Instead of outsourcing, more and more companies are setting up their own contact centers. This is mainly because cloud-based software auto dialer solutions are less expensive and have a subscription-based business model. Your outreach procedures will be more efficient thanks to the best auto dialer, which will also guarantee that you’re following all applicable laws around cold calling. Manual dialing is no longer used. To ensure that agents are maximizing contact time and engaging with consumers, a contact center today will need to implement some kind of auto dialing.
An auto dialer is what?
For agents, an auto dialer is a piece of software that makes phone calls on their behalf. The autodialer either plays an IVR message or connects the call to a live representative when the recipient answers the call.
Because your agents will be going through a previous list in a consistent stream, auto dialing increases efficiency. While the agent is attending to other aspects of the call, auto dialer software can handle this. It will even screen out voicemails and undesirable call outcomes like busy signals and no answers. Simply put, auto dialers excel at handling extensive outbound campaigns that demand a high call volume.
Due to its usefulness, it is difficult to imagine starting a professional contact center without having a strong auto dialer to support your agents’ outbound efforts first. Finding an auto dialer that offers you all the capabilities and functionality your agents will require to convert and enhance your customer experience is essential.
Auto dialers formerly had to meet some rather strict hardware criteria. Nowadays, you can choose between hardware and software auto dialers to assist you in automating outbound calling. Dialers that are cloud-based have become increasingly popular, and several of the leading providers, including 88 and RingCentral, provide this call center technology in their cloud solutions. It is possible to use this dialing program on desktop computers, softphones, in browsers, or even on mobile devices.
For cold dialing or appointment reminders, auto dialers contact current clients. Even outbound interactive voice response (IVR) systems employ auto dialer software to contact current clients and offer them notifications and choices for bill payment. These systems, which are virtually entirely automated, guide users through a company’s self-service options using voice commands and telephone keypads.
The Function of Auto Dialers
An active phone line, a voice modem, a computer running the program, and an auto dialer are all need for it to function. Although using frequently eliminates the need for any equipment, the voice modem enables the computer to play recorded audio via a telephone connection.
Currently, internal modem cards on ordinary desktop computers range from two to four; the more modems you have, the more simultaneous calls a call center software can make. The computer will be instructed by the program on which numbers to call as well as what to do in the event of a busy signal, voicemail, or a live person picking up the phone. The auto dialing program must choose which number to contact and for how long before the phone can connect.
In the past, an auto dialer may simply randomly dial every possible combination of numbers; this practice is now known as “war dialing.” Today’s auto dialers choose from a database of leads. In the first 25 seconds, or the time it takes for a phone to ring four times, the majority of calls are answered by someone. The auto dialer will terminate a call if no one answers within 25 seconds because after that the call is often transferred to voice mail. If the caller receives a busy signal, the call is also terminated.
In order to determine whether the call is coming from a real person rather than a voice mailbox, auto dialers occasionally use voice detection software. When that occurs, the auto dialer will make the necessary move by connecting the call to a live operator or a recorded message. It will play a recorded message and even put the caller on hold if there aren’t any live operators available right now.
The software collects statistics based on data such as the length of each call, whether a live person or a voice mailbox answers the phone, and other details. The auto dialer employs predictive dialing, which is based on that data, to place calls before the agent has even hung up the phone. A call center agent should ideally connect with another caller as soon as they are done speaking with one.
What Can Software for Auto Dialing Do?
The usage of auto dialer software for agent outreach in a contact center offers numerous important advantages. Automatic dialers can:
- Boost call rates
- Boost performance
- Permit supervisory oversight
- Fewer unfavorable call outcomes (no answers, dial-tones, voicemails)
- Raising conversion rates
These days, companies like yours choose to open their own contact centers than outsourcing. Auto dialers are the most crucial piece of technology you’ll need to adopt because they give your agents and IVR phone systems a way to make effective outbound calls. We’ll show you a variety of auto dialing alternatives in our tutorial, as well as discuss some of the features you’ll require.
What Characteristics Define Auto Dialers?
Find a solution that satisfies your company’s requirements. Finding software with specific features that can improve agent performance and assist your center achieve key KPIs is therefore necessary. These KPIs include customer satisfaction, occupancy rate, handle time, and minimized after call work time. The top auto dialer software should include the following six features:
Modes of Dialing
There are various types of auto dialers for your center, and by automating the manual dialing process, they improve the efficiency of inbound and outbound call center environments. Three things to think about are as follows:
- Machine learning is used by predictive dialers to ascertain when an agent is available to take a call.
- Power dialers – Continuously moving through a list of contacts, power dialers “power” through.
- Progressive Dialers—By connecting to marketing automation software and showing details about the caller, these provide the agent context about the call.
Software Integration for CRM
CRM software, such as Salesforce, records account status and unique offers while also giving agents a picture of what transpired during prior outbound calls. The agent chooses a cause for the call’s termination, and the information is synced in the CRM. This also applies to incoming calls; the program will compare the dial-in data with a pre-existing CRM contact so that call center agents have access to crucial data beyond caller ID.
