April 1999
The Predictive Dialer Takes On New Customer Service
Role
BY TOM JACOBSON
The predictive dialer is the foundation of the modern teleservices call center. By
allowing call centers to automatically dial extensive call lists and transfer answered
calls to live agents, predictive dialing has become the technology of choice for
telemarketing and fundraising campaigns. Today, however, the predictive dialer is
expanding its role. It is becoming a significant part of a comprehensive call management
system, emerging as a sophisticated customer service and retention tool. For a growing
number of organizations, the predictive dialer has become an integral component of their
customer service strategy.
Customer service is attracting new attention and resources as organizations begin to
understand its immense impact on the bottom line. The financial implications of effective
customer service are daunting. A recent study by the U.K.-based Henley Centre estimates
the "typical" customer-facing business with annual revenues of approximately
$850 million loses about $450 million in profits over a five-year period due to poor
customer service. Advanced call management systems, incorporating powerful CTI
capabilities, are giving the dialer new life as a customer service tool. State-of-the-art
systems provide capabilities - such as access to critical customer data, skills-based
routing, and call blending - that enhance the predictive dialer's value as a customer
service vehicle.
THE KEY TO KEEPING CUSTOMERS
Amidst growing competition and pressure to cut operational expenses, enterprises are
embracing the axiom that it's far less expensive to keep a customer than to get a new one.
Customer care plays a critical role in this mission. In an age characterized by the
decline of face-to-face business transactions, organizations searching for new ways to
"connect" with customers are using call centers to build and strengthen customer
relationships.
Historically, organizations did not make outbound customer care calls. Managers of
outbound, transaction-oriented call centers were reluctant to yield revenue-generating
capacity to a function labeled as "overhead." Not so today, as organizations
begin to recognize customer care calls as a wise investment.
Customer care or courtesy calls provide a point of customer contact, and are designed
to gauge customer satisfaction, to offer a forum for feedback, and to communicate valuable
information on issues important to customers (e.g., changes in service). When coupled with
cross-selling and up-selling initiatives, the calls also can be a pipeline to future
sales.
MAKING IT WORK
Advanced call processing, utilizing CTI technology, is the foundation for a successful,
cost-effective outbound customer care strategy. Technology alone, however, will not
guarantee success. Call center managers must ensure that the entire contact center
environment - encompassing people, processes, and technology - is prepared to implement
the customer care initiative.
Technology Considerations
The technology needed to implement outbound customer service calls is not extensive. The
primary components include: 1) high-speed telephone switches that route calls to and from
agents; 2) the server or CPU (central processing unit) where programs are executed, the
dialing system software is run, and data is transformed; 3) monitoring, reporting, and
workforce management systems utilized by call-center management to gauge performance; and
4) data networks that provide relevant information to agents.
The basics of predictive dialing should not be overlooked when selecting a system. The
pacing algorithm, which controls the dialing rate, is the foundation of any outbound call
management system. The most sophisticated algorithms allow centers to maximize outbound
agent talk time while providing greater control over the rate of abandoned or nuisance
calls, so that agents talk to customers instead of annoying them. (Nuisance calls are
defined as completed calls for which there is no agent available, resulting in hang-ups or
delayed responses when a consumer answers.) Other basic features that enhance agent
productivity and improve call quality include high-speed voice detection, and precision
answering machine detection.
The call management system's ability to access vital customer data is critical to a
successful customer care call. The inability to retrieve customer records can be a source
of great frustration for the customer and the agent, turning a positive experience into a
negative one. Therefore, easy access and feature-rich strategy tables should be the
cornerstone of the record management portion of this component. The system should be able
to access external databases to perform customer look-ups for both inbound and outbound
calls. It should also be able to identify the callers before they reach the agent, either
through Automatic Number Identification (ANI) or Dialed Number Information Service (DNIS).
In terms of database capabilities, companies should look for database support that
includes: real-time updates; capability for multiple users; the ability to do
mission-critical look-ups for agents; and support for record-query searches and updates.
Sophisticated call transfer capabilities are also essential. The agent may not have the
information needed to answer the customer's questions, and the ability to seamlessly
transfer the customer to the appropriate party within the enterprise can make or break a
contact. Along the same lines, call-routing capabilities also enhance the customer care
experience by streamlining call disposition to an agent equipped to respond to a
customer's needs.
If a traditionally inbound customer service center wishes to add outbound customer care
capabilities, call-blending technology may be necessary. Blending allows a single call
center operation to manage both inbound and outbound functions. When intelligently
implemented, sophisticated blending technology can dramatically increase center efficiency
by transferring agents between inbound/outbound functions or campaigns as call volume
dictates. Call blending requires a sophisticated organizational environment, as the
dynamics of the process can create substantial technological and human resource
challenges. An enterprise-wide commitment to careful planning, thorough training, and
effective management practices is critical to the successful implementation of call
blending technology.
Process Considerations
Utilizing predictive dialing to make customer care calls introduces a new dynamic into the
call center. As such, the call center must evaluate its processes with regard to this
function. Considerations should include:
Defining objectives: Call center management must develop a set of objectives
for the outbound customer service initiative. These objectives then must be communicated
to call center management, employees, and all departments that interact with the center.
Management must also explore how the center will prioritize and balance the outbound
customer service initiative against its primary role (telemarketing, help desk, etc.).
Identifying measures for success: Measurement tools, critical in any call
center, are especially important in the customer service realm, since this function has
traditionally been seen as an operating expense. To defend the use of a predictive dialer
in a customer service application, call center managers must be prepared to measure the
success of the initiative. One option is to evaluate changes in customer retention.
Another is to measure the results of cross-selling opportunities presented during customer
care calls.
Defining agent profiles: To ensure successful implementation of outbound
customer service functions, call center managers must first define the role of the agents
in this initiative. How will the call center be organized? Will all agents make outbound
customer service calls, or will a special team be designated?
Building inter-department cooperation: The call center does not operate in a
vacuum, and the decision to launch an outbound initiative will impact many departments
within the enterprise. Call center management must work with other department heads to
address critical issues, such as ensuring and limiting agent access to customer data and
establishing escalation systems so customer requests can be dispatched efficiently.
HUMAN RESOURCE CONSIDERATIONS
Selection and management of agents participating in the outbound customer care initiative
should be approached with the same care one would use in creating a new department. This
environment requires agents who possess both selling skills and empathetic/problem-solving
abilities. Other human resource issues include the development of compensation plans,
training programs, performance criteria, and career paths for agents involved in the
customer care initiative.
Historically, the power of predictive dialing technology has been applied to
mission-critical, revenue-generating initiatives, such as telemarketing, fundraising, and
collections. Today, competition continues to increase, and organizations are spending more
and more to keep customers. The predictive dialer is at the forefront of this initiative.
Its proven technology is helping more businesses than ever fulfill their mission and
provide improved service to their customers.
Tom Jacobson is senior consultant of EIS International’s Call Center
Consulting Group. EIS, located in Herndon, Virginia, is a leading provider of call center
technology. For more information, please contact the company at 800-274-5676, or visit
their Web site at www.sersolutions.com.
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