79% avoid unknown business numbers despite preferring voice calls: Survey

The study found that while digital channels are favoured for speed, voice continues to dominate moments that require clarity (56%), reassurance, urgency, or high-stakes interactions.

Despite 76 per cent of customers in India preferring voice calls over digital alternatives as a customer engagement channel, 79 per cent of businesses say consumers actively avoid answering calls from unrecognised numbers, a new survey has found.

 

Truecaller and Tata Tele Business Services (TTBS), with Kantar as the research partner, on Tuesday released 'The State of Business Calling 2026' report, which stated that while digital channels are favoured for speed, voice continues to dominate moments that require clarity (56 per cent), reassurance, urgency, or high-stakes interactions.

 

Kantar surveyed over 500 B2B businesses and 1,000 consumers across 17 cities in India for the study and found that nearly 49 per cent of consumers said the ability to schedule callbacks at a convenient time would significantly increase their willingness to engage with business calls. Meanwhile, the survey added that businesses are now prioritising caller identity (64 per cent), verification symbols, and call-purpose previews.

 

Businesses measuring the wrong metrics

 

The study also found a significant mismatch between how businesses use voice calls and how they measure their effectiveness. While 41 per cent of businesses said trust and brand perception drive their decision to use voice as a customer engagement channel, metrics show that most rely on response rate (72 per cent), time to resolution (57 per cent), and cost per interaction (53 per cent) to assess performance. However, these metrics fail to capture voice's biggest strengths — higher customer satisfaction (42 per cent), stronger customer retention (36 per cent), and the emotional reassurance — that automated channels cannot replicate, the study stated.

 

It added, "Voice is still being managed as a transactional channel and measured as a cost center, even though it functions as a relationship driver." However, despite emerging as the most trusted channel for business communication, ahead of email, SMS, and chat combined, voice is witnessing a quiet erosion in trust.

 

Priyam Bose, Global Head, Truecaller for Business GTM (Go To Market), said, “India does not have a calling problem. It has a trust and attention problem. Consumers today expect to know who is calling, why they are calling, and whether it is worth their time.”

 

Vishal Rally, Chief Revenue Officer, Tata Teleservices, says, “Voice remains an important channel for enterprise communication, particularly when immediacy and human connection matter most. As customer expectations evolve, businesses need secure, intelligent, and context-aware communication experiences.”