What is a Predictive Dialer?

 

Today’s world has been taken over by technology. The modern advances in technology have led to multiple solutions to our problems. Call centers use different kinds of software packages to reach as many people as possible in minimum time. For this purpose, many call centers prefer Predictive Dialer over any other kind of software.

Predictive Dialer is a call automation software that allows the agent to minimize the dialing time. It dials multiple numbers at the same time and upon receiving a human response, it quickly routes the call to the available agent. This ensures increased efficiency and productivity.

A Little History

Predictive Dialer Software has been around for approximately 30 years. It was first used by the banking industry for debt collection. It was introduced as a hardware solution but is now widely used on cloud basis. It reduces IT cost and makes the system more fastidious. Some dialers can now connect to CRMs to offer more visibility into call statistics.

How Does It Work?

Achieving Balance

The first step is to achieve a balance between the number of available agents and the number of calls by pacing algorithm. It allows the user to be more productive while keeping the system balanced. It saves the system from a chaotic situation that might arise due to either facing overwhelming calls that the agents would not be able to handle or too few outbound calls that might leave the agents completely idle with nothing to do.

 Dialing

Predictive dialer software does not place calls slowly, one after the other. Multiple calls are automatically dialed at once to increase productivity. This enables the agents to continue taking calls without a pause. It reduces the call hanging time and hence decreases the consumption of time.

 Receiving a Response

The software waits for a live human response like “hello”. Upon receiving the response, the software moves to the next step. This increases the efficiency of the system and rules out any calls that ended with a busy connection or termination.

Connecting to Agent

After receiving a response, the software immediately connects the call to the available agent. This step is very important to avoid making either the agent or the customers wait for a response.

Predictive Analysis

The dialer analyses the time consumption during each call and based upon the past trends it adjusts its algorithm. For instance, if it takes 3 minutes 30 seconds for an agent to end the call, the dialer will dial the next call every 4 minutes to ensure that the agent is ready for the next call. Therefore, this step is very important for the efficient working of the system.

Why Use Predictive Dialers?

Predictive Dialer has many advantages. Using it can really boost up the calling system.

Increased Efficiency

By using its automatic dialing system, the predictive dialer saves a lot of time for agents and telemarketers. As we know, dialing a number manually can take up to 35 secs. Moreover, not every call ends up getting received. Many numbers turn out to be busy. Only one out of four calls gets answered. Predictive dialer minimizes the downtime by giving a steady and continuous stream of calls. It increases the number of calls by at least 200% per hour.

Increased Talk Time

The steady flow of calls leads to more talk time and less idleness. The agents switch quickly from one call to another giving it their best. This increases the output and makes the system fast and productive.

Easy Management

The software manages calls very easily with an effective automatic system. Predictive dialer software requires minimum management and handles everything on its own.

Scheduling Calls

Some Predictive Dialers even offer call scheduling. This allows one to get in touch with the customers on a specific date and time. At the specific time, Predictive Dialer will put more focus on the scheduled calls and give them more preference than the other numbers.

 

Who Uses Predictive Dialer?

Predictive dialers are used mostly for telemarketing, debt collection, research, customer follow-up, and market evaluation. They allow them to connect to multiple people in the minimum amount of time.

 

Who Should NOT Use Predictive Dialers?

This kind of dialing software is not recommended for selling High-Value products as they do not give enough time for research between each dial. Moreover, those who want to give an excellent customer experience to their clients may also need proper research before each call. The agents require complete information about the context before connecting to their clients. Such businesses should avoid using Predictive Dialers to suit their needs.

 

Predictive Dialer Vs Other Dialers

Apart from predictive dialers, there are many other dialers in the market. They all provide services according to the requirements of the business.

 

Conclusion

Predictive dialers are among many other kinds of dialers in the market used to facilitate the agents to increase their productivity and efficacy. It has been in use for a long time by different companies. However, just like any other software, predictive dialers work the best when used according to the needs and requirements of the business. The accurate use leads to better results. This software works best for the call center system where thorough research related to each client is not needed. It makes the system 200% more rapid and effective. It can improve productivity if used in a relevant system. Predictive dialers should be avoided if you need to review the complete information regarding the client before placing the call. For this purpose, Preview Dialer is ideal as it shows the information related to each client before placing the call. This comes in handy in tackling complex tasks like debt collection which require information related to the past records of each client. Hence, it can be concluded that each dialing software increases the efficiency of the system if used in the right way. Overall, Predictive Dialer is the best in connecting the agent to as many clients/customers as possible in minimum time. It reduces downtime and helps in improving the system for the better.