Glossary

Direct Inward Dialing – DID

What is Direct Inward Dialing?

Direct Inward Dialing (DID), also known as direct-dial numbers, direct dial, and direct dial-ins, is a service provided by a local phone company (or local exchange carrier) that provides a block of telephone numbers for calling into a company’s private branch exchange (PBX) system.  

Using DID, companies can offer customers individual phone numbers for each person or workstation within the company without requiring a physical line into the PBX for each connection. 

Simply put, DID is a shortcut, and every time you’re calling someone’s direct number, this is what you’re using. 

How is Direct Inward Dialing used? 

Direct Inward Dialing can be used to reduce operational costs as giving direct access to a person’s or department’s phone number within a company eliminates the need for human agent to direct the calls.  

Direct access also means better customer experience and reduced friction – no need to go through a menu service or multiple operators and hold the line to reach customer service or sales representatives!  

DID can also be used to reinforce a company’s local presence through a local extension, which can help build trust and deeper relationships with customers. 

It’s also possible to use DID to track the performance of your marketing efforts. By assigning a different extension to each of your campaigns, you can easily identify the best performing ones and optimize your strategy accordingly. 

How does Sinch work with Direct Inward Dialing? 

Sinch offers DID services for its toll-free numbers, virtual long numbers, and 10DLC numbers (depending on country availability).

Related glossary terms

Omnichannel marketing
Artificial Inflation of Traffic - AIT
Short Codes

Sinch makes it easy!

Build meaningful connections with your customers

Talk to an expert
Try for free