The Ultimate guide to Number Masking covering its Features, Uses and Benefits

Number Masking refers to a system that hides the business' and consumer's actual contact information. Instead, both parties see a temporary number. This protects personal data and allows for privacy. By taking proactive steps to protect customer data, you can show your customers how much you care about them. Let’s understand what Number Masking essentially is before we get onto understanding the various benefits it has for a business, the features it entails, and how it works.

What is Number Masking?

In number masking, communication is made anonymous between the customers and businesses/vendors in order to safeguard their phone numbers. Hence, on the mobile phones of both parties, the number of the other party isn’t displayed. Rather, another proxy number is displayed. This is done via a third-party proxy phone number, which is essentially bridging the call. Through Number Masking, the privacy of both the customers and business representatives is hence protected.

How does Number Masking work?

Number Masking may work differently across different platforms depending on the service provider. However, this is how the most basic solutions work-

First, the customer or business representative makes a call via the application. Then the call is transferred via the application’s server which is maintained by the service provider. The phone number of the caller party is replaced with a proxy number here. The called party then receives the call from a masked phone number. Both the parties interact freely without having shared their contact details with each other.

To understand this is a better way, here's an example for you: Rahul is looking for a cab. He can't hail a cab inside the app of the taxi company since he doesn't have an internet connection. To connect with a driver, he needs to dial a number and tell the driver where to meet him.

The taxi company promotes a number (DID) for Rahul to call.

Our company being the number masking solution provider here, receives the call from Rahul, and informs the platform about what is to be done with it. We use the company's API, which they have provided while registering with us for this particular solution.

When the platform receives a call, it confirms what to do with it, which could be either of the two options:

1. The ring should be forwarded to a taxi driver, and Rahul's caller ID is changed
2. Play Rahul an audio file, e.g., "There are no taxi drivers available now; please call back later."

In this case, Rahul is connected to the appropriate driver based on the instruction from the platform. In addition, Rahul and the taxi driver can also communicate directly via a DID number on the Taxi company's platform.

Rahul calls the driver with the caller ID 63329996600. Given the TAXI company platform setup, the driver can call Rahul again and inform him about any information, for instance, that he will be 20 minutes late.

This is exactly how the Number Masking works in a particular scenario which may differ from business to business.

Why is number masking important?

You may be thinking that number masking is a good addition but may not be necessary. However, it is helping companies build customer confidence which in turn is sure to take their ROI higher enhancing the growth. This will also help the businesses gain customer loyalty and in turn choose their products more frequently. Let's examine the statistics:

• A whopping 79% of people feel uncomfortable giving their personal information to business service providers.
• According to 65% of people, if a business uses phone number masking solution providers, it will increase its credibility.
• Every customer only contacts a company that keeps their number safe.

Where is Number Masking deployed?

There are numerous places where Number Masking is used. This usage has only gotten better with more prevalence of e-commerce companies, the gig economy, and services like food delivery, cab, etc. Hence for a business to ensure seamless communication between the business and customers, it is important for a business to deploy Number Masking.

Benefits:

1. Makes Customers feel safe and trust the business- In the whole conversation around security, Number Masking makes customers feel safe. There is no number exchange occurring between customers and business representatives. Businesses can ensure that there is a seamless exchange between businesses and customers.

2. Prove Data Security - Number Masking ensures that the data of customers is not linked to their phone number. Also, since a lot of other services in current times are accessed via phone numbers, through the number masking solution businesses can ensure they can protect customer data. Businesses can ensure that their agents cannot access the personal data of customers and “lock” their database too.

3. Track & Monitor Conversations - A business can ensure that they can track and manage the customer interactions because most solutions provide a panel that gives access to information regarding these calls. Through the Number Masking Solution itself, businesses can manage their agent productivity.

4. Ensure Smooth Conversation - Number Masking ensures that customers can comfortably contact a business for support, inquiries, etc. without worrying about any data leak. Customers can freely call a delivery provider to know the whereabouts of their orders.

5. Cost-Effective - The solution of Number Masking is cost-effective and its benefits outweigh the minimal costs. Since the solution is cloud-based, there is no intensive infrastructure setup and cost involved. Hence even new-age start-ups can deploy it in their operations.

There are various benefits of Number Masking for businesses of all sizes. In the age of heightened data security and privacy, it is of utmost importance that a business uses solutions like Number Masking to make their customers feel safe and ensure a seamless flow of customer conversations. With Number Masking, a business can ensure that their customers don’t have to think twice about calling them for support, product inquiries, grievances, etc. This solution would essentially then work towards helping the company have a customer-centric strategy and boost their growth trajectory.

Call masking isn't just for obscuring phone numbers.

As we have stated, it's a data privacy trend that shouldn't be overlooked. Increase brand recognition, gain essential consumer data, minimize legal and financial wrangling, and reduce vendor churn using this technology:

1. Brand awareness through call masking

You may enhance brand awareness by masking numbers with your company name and creating bespoke customer experiences with tailored audio instructions that stream while users wait for phones to be attended.

2. Customer insight through call masking

Customer interactions on your portal also provide vital information about the volume of calls and contact status to improve your strategic plans. Because fewer calls will be made outside your platforms, data gathered through call masking solutions can provide a more accurate picture of the problems your clients are experiencing.

3. Use call masking to stay out of legal and financial trouble

Somewhat more importantly, a number masking solution can spare your company from a slew of financial and legal headaches. An increasing number of courts worldwide recognize lawsuits for pain and misery arising from data breaches under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Consider how much money you'd lose if every other consumer on your platform filed a claim against you following a cyberattack.

4. Vendor attrition can be reduced by using call masking

Number Masking software helps avoid vendor churn, in addition to providing critical insight and earning the trust of your customers and staff. For example, vendors on your site may communicate with frequent consumers using private contacts once they have developed a significant client base under normal conditions. This is avoided by requiring vendors and consumers to join through your platform.

How is call masking different from a virtual number?

Many people confuse virtual numbers with number masking. However, the two services are not interchangeable. In a virtual or toll-free number, the digits are permanently reserved for the organization and are not available. Adopted by the company to establish an association with it, they're highly advertised to keep clients in mind always.

A temporary and discrete number is assigned to every interaction with call masking, on the other hand. Because of this, businesses are more concerned with protecting sensitive communications than promoting their products.

There are a few main differences between the two. The first thing to realize is that virtual numbers are connected to people or businesses. Typically, companies use them to build a local presence or to cut costs on long-distance calls. Additionally, virtual numbers are not used to protect the privacy of their users.

Masked numbers, however, are only valid for a limited period. This usually occurs when the two parties are in contact. As long as the masking party needs them, the masked number can be used repeatedly. Businesses that use this solution mainly do so in order to protect the identities of their customers and agents thus keeping their contact information secure.

We hope that we have been able to give you a fair amount of clarity on Number Masking. You can further contact our customer support for more information.