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When we think of dialers, we think of a little beep in our headset and a voice on the other end. We think of predictive dialers as saving us the time and hassle of having to dial a bunch of numbers until we reach a live person.

Indeed, this is one of the most common uses for dialing software. But it is not the only use.

Dialers can also be used to serve up reminders to customers and clients when paired with our customer relations management system and text-to-speech functionality.

The Spitfire predictive dialer, for instance, has a text-to-speech add-on that allows the dialer to serve as an automated message service.

By combining text-to-speech with a CRM system, the dialer can serve up appointment reminders, merchandise pickup notices, delivery notices, payment reminders, collection notices, emergency alerts, and probably some that nobody has thought of yet.

These messages can get pretty personal, too, thanks to the power of text-to-speech crossed with database information from the CRM. A call could go out to Dan Johnson that uses his name in the call, for instance, tells him that he still owes $200 on his bill dated four months ago, and even lets him know what payment options are available to him based on his particular outstanding balance.

Of course, there are many, many possibilities for a dialer that can interface with your CRM system and a database, and that can leave a message with customers.

This functionality can work both with live calls or when a voicemail is reached.

Some of the other uses for text-to-speech in a dialer include offering a pre-recorded message in several different languages so the person being called will be able to both hear and understand the message, and allowing customers to schedule and confirm appointments through the system.

Dialers can significantly cut down on appointment no-shows, and can play an important role in getting out information to a large list of contacts.

Obviously, there’s more to dialers than just assisting with the dialing process.