Predictive dialer

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Predictive Dialer ( Prediction : English. Prediction; Dialer : English. Dialer, so "predictive dialing computer") denotes, in the broadest sense, an automated dialing device for telephone calls .

Predictive dialers are used when a relatively large number of outgoing calls are to be initiated without losing time within a relatively short period of time. This is particularly necessary for active customer approach / outbound campaigns in call centers and contact centers. Predictive dialers automate the establishment of telephone connections under software control and replace the cumbersome, time-consuming manual dialing. A predictive dialer thus makes it possible to set up more phone calls within a defined period of time than would be possible without the dialer. In this way, the telephone contact is carried out more efficiently, the time required is less, the costs are reduced. Strictly speaking, the term "predictive dialer" refers to a specific operating mode when processing the contact list. Other dialer operating modes are preview or power dialing.

Delimitation of the dialer operating modes

The various operating modes preview dialing, power dialing and predictive dialing can be roughly distinguished from one another. Modern dialers can handle all variants as required and also offer authorized employees the option of manually dialing the data records regardless of the dialer's operating mode.

Preview dialer
In preview mode, the employee either initiates the next call himself (semi-automatic preview dialing) and thus starts the software-supported dialing process, or the dialer starts the dialing attempt itself as soon as the employee has finished a customer call (automatic preview dialing). The preview dialing ensures that the employee in the call center sees the respective data record of the person called from the customer database in advance on his screen (hence preview). If he triggers the dialing attempt himself, he also has the opportunity to prepare in detail for the call and, for example, to view the contact history. The employee initiates the call either via software or by manually dialing the telephone number.
Power dialer
As a power dialer, the dialer software automatically sets up the next telephone connection as soon as the employee has finished editing the previous data record. This can be done by the software on the client or on the central server. The "overdial factor" can be used to set up not just one but several telephone connections per employee. The dialing attempts are usually displayed in the dialing preview of the client at the employee's workplace; the first successful dialing is put through. If possible, further successful dialing attempts will be distributed among the next available employees. The calculations take into account the fact that not all dialed numbers usually signal a dial tone, but may be busy or cannot be reached for other reasons. A power dialer significantly reduces the waiting time for contact center employees between individual calls and thus increases productivity.
Predictive dialer
With predictive dialing, too, the phone numbers in the contact list or database of the respective company or service provider are automatically dialed. In addition, the dialer software uses mathematical methods to continuously monitor various parameters, such as the current availability or the average call duration of each employee, and includes this in the calculation for the selections. Predictive dialing is therefore a predictive, self-regulating dialing process. The predictive dialer regulates the number of dialing attempts per freelance employee, taking into account the current and historical availability of the customer and based on the forecast derived from this. With the help of a predictive dialer, calls are initiated in such a way that a freelancer is immediately available for an established connection. This not only minimizes the employee's waiting times between two contacts, but ideally ensures that as many calls are made as the connections are established by the dialer without having to abandon call attempts. Aborted connections mean that the consumer’s phone rings, but there is no call partner at the other end of the line when it is picked up (lost / abandoned call) or it only rings very briefly (dropped call). Consumers find this annoying or threatening. These effects can be avoided, however, because in predictive and power dialers a large number of selection criteria can be flexibly and individually set.

Features

Modern dialer solutions (preview, power, predictive) offer extensive features for controlling, managing and monitoring the use of dialers. These include, for example, the automatic detection of answering machines, mailboxes, fax connections, quota control for campaign completion, reasons for breaks, result codes, black / white list comparison, Robinson list, notification function for employees, as well as features for quality assurance (monitoring, screen recording , Voice recording, call evaluation). The so-called overdial factor or the maximum rate of lost calls and dropped calls can also be set.

advantages

The advantage of a predictive dialer for the caller, i.e. company or contact center service provider, is that the software is dialing while the employee is still on the phone or reworking the last customer contact. Predictive and power dialers also recognize fax machines , answering machines / mailboxes and busy signals and interrupt the connection immediately so that employees do not have to wait unnecessarily for a connection. This considerably reduces the waiting times of the employees between individual calls. The employees conduct considerably more calls per hour, the net call time increases: Experience shows that productivity increases of up to 100 percent compared to manual selection are possible. The costs per call decrease, the profitability increases. The active customer approach is much more efficient.

disadvantage

When answering a call that was set up by means of a predictive dialer, the called party often does not initially have the call center employee on the phone, but only a muted line, as the employee first has to complete his or her activity (see section "Advantages") ) before he can turn to the customer and greet him. As a result of this delay, the customer creates a certain basic upset, which often leads to the called party breaking off the phone call, as he suspects the caller's intention before the intended contact is made. If the called person does not hang up again immediately, the call center employee is in a situation of justification with regard to the belated addressing of the customer, and he is also faced with the task of turning the callee into an interest, e.g. regarding one, by the missed greeting to transfer the product to be advertised.

