When it Comes to Customers, Phone Calls Still Do The Business, Says New Survey

Not every pitch is suitable for an email, or WhatsApp message, or LinkedIn post – sometimes a phone call sets an idea in motion. It can also work wonders on insurance sales, or upselling extras like Legal, Breakdown & more. It’s all good.

Here’s the word from Forrester;

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

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.

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.

Learn more about TransUnion Branded Call Display (BCD), part of the Trusted Call Solutions (TCS) suite, and our suite of Customer Contact Intelligence solutions.