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There has been a lot of recent news about automated dialing software and compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Many businesses have gotten into hot water recently for abusing auto dialers, and this has made headlines of late.

With all the negative publicity, some business owners might be wondering why they would want to use an auto dialer. Is it worth it?

Yes, auto dialers definitely are worth it. The issue is not the technology; it is the inappropriate use of the technology. Like most tools, an auto dialer can be used properly for substantial efficiency gains or be used inappropriately and cause trouble.

Here are four reasons that auto dialers are so useful:

Calls are never wasted. Without an auto dialer, businesses and organizations must suffer through wrong numbers, voicemail and busy signals. This can crush the efficiency of a calling campaign. With a predictive auto dialer, however, agents never have to waste time with these issues because the auto dialer screens calls and only connects the agent when there is a live person on the other side. No calls ever go to waste with an auto dialer.

Improved lead management. As the TCPA-based lawsuits highlight, it is important to properly manage leads when it comes to a calling campaign. Auto dialers can help, because they are usually capable of organizing lead data, sales information and customer history so only the right people are called at the right time for both calling efficiency and legal compliance.

More productive agents. Not only does an auto dialer save time by cutting out wrong numbers, busy signals and the like, it also leads to happier, more productive agents because no agent wants to be bored, or dialing wrong numbers all day. Agents are more engaged when using an auto dialer, because their brains are being used for customer interactions and not sitting idle while they look for a live person on the other end of the phone. This makes for a more productive agent when they do take calls, not just in terms of wasted time between calls. Agents are kept on their toes more.

More sales. Predictive auto dialers bring substantially better call utilization rates and low abandonment rates. This improves sales. It is not only the increased quantity of calls that make the difference, it also is the increased quality that comes from call analytics and agent efficiency that are boosted from the use of a predictive dialer.

Auto dialers have their place. Just use them responsibly. That’s the real takeaway from all the recent lawsuits revolving around auto dialers. Auto dialers are powerful tools that need to be used responsibly.