Connection

Modern dialer solutions can be used locally but also across locations from the cloud, i.e. web-based:

  • Local dialers are suitable, for example, when companies carry out outbound campaigns continuously and with even workload and want to actively address customers on a regular basis. However, aspects relating to security and data protection can also speak in favor of using a local solution.
  • Cloud solutions are particularly suitable when outbound campaigns are to be carried out individually, when only a few employees work in the system or when a local dialer is used for the basic load, but temporary outbound peaks have to be intercepted. Cloud-based solutions are also suitable when there are several call or contact center locations and / or when dialing is to be used across locations - for example, to integrate home offices. Companies can also provide their service providers with a uniform dialer technology based on the cloud and use suitable functions for monitoring. Cloud-based solutions also have the advantage that the technical requirements for use are very low: an analog telephone, Internet access and a PC are usually sufficient. When using Voice over IP (VoIP), a PC and Internet connection are sufficient.

combination

Companies that want to design their outbound campaigns in a consumer-friendly way can also combine modern predictive dialers / power dialers in so-called blending with an ACD system (Automatic Call Distribution). Background: The Telecommunications Act (Section 66k (1) TKG) stipulates that advertising companies / service providers must transmit their phone number when calling, so that those called, who, for example, could not be reached, see the phone number on their display and can call it back if necessary. These callbacks are received by the company / service provider as an "inbound call" in the ACD system - and thus actually by the inbound service team. When combined with a predictive dialer / power dialer, these incoming calls are immediately recognized as callbacks to an outbound campaign and can, for example, be immediately routed to the employee or group of employees who previously tried to reach him. This prevents consumer confusion and the hassle of asking about the reason for the missed call.

Problems and criticism

If dialer-supported telephone advertising is used with non-customers, one speaks of undesired telephone advertising or cold calls . These are calls to consumers who have not given their prior consent. Such calls are illegal and regularly lead to complaints to consumer advice centers and the Federal Network Agency . Abusive use of predictive dialers is particularly criticized for:

Dropped call
The phone rings, but the ringing stops immediately. This can be the result of the fact that the number of available employees in the contact center drops and the dialer sets up more calls than it can deliver to freelancers. The dialer then cancels excess dialing.
Lost or Abandoned Call
The called subscriber picks up, but there is nobody on the other end of the line or the connection is terminated. The cause can be that connections were established without an employee being free.
Hello dialer
After the subscriber has picked up the phone, it takes a few seconds before the caller answers. The cause may be that the call cannot be put through immediately because, for example, an answering machine is being recognized.

These negative effects could in principle be avoided either entirely or at least to a large extent with suitable technical means and the choice of appropriate parameters. Modern dialing systems offer comprehensive and flexible options for setting various parameters of the dialer in order to adapt outbound campaigns and carry them out in a consumer-friendly manner. These include, for example, the ringing time, the rate of lost calls, the rate of dropped calls, the time interval between individual call attempts at the same consumer, etc. However, since the system manufacturers have no influence on which settings the companies actually make, the dialers can -Manufacturers do not prevent misuse.

Dealing with consumer complaints

In Germany, the telecommunications market is regulated by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA), with the use of dialers also playing a role. In addition, changes have been made to the Telecommunications Act (TKG) and the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) in recent years in order to prevent unauthorized telephone advertising from consumers as far as possible. In the summer of 2009, for example, the “Law to Combat Unauthorized Telephone Advertising and Improve Consumer Protection in Special Forms of Distribution” came into force. Industry associations such as CCV or DDV also expect their member companies to adhere to their own code of ethics, which sometimes also includes recommendations for actively addressing customers by telephone and the use of dialers by companies and service providers. These codes are continuously revised. Individual dialer manufacturers have also included the specifications of these codes of honor in their software and offer their customers the option of simply "ticking" the appropriate presettings in the dialer for their campaigns.

In 2014, the Federal Network Agency, industry associations and leading manufacturers of contact center software discussed possible specifications and control options for the legally compliant use of predictive dialers. As a result, the new "Industry Code of the Customer Service and Contact Center Industry" was drawn up, which has replaced the previous codes of the CCV and DDV associations on January 1, 2015. For this purpose, especially in the area of ​​outbound telephony via dialers, some specifications have now been specified in detail or more precisely defined. The aim of the new, joint code is to reduce the still high number of complaints about telephone advertising. The new industry code serves the BNetza as an "interpretation aid for administrative procedures according to § 7 Abs. 1 UWG", according to which unreasonable harassment towards consumers can be sanctioned by the authority. The code has been binding for the entire market since the beginning of January. A six-month transition period has been set for the members of DDV and CCV to implement all requirements.

Industry code of the customer service and contact center industry

  1. On Saturday, phone times are limited to 6 p.m. at the latest compared to the other days of the week. On the other days of the week you can call until 8 p.m.
  2. There are no telephone advertising campaigns on national holidays. Corresponding contact should not be made in the affected regions on non-national public holidays.
  3. The call frequency must not exceed three call attempts per calendar day per campaign, 15 call attempts per week per campaign and 30 call attempts per campaign.
  4. Lost calls may not exceed three percent of all call attempts. A lost call may also be made a maximum of twice per consumer per campaign.

Prohibitions

In order not to overload long-distance lines and local networks with automated calls, such facilities were subject to approval by the Deutsche Bundespost and were forbidden for many normal customers for a very long time.

See also

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://callcenter-verband.de/verband/branchenkodex/ The industry code, accessed on January 9, 2015
  2. ↑ https://callcenter-verband.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2014-12-16-Branchenkodex.pdf  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Industry Code, accessed January 9, 2015@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / callcenter-verband.de