CRMs also enable the recording of call data for a later study. Do you need to alter your script? Is a consumer experiencing problems with one of your programs? CRMs save all call-related information so you can review it later.
Coaching Resources
For many years, contact centers have deployed call monitoring technology. Call monitoring has historically been used to train agents by giving managers and supervisors access to their call recordings. This technology aids by giving the agent feedback. By incorporating whisper and barge capabilities, which aid call center operators in improving handling time and expanding their knowledge, modern coaching solutions improve on traditional monitoring.
Management can converse with the agent while the consumer cannot hear them thanks to whisper coaching. Contact centers employ this crucial technology to enhance agent performance in real-time. A supervisor or manager, for instance, can instruct an agent on how to address a situation that the customer has that the agent is unsure how to handle. When trying to onboard new agents, this tool is quite helpful. By offering feedback while agents are on the phone, it also enhances the whole customer support experience.
Similar to whisper calling, call barging allows the manager to speak with the caller directly. This enables the manager to provide more information to the agent or guide them through a challenging customer care scenario. When an agent needs assistance during a call, this technology will allow the supervisor to assist the client, giving them the impression that their concerns have been taken seriously.
Call Retention
Call recording is essential in industries where HIPAA/HITECH compliance is required since it provides evidence that employees adhered to rules. Some of the major service providers have cutoffs where the data is automatically removed, while many will store call recording data for as long as you need it. A properly kept call log will shield you from legal responsibility and serve as a training tool for your sales staff.
Voicemail Pre-Recording and Voicemail Detection
Due to the fact that they only connect agents with live respondents, auto dialer software boosts call volume. It’s preferable if the system leaves an automated pre-recorded voicemail when an answering machine or voicemail is reached so that the agent maintains a high occupancy rate and maintains productivity. Agents won’t waste their time on missed calls thanks to technology like answering machine detection (AMD).
Thanks to the characteristic background noise produced during recording, this technology can tell if an answering machine is in use. Additionally, such technology use machine learning to recognize typical voicemail messages like “Leave a message” and “Sorry, we missed your call.”
If a live respondent is on the line, voicemail detection must determine this. To ascertain if the first, “Hello, hello?” is from an actual caller, many AMD systems use pause detection. However, if there is too much silence, the caller might hang up. When the auto dialer adds another pause before connecting the call to an agent, this becomes even more of a problem. Fortunately, there are a number of technologies available that minimize the pauses, resulting in a lower call abandonment rate.
Additionally, since there are more voicemail call outcomes during the day, systems like this are highly helpful for making outbound calls during this time.
Compliance with TCPA
An legislation that safeguards customers from automated dialing misuse is similar to compliance rules that safeguard patient data. Organizations that misuse auto dialer technology face fines between $500 and $1500 per incident under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Since customers can submit lawsuits if misconduct happened during telemarketing, violators are likewise subject to legal action.
The TCPA mandates that both traditional and cloud call centers:
- Never call someone in the particular time zone before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- The National Do Not Call Registry should not be contacted.
- Refrain from making artificial voice calls or recordings without permission.
- Refrain from placing autodialed calls to cell phones when the recipient must pay for the call.
- Avoid dialing hospital or emergency phone numbers.
- Not ring up patient rooms at hospitals.
There are few exceptions to these regulations, the most noteworthy of which is the exclusion of this sort of obligation for manually called calls without pre-recorded messages. Additionally, the TCPA cannot be used as evidence against calls placed for legitimate emergencies. The TCPA does not apply to calls placed for tax-exempt charitable organizations.
Customers on this list won’t be contacted by an auto dialer that complies with the TCPA because it integrates with third-party services that link to the Do Not Call Database. Software tools that block calls to specific locations before 8 a.m. and after 10 a.m. are safeguards that prevent your company from making outbound calls at the wrong time.
Auto dialers produce leads and provide customer service.
Every client engagement, from lead generation to sales and customer service, benefits from the features of each auto dialer supplier. However, each provider’s key differentiator is either the kinds of calls they can make or the manner they give help for every stage of the sales funnel.
Are you going to rely on an automated dialing system to drive sales? Then you ought to take into account a solution like Velocify. Are you seeking for a system with greater variety? Then, tools for sales and customer service are available from RingCentral or Nice inContact. Do you require several integrations with CRMS and third-party products? CRMs, how about them? Then have a look at a company like RingCentral Engage. We chose the dialers in our list because they excel at giving various call centers the resources they require to be successful.
The choice you ultimately choose will depend on your particular business demands, but the information we provided should make it easier for you to identify the best provider of software-based auto dialing. Before choosing a cloud-based software auto dialer, consider the following questions:
- Which dialing modes will I require?
- Do my agents require a dialer that complies with the TCPA?
- Do I need a dialer for sales, or is a customer support dialer preferable?
- I’ll need how many integrations, exactly?
Auto dialers are essential, but they only make up a small portion of what makes a contact center effective. Learn about other call center software options so that your company may get started with its dialing operations right now.
