MaxContact has published research suggesting that traditional cold calling is becoming less effective as consumers increasingly expect to recognise and trust a company before answering the phone.
The findings, from the company’s Voice of the UK Consumer 2026 report, indicate that consumers are more likely to engage when they receive advance communication or can clearly identify the caller.
Ben Booth, CEO of MaxContact, says “Cold calling in its traditional sense is becoming less effective because consumers are no longer willing to take the risk of answering unknown calls.
They want reassurance before they engage, and because there are so many scams and fake callers out there, we need to recognise that in many cases, those customers are doing the right thing to keep themselves safe.”
Most respondents said they would be more likely to answer if a company name appeared on caller ID, if they received a text or email beforehand, or if they were already expecting the call, as shown in the results below:
- 82% of consumers say they would be more likely to answer if the caller ID clearly showed the company name
- 80.5% of consumers would be more likely to answer if they received a pre-call text or email
- 87% of consumers say they would answer a call if they were expecting it.
The report suggests that outbound contact is evolving from a first point of engagement to a later stage in the customer journey, where trust and context have already been established.
One of the key recommendations in the report is to audit the “avoidance score.” This is a measure of how many consumers are actively choosing not to answer calls from a given sector or company.
“With that in mind, we need to change our outbound strategies. It’s no longer about how many numbers you can dial. It’s about how many customers are willing to connect and how prepared they are when the phone rings.
The contact centres seeing the best results are the ones making sure they are recognisable before they call, giving customers a clear reason to engage, and measuring success based on meaningful conversations, not just attempts.” – Ben Booth
As a result, organisations may need to place greater emphasis on pre-call communication, branded caller identification, and reputation management to improve engagement rates.
The research also recommends that contact centres reconsider how they measure outbound performance, focusing less on call volume and more on meaningful customer connections and the factors that influence whether consumers choose to answer.
Ben concluded “Outbound calls still work, but only when the pre-engagement work has already been done. If you are not giving customers a reason to expect your call, you are unlikely to get through to them.”
Click to download your copy of the Voice of the UK Consumer 2026 Report.
For more information about MaxContact - visit the MaxContact Website
About MaxContact
MaxContact is the AI-powered customer engagement software that helps you turn every customer conversation into a high-impact, revenue-driving moment. We empower your teams to connect smarter, perform better, and scale faster – without losing the human touch. Find out more about MaxContact
Author: Robyn Coppell
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson
Published On: 5th Jun 2026
Read more about - Latest News, Ben Booth, MaxContact
