Key Takeaways
- A higher education institution needed its admissions follow-up calls to look credible to prospective students.
- Even expected calls can look untrustworthy, which leads to consumer complaints and missed connections.
- INFORM® Branded Calling added a verified identity to admissions outreach before students picked up.
- By Q2, the institution saw a 24.1% lift in engagement rate and a 6.8% decrease in decline rate.
Why Do Expected Admissions Calls Still Get Ignored?
A prospective student fills out an application and expects to hear from the admissions office. Then the call arrives from a number they do not recognize.
That gap is the problem. A higher education institution needed its admissions calls to sound credible when following up with applicants, but an unfamiliar number can look like a spam call. Even a call the student is waiting for can seem unworthy of an answer, leading to consumer complaints and missed connections.
For admissions teams, every missed connection costs time. Counselors can only help students they reach, and a missed follow-up call can leave a qualified applicant without the guidance they need to finish the process.
What Makes Admissions Outreach Hard to Get Right?
Admissions outreaches depend on timing. Students often apply outside of business hours, and the follow-up call must land while the application is still fresh in their minds.
Several challenges compound each other:
- Unrecognized numbers get screened by default. Without a name or reason for the call, students have little basis to tell an admissions counselor from a robocall.
- Expected calls still look suspicious. Being anticipated does not guarantee a call gets answered when the caller ID shows only a phone number.
- Complaints follow missed connections. When calls look untrustworthy, recipients report them, which adds to the reputation problem for the number.
- Staff time goes to the wrong places. Counselors spend effort on calls that never connect instead of conversations with applicants who want to move forward.
The calls were not the issue. The identity behind them was.
How Does Branded Calling Make Admissions Calls Look Credible?
Branded calling shows a verified organization name on the recipient's screen before they answer. With INFORM Branded Calling, the institution's admissions calls stopped looking like unknown numbers. Prospective students could see who was calling before they decided whether to pick up.
That added trust changed how students responded across the call journey. Pickup, talk rate, and engagement rate improved, and decline rate went down. Once admissions calls stopped looking like spam, more prospects stayed engaged.
A verified identity also supports trust in business outbound calls over time. A consistent, recognizable caller is less likely to be mislabeled, which helps protect answer rates beyond a single enrollment push.
What Happened When the Institution Switched to INFORM?
The institution saw steady improvement across the call journey. By Q2, results included:
- 24.1% lift in engagement rate
- 6.8% decrease in decline rate
Those numbers point to the same shift. More prospects engaged with the call, and fewer declined it. The admissions team also gained a clearer read on which applicants had real intent.
The team noted that recognition changes who decides to stay on the line:
“Our decline rate went up a little, because people know who's calling. They filled out an application at 2 a.m. and by morning decided maybe they didn't want to. But that's useful too. It saves us time on someone who isn't serious,” said the Higher Education Admissions Outreach team.
That perspective matters for any team measuring outreach. When students can see who is calling, the ones who answer are more likely to be the ones who want the conversation. Counselors spend their time on applicants with real intent instead of chasing contacts who have already moved on.
What Should Admissions Teams Track Beyond Call Volume?
Call volume shows how much outreach a team completes. It does not show how well that outreach connects.
Teams evaluating branded calling should track the full call journey:
- Pickup and talk rate: Do more students answer, and do they stay on the line?
- Engagement rate: Do conversations move applicants to the next step?
- Decline rate: Are declines coming from unrecognized numbers, or from applicants who decided not to continue?
Reading these metrics together shows whether a call reached a student who is ready to talk. A decline from an applicant who recognized the caller and chose not to proceed is a different signal than a decline from someone who never knew who was calling.
Start Getting Results with Branded Calling
Ready to make admissions follow-up calls look as credible as they are? See how INFORM Branded Calling helps your team reach prospective students who want the conversation. Get started.
INFORM Branded Calling Frequently Asked Questions
Who can use branded calling? Branded calling can benefit businesses of any size that make outbound calls. This includes retailers, banks, car companies, call centers, and concierge services. If your business contacts customers, we help ensure those calls are answered while strengthening your brand reputation.
How many devices does First Orion cover? There are nearly 400 million phones in the U.S., including iPhones and Androids. INFORM Branded Calling reaches customers on any connected device in the U.S. and Canada. Our branded calling solutions work across every major U.S. carrier, including T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T, as well as select carriers in the U.K., the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Germany.
Is branded calling easy to activate? Yes! With INFORM, there’s no complicated integration or special software needed. Since it’s carrier-based, your branded calls reach iPhone and Android users across all major U.S. networks and over 22 million customers in Canada. Need something more custom? We also offer an API for businesses that want to automate.
What’s the difference between INFORM Branded Calling and traditional caller ID? Traditional caller ID is outdated and inconsistent. It relies on a patchwork of databases, and often customers don’t even see it. INFORM enables you to control how your business shows up with caller ID. You can even customize calls by department, such as sales, service, or delivery.
How do I register my business number? It’s easier than you think. Start by registering your number through the First Orion customer portal. Our free business number registration makes it simple! We guide you through the process to ensure your business is verified and your calls are not mislabeled. Register your number(s).
What networks does First Orion serve? All the big ones: T-Mobile, Boost Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and more, and select carriers in the U.K., Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Germany through the Global Exchange. With First Orion, you don’t have to worry about how your calls appear across different carriers. We’ve got it covered for both U.S. and Canadian subscribers with Rogers and Bell carriers.
Learn About the Solutions Behind Every Trusted Connection
From small businesses to global enterprises, First Orion helps you increase answer rates, verify identity, and build customer trust and transparency.
INFORM® Branded Calling - Show your business name, logo, and reason for call so more customers answer with confidence.
ENRICH® Branded Messaging – Deliver personalized, secure RCS messaging with verified sender identity and rich media.
AFFIRM® Reputation Monitoring - Monitor how your outbound calls appear and catch labeling discrepancies fast.
SENTRY® Call Blocking - Block bad actors from spoofing your numbers, protecting trust with your customers.
PROTECT+ Risk Detection - Detect suspicious inbound call activity in real time with intelligent risk analysis.
Related Resources
Branded Calling vs. Unknown Caller ID: What Sales Teams Need to Know
Protecting Your Call Reputation Before it Costs You Customers
Protecting Brand Trust in the Age of Scams
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