Cold calling, as we know it, could be on its way out, as new research from MaxContact reveals that UK consumers now expect to trust and recognise a company before they pick up the phone.
The findings from the company’s Voice of the UK Consumer 2026 report suggest a fundamental shift in how outbound contact works. Rather than being the first point of customer interaction, the outbound phone call is increasingly the final step in a much longer journey, in which contact centres must work harder to build enough trust for customers to answer their call
Consumers won’t answer without signals of trust.
MaxContact’s research has highlighted how critical pre-engagement and clear identification have become for contact centres.
- 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.
Taken together, these findings suggest that the traditional cold call, where the phone rings without warning or context, is rapidly losing effectiveness.
Instead, consumers will be far more willing to engage when they have a clear context, brand recognition and an expectation of what the contact will be about before the call ever takes place.
Cold calling is being replaced by pre-engagement
For contact centres, this represents a significant strategic change that is no longer optional.
Pre-call communication, such as SMS or email alerts, and technologies like branded caller ID and carrier number reputation management must be considered essential tools. They need to be used to build recognition, provide context and reassure consumers that the contact is legitimate.
This approach reflects a broader change in consumer behaviour, driven by the rise of scams, spam calls and increasing digital awareness.
Without those pre-engagement signals, there is a growing risk that important calls are being filtered out before a conversation can begin.
Getting these fundamentals in place before making the call means contact centres can start sending relevant trust signals that make it easier for customers to answer the phone.
Contact centres need to rethink how they measure success
MaxContact believes that improving answer rates is not just about adding new tools to an existing system. It’s about changing how outbound performance is measured and discussed.
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.
MaxContact says that ROI conversations need to understand the nuance behind those headline figures. That way, it’s easier to take a more realistic view of recoverable contact rates.
In practice, this means:
- Moving away from using total avoidance as a benchmark for performance.
- Focusing on the proportion of consumers who have a genuine reason to engage but are currently screening calls due to a lack of recognition or context, or those fearing scams or spam.
- Treating improvements in answer rates as targeted, incremental gains rather than a complete reversal of consumer behaviour.
As MaxContact states in their report, “Some consumers just won’t engage.” But it is clear that a significant group of customers would engage if the contact centre sent the right signals in advance.
Speaking on the findings, 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.”
“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.”
He concludes,
“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.”
To download a copy of the Voice of the UK Consumer 2026 report, please visit maxcontact.com
