Wondering whether validating the mobile numbers you add to your business contact list is worth it or not? Though saving unchecked numbers may not have grave effects especially if your business is not in one of the worst-hit sectors by fraud, the benefits of validating are worth considering. The most notable is that your business will run with greater efficiency and most importantly, you can offer your customers a better overall experience thanks to effective communication.
Here are the five most effective methods for validating phone numbers:
1. API-Based Validation Services
This is, by far, the easiest and most effective phone number validation method, especially for businesses that deal with large amounts of data at any given time. Not only do phone number validation services check the validity of phone numbers in bulk, but they also do so in real time and can provide a lot more information especially if they have reverse phone lookup capabilities.
The perfect solution for validating mobile phone numbers would be to invest in a premium API by a reputable provider like Trestle. That way, you know you are getting the best features available at that moment.
2. SMS-Based Validation Tools
Another commonly used method for validating phone numbers is verification tools that send a one-time passcode (OTP) to the provided number. That way, if a customer is registering an account, they can only do so using a phone number they have access to.
While that helps to ensure the number is valid, it doesn’t let you know whether the number indeed belongs to the person who’s registering the account. For that, a reverse phone number lookup tool would be the best solution.
3. Carrier Lookup
This method involves identifying the mobile carrier associated with a phone number. This validation method will also help you determine if a number is using a landline, mobile, or Voice over IP (VoIP) service. That way, you not only determine if the number is real, but you can also get a few additional details about the nature of the number.
Carrier lookup is your best bet if you want to filter out numbers that aren’t relevant to certain communications, such as when using SMS campaigns. It can also aid fraud prevention to a certain degree by checking whether numbers have consistent carrier information over time, lowering the risk of recycled or spoofed numbers.
4. Length Verification
This is not one of the most advanced phone number validation methods there is, but it can contribute to data consistency in your records. Each country’s phone numbers have a specific length, so using the length verification method helps you determine whether the registered phone numbers adhere to the correct formats for a corresponding region.
This, however, isn’t a very reliable method to determine if phone numbers are reachable since it’s not uncommon to find two countries with the same phone number length.
5. International Number Validation
This validation method is crucial for businesses with a global reach. In addition to verifying the length, this method also goes further to check other details such as country codes and the number format used for specific regions. That way, you can lower inconsistency in your records bearing in mind that most people aren’t used to keying in phone numbers using the international format and, thus will tend to submit phone numbers using the local format which invalidates such contact data.
Experience Data Accuracy Like Never Before
Maintaining accurate phone number records in your contact databases is crucial to running your business more efficiently and offering the best customer experience. Trestle aims to give you a phone number validation experience that is hassle-free, fast, and as effective as possible.
So if you are looking for the perfect mobile number validation tool for your business, you may want to head over to trestleiq.com and see what they have in store for you.
