Whether you’re a full-fledged contact center or another kind of business with your own dedicated communication department on the side, running any kind of outbound marketing campaign is no easy task. A predictive dialer is a feature that’s designed to make the process so much easier and more efficient.
You may already be thinking of getting one or have already set your sights on a specific provider to implement it for you. However, before you personalize anything, make sure you’ve done your research.
First, list down your goals for your outbound promotions. What do you want to see and how long is the campaign going to last? Once you’ve figured those things out, then you need to learn which predictive dialer features you need to accomplish these goals.
If you’re feeling a bit lost on which of those you actually want, here’s a short guide that’s going to help you out:
What is a Predictive Dialer and How Can It Help You?
A predictive dialer, like any other kind of progressive dialer or autodialer, is a feature that you attach to your current contact center setup to dial the numbers for you. The main difference is that the predictive dialer can detect whether or not a call connects. If it doesn’t, then it won’t be forwarded to any agent and the dialer simply moves onto the next lead.
And, because it’s a predictive dialer, it can also automatically adjust the number of people it calls with each cycle depending on the availability of agents and how many calls actually connect. It takes several factors into account, depending on your needs and how your provider builds it, to ensure the best results. This makes the entire process more efficient and minimizes dropped calls of people left waiting.
Dynamic Call Ratios
This is an essential feature to look for and ask about. It’s the most important part of the dialer. It should be able to automatically keep up, adjust when the situation calls for it, and minimize dropped calls.
But, that kind of thing is a dime a dozen when it comes to autodialers. Being able to fully customize your experience is much more important. After all, every campaign is different and has unique needs. The ability to dictate the specific steps a dialer will take is essential to your success.
For example, if you have a specialized team that is trained to handle specific language speakers, you can ensure that all connected leads are passed onto them. You can also do the same thing if you want specific agents to handle specific leads, you should also be able to control that.
Whisper and Barge Functions
In some scenarios, an agent might not be able to handle a call on their own and would require the help of their supervisor. And this is where the whisper and barge function comes in.
The whisper function lets a manager hop onto the call so that the agent can hear them but the person on the other end doesn’t. This lets the supervisor guide the agent on what to do and give them tips if they’re having trouble dealing with the lead.
Call barge functions, on the other hand, is the same thing but the manager will be fully unmuted so the person you’re calling can also hear them. This is helpful if the agent on their own is having trouble keeping the customer engaged or is making a lot of mistakes. The supervisor can help improve the situation, provide information the agent may not have, or offer better promotions.
Call whispering and barging are amazing features that will give your operations a safety net. Even if something goes wrong with your agent, your managers can still help them by giving advice or taking control of the situation.
CRM Integration
A lot of businesses use CRMs to manage their list of potential and existing customers. It’s a great organization tool, and an autodialer that automatically syncs with your integration of choice goes a long way in increasing your efficiency.
Finding the perfect dialer doesn’t just sync with your leads, though. You should also be able to add notes and change groupings of classifications. This saves you from doing a lot of repeated work and protects you from any errors. You can be sure that all your data matches up and you won’t have any trouble figuring out your operation’s performance whenever or wherever you decide to check.
Real-Time Analytics
Being able to monitor your statistics in real-time is incredibly valuable. It gives you a lot of flexibility and will tell you at a quick glance how your agents are performing. This lets you perform quick and immediate interventions whenever you need to. But, more importantly, you’ll notice right away if there’s something wrong.
If there’s a sudden and unexpected uptick in dropped calls, you may want to check on your connection or DID numbers. You may also want to get in touch with your provider if your real-time analytics don’t show any improvement despite your troubleshooting.
Scheduled Reports
A predictive dialer handles a lot of data during its operation, making it the perfect tool to generate tools at regular intervals. And those are essential when you’re reviewing your metrics to determine if your outbound marketing campaign is a success.
Real-time analytics can help you with your day-to-day operations, but you’re going to need the scheduled reports from your predictive dialer to get the bigger picture. They’ll help you figure out if you need to make changes to your campaign, if you need to allocate more resources to it or make adjustments to the overall operations, or if you’ve already met your goals and now have to come up with new ones.
Conclusion
Having your own predictive dialer for your outbound call center will go a long way in terms of efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This is just a basic guide for the features you may need for your operations. But it’s also important to keep in mind that every business is unique and you may have needs or specific requirements that haven’t been covered here.
If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of your predictive dialer, get in touch with a reliable provider like CommPeak and discuss your needs. We have all the features mentioned above, and we’re ready to work with you to customize your dialer to be exactly what you need. It’s a very fast and simple process. Just fill out the form on our contact page to get started on your dialer journey.