenues

CHICAGO, March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- While channels like email and messaging are more prevalent, the phone remains one of the most business-critical tools available, according to a 2025 study from Forrester Consulting, commissioned by TransUnion (NYSE: TRU). The study found 86% of decision-makers across a wide range of industries agree the phone is the most important outbound channel for meeting customer service goals and increasing revenues.

The study surveyed 719 decision-makers responsible for their company’s outbound call experience strategy, technology selection, and security. Its findings provide an update to the 2022 study and highlight key pain points, including inaccurate customer contact data and the threat of call spoofing. The full findings are available in the study, .

Decision-makers indicated their companies made 26% fewer calls while increasing use of other digital channels; however, the phone remains their top channel for urgent customer service issues and discussing personal matters.

“Business leaders understand the critical role communications solutions play in helping companies promote their brand while protecting consumers,” said James Garvert, senior vice president of TruContact™ Communications Solutions at TransUnion. “Adoption of customer contact, branded calling and call authentication solutions has proven to help businesses enhance the customer experience, increase revenues, and reduce fraud risk.”

Importance of communications and contact solutions

Three in four decision-makers say accurate caller information displayed on outbound calls is important for improving customer engagement and increasing answer rates. This rich content can be displayed through branded calling. Among the most valuable features of branded calling, respondents identified the following as “important” or “critical” to improving customer engagement and contact rates.

Most Important Features to Drive Customer Engagement

Damaging effects of fraud and call-spoofing

Decision-makers noted the need for protection against call spoofing, with 80% reporting an uptick in customer service inquiries due to call spoofing and subsequent increased operational costs.

In addition, 72% have observed a decline in customer trust due to call spoofing, directly affecting retention. Despite the recognized need for robust solutions, effective measures are elusive—and that problem appears to have gotten worse. The current survey found 55% of decision-makers said their current technologies lack adequate call spoofing protection, representing an increase from 38% since 2022.

The study notes that businesses can also improve customer experience by focusing their use of the phone channel on urgent and personal matters—when it is most valued—and by understanding and respecting consumers’ individual contact preferences.

to read Optimizing Outbound Communications: Strategies And Technologies For Effective Customer Engagement. The State of Outbound Communications 2025.

Learn more about TransUnion , part of the suite, and our suite of .

TransUnion will be at Enterprise Connect 2025 at booth #1327. Senior Director of Product Management, Mick Moss, will be speaking at the show on Tuesday March 18, 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. on the panel and on Thursday, March 20, 9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. on the panel.

Survey Methodology

In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 719 decision-makers at automotive dealer, collections, financial services, healthcare, insurance, travel and hospitality, and wealth management organizations in the US to evaluate the current state of outbound communications. Survey participants included decision-makers in customer experience/service, call center/contact center, IT, IT security, marketing/advertising, operations, and risk/compliance/fraud. Respondents were offered a small incentive as a thank-you for time spent on the survey. The study was completed in November 2024.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company with over 13,000 associates operating in more than 30 countries. We make trust possible by ensuring each person is reliably represented in the marketplace. We do this with a Tru™ picture of each person: an actionable view of consumers, stewarded with care. Through our acquisitions and technology investments we have developed innovative solutions that extend beyond our strong foundation in core credit into areas such as marketing, fraud, risk and advanced analytics. As a result, consumers and businesses can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good^® — and it leads to economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for millions of people around the world. .