For data-driven organisations, maintaining a database of active phone numbers is a constant challenge. However, businesses that can pull it off are the most successful in delivering a positive customer experience. Finding the right method for checking if a phone number is active will allow your organisation to save time and maintain better customer relationships all at once.
Why is checking my phone number important?
Accurate contact data is one of the most valuable resources that a business can have. After all, the best businesses are transparent, communicative, and responsive to their customers. However, inaccurate phone numbers are a significant obstacle in that relationship. Checking a phone number goes a long way toward maintaining strong relationships with customers and keeping an open line of communication.
Checking a phone number is a necessity for organisations as accurate phone number data can be used for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Contacting a customer about a transaction
- Verifying a customer’s identity during customer service interactions
- Updating customers about their order status via text message
- Reaching customers through marketing campaigns
- Receiving customer feedback through phone surveys
- Connecting customers to a loyalty program
Improper phone number data can hinder these processes and even negatively affect customer relationships. Still, although accurate phone number data is valuable, keeping accuracy can be easier said than done. Phone numbers can grow out of date as people change numbers, making it harder to keep up with active, usable data. If you don’t have a system to check phone numbers, you and your team may waste valuable time and resources contacting phone numbers that are no longer in service.
How to tell if a phone number is active or not
A quick method for checking if a phone number is active is necessary for businesses that want to stay ahead. An efficient process for checking phone numbers will help support consistent communication with customers without straining employee workload. There are three main ways you can check whether or not a phone number is active.
Contact the recipient
Of course, when you need to verify a customer’s phone number, you can always take the old-fashioned approach – calling the number directly. Prepare a script for why you are reaching out to the customer and touch on the information you want to share with them or gain from them.
However, if the phone number doesn’t seem to be working, you can contact the customer through other channels to verify their information. For example, you can send out an email asking your customers to verify their phone numbers. Still, this method is time-consuming and takes your team away from accomplishing other tasks. You will also find a response rate of under 5% is common.
Phone number verification tools
The simplest and least time-consuming way to check if a phone number is active is to use a phone number verification tool. This method involves one easy step—simply type the phone number into the tool and it will provide feedback on whether or not the phone number is active and accurate.
Phone number verification tools work by sending a non-disruptive ping to the phone number in question through the network. If the tool receives a response, then the number is active—if not, the number is no longer in service. This process is instant, providing quick feedback that allows you to take action depending on the result.
Phone number verification tools are great because they can work to verify the accuracy of a single number or be used to cleanse entire lists of inactive numbers. By using these tools you can maintain a database of accurate data and avoid having to do so on the fly.
Real-time phone verification
The best way to maintain a database of active phone numbers is to prevent inaccurate or invalid numbers from entering your database at all. Real-time verification tells you immediately whether a phone number is accurate and in service, allowing you to vet and properly format numbers at the point of entry. Experian solutions can be implemented in a number of popular CRM systems including Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics.
Real-time phone verification works the same as standard verification tools, but it works directly within a system for immediate feedback. For example, when a customer service representative enters a new customer’s data the CRM tool will verify in real time whether the number is active and valid or if it needs to be corrected. The system can also be used when a customer creates a profile on your website and can prompt the customer to make changes if needed.
By integrating a real-time verification tool into your current systems, you can avoid the guesswork of determining whether or not you have active numbers. Although you should perform list cleansing periodically, real-time verification also saves time in the future by reducing the number of phone numbers that need to be corrected later down the road.
The benefits of phone verification tools
Knowing how to check if a phone number is active without calling is highly valuable for a business. Phone verification tools help improve customer reach and enhance the customer experience by reducing inaccuracy.
Altogether, using phone verification tools offers multiple benefits, like:
- Providing organisations with confidence in reaching customers
- Saving time and money by eliminating the need to check numbers manually
- Ensuring better customer experience through improved contact
You can use phone verification tools at the point that data enters the database or at various points in time to check for outdated phone numbers. By integrating verification tools into your current systems, you can streamline your process for maintaining accurate phone numbers and allow your team time to focus on strengthening customer relationships.
Check a phone number with Experian
Active phone numbers are crucial for maintaining positive customer relationships and maintaining reliable contact. With Experian’s phone verification tools, you can enjoy convenience and peace of mind by simplifying your processes for checking whether phone numbers are active. Our tools will save you time and money by providing you with immediate and reliable results.