We are in an era of the digital world. With the passing years, the role of customer service is going to expand. Thus businesses should embrace the change. According to Gartner, by 2025, nearly 10% of customer service businesses would revamp the hierarchical staffing model to make “huddle groups” committed to catering to the well-being of specific customer segments.
The revolution has already been initiated and in the future, it will be a competitive space to drive customers and retain them. Thus, becoming a customer experience excellence center businesses is imperative to get long-term value for your business.
In the case of outbound call centers, the agents are more focused on sales and conversions than dealing only with customer support. To make the process more convenient, an auto-dialer is the best software that can be beneficial to generate more sales just by auto-dialing numerous calls simultaneously and bypassing disconnected or busy numbers.
What is an outbound Dialer?
An outbound dialer is software that automatically makes calls to customers on behalf of agents. It is an example of Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), where a computer communicates with the telephone system. Several types of dialers are available, providing various sets of functionalities. Most call centers use dialers integrated with CRM, as it provides the sales staff with detailed information regarding the customer.
With the help of outbound dialers, large volumes of calls can be placed in a fraction of time; thus, more calls mean getting more opportunities to sell, so dialers can be beneficial to increase revenue.
For making large volumes of outbound calls, the call centers need automation. Moreover, making the process of calling automatic reduces the stress on the agents besides earning more revenue. Thus auto-dialers play a crucial role in the performance of call centers.
How does an outbound dialer work?
These days advanced dialers are VoIP-based, which abolishes the need for physical equipment. They come in two forms, either as software installed on a computer or in the form of an application hosted overcloud. The hosted dialers are easy to set up and just need a few minutes for installation. With auto-dialers, agents can start calling using a computer, headset, and internet connection.
Prior to connecting to agents, the outbound dialers filter out unproductive leads. The dialers connect agents to only those calls that customers are answering. Later the moment the call is finished, the dialer connects to the next number. Advanced dialers initiate dialing the next number even before the current call ends.
So based on different features and properties, the dialers are categorized into different types. Outbound dialers’ essential features are campaign management, call recording, list management, contact preview, call monitoring, and filter-based calling.
Types of Dialers for Call Centers
A dialer is a software application that dials a number or list of numbers automatically, and when the customer picks the call, it is transferred to the most suitable agent based on skill-sets. Its main motive is to automate outbound call center.
When talking about contact centers, outbound marketing strategies are a way to grow a satisfied customer base. Therefore, the dialing mode should be considered depending on the organization’s market niche and goals. Here are three types of dialers, and understand which dialer is best for your organization.
Preview Dialer
This type of dialer allows the agents to check the information regarding the customer before making the call. This is beneficial where the issue needs some preparation before making the call. For example, if the agent calls the customer regarding a problem with a booking reservation, it will be helpful to check the customer’s history before making the call.
Preview dialer works in two ways:
1. An agent previews the customer information for a specific period, and then the dialer automatically dials the number once the time is over.
2. An agent gets the opportunity to preview the customer’s information for an undetermined time and decides when to dial.
Pros and Cons of Preview dialer
Pros:
Getting an option to check information regarding the customer prior to making a call can help to attend customer’s issue in a better way.
Cons:
The agent may face unsuccessful calls: like busy signals, voice mails, or disconnected lines. This may hamper the overall productivity of the call center besides the agent.
Power Dialer
This type of dialer automatically dials the numbers from the list and distributes the calls. When the customer attends the call it is then transferred to an agent. This dialer connects the agents to only calls that the customer answers. A power dialer instantly dials a number once the agent is free from a call. If the call is unanswered, busy, or disconnected, the dialer instantly switches to another number from the list. Unanswered calls are not transferred to any agent; thus, there is no waste of time on busy signals, disconnected numbers, invalid numbers, or voice mails.
The dialing rate is adjustable as per the number of agents available and the goals of calls. If this power dialer is integrated with CRM, the customer information will be displayed to the agent.
Pros:
· An agent can contact customers in an hour
· CRM integrations lead to better customer services and lead management
· Risk of dropped calls reduces as an agent is always on the line when a customer answers a call
Cons:
· There can be some idle time for the agent
Predictive Dialer
A dialer predicts an agent’s availability and accordingly adjusts the dialing rate. Predictive dialers analyze the average time a call takes to be answered and match it with the number of agents. Through, an intelligent algorithm, it predicts how many calls should be dialed. It is also known as a rapid dialer.
The dialing behavior depends on statistics and dials more calls than the agents are available. Knowing that certain calls won’t be answered, predictive dialers calculate the correct number of dialers it needs to make for every agent to be on the line, thus making shorter breaks in between calls. For instance, if, as per call center data, an average call lasts for 60 seconds, then the predictive dialer may initiate dialing at 50 seconds. This dialing behavior is customizable as per business needs.
Pros:
· Enhances call center’s productivity and revenue
· More calls per agent leading to more talk time and making less to no idle time
· Adjustable as per business needs
· Availability of CRM integration offers the best customer experience. With this, it is possible to install predefined actions as per the outcome of the call
Cons:
· Improper use may have a negative impact on people being contacted
· Improper dialing rate may have an impact on the agent’s motivation and energy
Keep in mind your target audience and the pros and cons of different dialers and accordingly choose to ensure the best results for your outbound campaigns.
Tips to choose the Dialer I Choosing the right dialer for your business
Knowing which is best for your business is imperative, with several auto-dialing options available. It is quite challenging for most large and small businesses to choose the best products, and it can be achieved after a lot of hard work and concentration. Let’s consider some key factors that you need to consider while choosing a dialer for your business.
What type of call center process this dialer is required for?
It is crucial to understand the reason for which you need a dialer. This process is beneficial to understand your needs, and depending on it; you can choose the right dialer.
Some of the main processes for which you may need a dialer are:
· Sales
· Surveys
· Cross-selling
· Insurance reminder/Debt collection
If you are looking for sales purposes, choosing a predictive dialer will be beneficial. Customer context is imperative for the agent if you are looking for cross-selling. For such a scenario, a click-to-call CRM integration is quite helpful. And if you are looking for debt collection, then in such cases minimal customer information is required prior to making a call. So a preview dialer will be a good choice.
The strength of your organization
Another important factor to consider while choosing a dialer for your business is knowing how many agents will be utilizing this dialer for making calls. Once you get to know the appropriate numbers of agents are there, you can assume the volume of calls that will take place. If high volumes of calls will be there, then a predictive dialer is a good choice, whereas in the case of low volumes of calls preview dialer is good enough.
Ease of access
When selecting a dialer, one of the things that should never be overlooked is its ease of access. If the dialer is equipped with the best-advanced features but is challenging to use for agents, it can also bring down productivity. So it would help if you also chose dialers that are easy to use for all types of people, whether techno-friendly or not.
Functional features for enhancement of productivity
Every business has some specific needs from the dialer, for instance, call monitoring, call recording, call barging, 3-way calls, etc. Therefore, when choosing a dialer, you should have a checklist of features that you would need for the smooth functioning of the call center.
Good technical support and training
Every technology you are using may give your trouble at some point. To resolve the issue, you may need pre-work training or instant technical support, which will help avoid downtime. Dialer having a call and chat support are best to choose.
All the factors discussed above and crucial to keep in mind while choosing a call center dialer.
Conclusion
For any call center process, auto-dialers works like sustenance. Without one, the agents cannot survive the high-paced environment of the call center. Therefore, making the right dialer choice will enhance your agent’s productivity. This would, in turn, higher the conversion rate. However, each dialer has its pros and cons; thus, businesses can consider getting a combination of these dialers to cater to the numerous needs of call centers.
