While many contact center organizations seeking to control technology costs and boost flexibility have moved to the VoIP-based call center business model, some companies have been hesitant. In some cases, it’s about perceptions of security not being robust enough or the product being too difficult to learn to use. Other companies are worried that a software-based solution won’t integrate with legacy technology. Still more dislike the idea of not having old-fashioned “boxes” in the IT room. While the VoIP contact center industry has done a good job dispelling these misperceptions, there is one more that remains: perceptions of a poor match between software-based call centers and outbound telemarketing businesses.
Outbound centers are different. For starters, they require the use of dialers. Secondly, they require robust campaign management software. Finally, they require a solution to help them meet the patchwork of state and federal regulatory rules when it comes to outbound calling.
So does this mean that VoIP-based contact center solutions aren’t a good match for outbound call centers? Not at all. In fact, a software-based solution may have even more to offer an outbound center. Many next-generation VoIP-based call centers like that offered by Voicent have been designed with the needs of an outbound center in mind.
While these solutions offer the benefits one would expect from a VoIP call center solution – native VoIP tools, nearly infinite capacity to run simultaneous lines and the ability to allow staff to work from anywhere there is a computer and an Internet connection – they also offer compelling benefits to outbound campaigns.
For starters, Voicent’s VoIP call center helps users ensure regulatory compliance by automatically measuring and adjusting the pace of outbound calls, keeping within strict (and complicated) federal limitations on dropped and abandoned call rates. Its call center AgentDialer, a built-in predictive dialer, allows companies to set up multiple campaigns and can be easily integrated into any existing database or CRM software. It can even record calls, log campaign statistics, and transfer calls between multi-tiered agents.
Another compelling feature is the solution’s voice broadcast suite of tools that allow outbound call centers to create completely automated message delivery systems. Once the campaign is created, there is no human intervention required and it can stop itself once it reaches designated blocked evening hours. In addition, the system can reschedule itself to continue voice broadcasting the next day.
At the same time, Voicent’s solution offers the robust features inherent in a VoIP call center: call recording, agent coaching and monitoring modules as well as other training features plus the ability to track, collect and perform statistical reporting on historical call volume.
Outbound contact centers require flexibility and stability at the same time. While hardware-based call center solutions may have offered the latter in abundance, they weren’t very good at offering the former. By using a VoIP-based call center solution for outbound campaigns, companies can make adjustments and changes on-the-fly as well as tailor campaigns precisely to their changing needs.
Edited by Jamie Epstein