Introduction
This document provides an overview of the LiveVox Zip Area Code Mismatch Protection (U10) features.
Zip Area Code Mismatch Protection
Virtually every industry has published guidelines surrounding the time window in which it is acceptable to launch outbound calls. To ensure compliance in this area, it is critical that dialing systems maintain the capacity to accurately determine the location of the called party. To this end, the primary data element used by LiveVox is the area code of the number dialed. While area code is the most commonly utilized proxy for location across outbound dialing service providers, it is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate. The growth of free or low-cost long-distance service, land line portability as well as the rise of cellular phones being used as one's primary number have resulted in consumers maintaining their numbers, even as they relocate throughout the country. Therefore, while still likely, the odds that a consumer with a cell phone or land line with a 415-area code is located in the San Francisco area decrease each year. In an effort to help clients reduce the number of calls made to consumers who have kept a number that is no longer indicative of their location, LiveVox offers the 'Zip/Area Code Mismatch' logic, outlined below.
The logic is configured in the back-end by LiveVox and is enabled by the customer user with permissions on a service level.
To access, navigate to Configure>Client/Service>Services>Settings>Contact Rules. There are four options available.
- Off
- Dial-time
- Dial-time Optimized
- Dial-time Overlay.
Dial-time logic
If zip codes are included in the input file, LiveVox will match the zip codes against the account phone area codes, to ensure that the area code matches with the corresponding zip code.
Example: 917 area code is normally located in New York City.
If the area code and zip code for a record do not correspond to each other (i.e. a “mismatch”), then the safe hours rule (11 am – 9pm ET) will apply and the mismatched records will be dialed during this window.
Example: An account has a zip code of 30075 (Roswell, GA) but a phone number with a 917 area code (NYC, NY). Following the standard zip/area code mismatch logic, the account will be called in “Safe” time zone.
Dial-Time Optimized logic
If the area code and zip code for a record do not correspond to each other but fall into the same time zone, then the system will respect that time zone’s dialing hours. If the area code and zip code for a record do not have the same time zone, the safe hours rule (11 am – 9pm ET) will apply and the mismatched records will be dialed during this window.
Example: An account has a zip code of 30075 (Roswell, GA) but a phone number with a 917 area code (NYC, NY). Following the optimized zip/area code mismatch logic, the account will be called in ET zone.
Note :
For Dial-Time & Dial-Time Optimized, the Zip/Area code match functionality applies to the time zones for the 48 contiguous states of the USA including Canada (ET to PT).
Dial-Time Overlay
This logic is used to maximize the dialing window in a mismatch scenario. I.e. the start time is based on the western most open hours while the end time is based on the eastern most closed hours. This ensures that you will start dialing at the earliest allowable time while also ending at the latest allowable time.
Example: If the phone number belongs to New York (ET) and the zip code belongs to Denver (MT), the optimized dialing window will be open once the Mountain time zone window opens and will close once the Eastern time zone window closes.
Note :
For all three options, it is not uncommon for Zip/Area Mismatch to be enabled on a service where custom State Dialing Rules are in place. Any time a call is launched via a service with Zip/Area Mismatch enabled into an area code with a custom State Dialing Rule, the system will ensure that both State Dialing Rules as well as Zip/Area Mismatch are respected. This is done to ensure that neither of the Compliance rule are violated.
Example: Assume that a record has an Area Code in Pennsylvania and a Zip Code in California. Further, assume that the service through which this call is being made has a custom State Dialing Rule for Pennsylvania such that calls may not be made until 1:30 PM ET. In this case, the Zip/Area Mismatch would place the record into the Safe Time Zone, which opens at 12:00 PM ET, but the State Dialing Rule prevents dials before 1:30 PM ET. In order to ensure that neither Compliance rule is violated, the system will take the most conservative approach and will not dial before 1:30 PM ET.
Data for area/zip code information is maintained by LiveVox. LiveVox receives the information from an outside vendor and the information is periodically updated. Customers are encouraged to conduct their own independent verification.
When enabled, Zip/Area Mismatch will check each phone number as it is dialed when dialing contacts with multiple phone numbers associated.
LiveVox currently does not support 9-digit zip codes. However, methods of truncating 9-digit zip codes within the system are available. Contact client-services@livevox.com for further information.
Note :
For Dial-Time Overlay, the Zip/Area code match functionality applies to all 50 states of the USA including Canada, Atlantic and the American Samoa Time Zones (AST to SST).
Zip Area Mismatch - Canada
Zip Area Mismatch is available for Canadian zip codes. The format for Canadian zip code is A1A 1A1, where only the first 3 characters are used for Canadian Postal Code mismatch as there are variances in format from the US Zip Code database.