Outbound calling is still one of the most effective tactics businesses use when staying in touchwith clients. However, since most companies are doing it, it makes the competition tight andrequires a lot of innovation.

If you’re in the contact center business, you might want to consider staying up to date with thelatest trends and technologies in this field as not to fall behind.

13 Outbound Call Center Trends To Boost Your Business

Here are 13 outbound call center technologies trends that will make your outbound calling effortsmore effective.

1. Predictive Dialer

Predictive dialers such as Call Cowboy and other notable systems automatically manage agents ;workloads. They determine which agents are not engaged in a conversation and automatically dial the next number on their list. So, all agents are constantly working to ensure they make more outbound calls per hour.

Unlike an automated dialer that simply automates calling by dialing numbers directly, a predictive dialer intelligently dials numbers and waits for the phone to be picked up. If no one picks up the phone, it’ll move to the next phone number. When someone at that number answers the phone, it’ll transfer the call to the next available agent. It maximizes the number of calls that can be made per hour by calling multiple numbers at a time.

Why is this predictive dialer an excellent addition to your business? When you add up all thetime spent dialing, waiting for someone to pick up the phone, hanging up, and dialing again,you'll see that it can be quite a time-consuming task. With this technology, businesses will significantly reduce downtimes, all while getting more people on the phone.

2. Ringless Voicemail

voicemail

Everybody might agree that receiving voicemails are sometimes annoying, especially when youreceive them at the wrong moment. It’s the reason why some businesses don’t consider this as aviable option. But what if you could leave voicemails without actually calling the person? Andbetter yet, have it sent directly to their mobile or landline number?

Ringless voicemails, also known as direct-to-voicemail messages, does just that. It works bysending the message directly to your target’s voicemail, so it doesn’t even get to their phone.Why is this an excellent way to leave messages? Companies that offer ringless voicemailservices allow businesses to record a voice message in an mp3 or WAV file and easily upload itto their platform together with the contact information and phone number to call. These voice messages can be sent in bulk and go directly into the targeted prospects ; voicemail inbox without ringing their phones.

The advantage here is that you can leave them voice messages while they’re driving, working out at the gym, or even when they’re busy doing something else in a non-intrusive way. You may want to check providers such as Straight to Voicemail and other companies for more information about ringless voicemails.

3. Interactive Voice Response

Interactive voice response is a technology that allows businesses to communicate directly with customers without human operators. Instead of speaking to a person, customers can simply press a button on their phone to communicate with the company.

Using an IVR is a great way to provide information, schedule appointments, check balances,transfer funds, and much more without the need to speak with a person.

Why is this an excellent tool for your business? Apart from the fact that you can finally provide 24/7 customer support, interactive voice responses can help you significantly cut down on overhead costs and time you would’ve spent to give the same information.

4. Omnichannel Solutions To Increase Contact Rates

Contact rates are significant because they demonstrate how often your company can maintain contact with your clients. For many outbound call center companies, their contact rate percentage represents how efficiently they can generate live leads. Omnichannel solutions allow businesses to contact their clients through the channels they prefer – live chat, email, SMS, and social media.

Why consider such a solution? It’s because omnichannel contact center solutions allow businesses to get in touch with their clients regardless of the communication channel they prefer.For example, online and mobile shopping is becoming more and more popular every year. Customers can now shop anytime and anywhere. It means businesses must find a way to reach out to their customers at any time of the day – even when they’re not in front of their computers or mobile devices.

When you implement an omnichannel solution, you’ll be able to reach your clients without restrictions. It'll help reduce your cost per contact by getting the right customer through the communication channel they prefer most.

5. Automated Speech Recognition (ASR)

ASR is capable of recognizing human speech. It’s responsible for managing calls by voice to provide the best user experience. Unlike IVR (Interactive Voice Response) that uses pre-recorded voice prompts, automated speech recognition technology can understand natural language.

This technology also helps you provide personalized service to each caller by letting the system respond more naturally. It’s a much better alternative to IVR because it allows callers to interact more customized manner, enabling callers to inquire more about your products and services by themselves.

6. Call Recording

New call recording features allow businesses to monitor and listen to calls in real-time. Managers may also see their agent’s screen simultaneously, which will enable them to know how the call is going and what tools and information the agent is using to provide customers assistance.

Quality service is essential for all businesses. After all, if you don’t provide good customer service, companies might suffer the consequences of losing clients. Recordings of call center conversations will help businesses improve customer service standards. It’ll allow them to review calls, identify areas of improvement, and train employees to communicate better.

7. Call Reporting And Analytics

Sometimes it’s not always easy to determine how well employees are doing their job just by listening to their calls. Many don’t know that the number of calls answered, call length, customer satisfaction rating, and employee satisfaction rate may provide valuable information that may not be easily detected just by listening to calls. That’s why call reporting and analytics are essential.

Call reporting and analytics provide managers and supervisors with reports that can help them identify the strengths and weaknesses of their agents. This in turn will enable them to improve customer service and agent performance. Businesses can use the reports to enhance their business operation by identifying business trends and patterns such as peak calling periods. It can also show them where their customers are calling from, which can help them determine the best geographic area for distribution.

With these tools, outbound contact center managers can monitor many details that affect customer service. With the right call reporting and analytics tools, businesses can also identify issues early on, which means they can prevent them before harming their business.

8. Lead Generation Tools

Years ago, businesses had to rely on telemarketers to introduce them to clients. Today, the internet allows online lead generation tools to offer businesses an easier identification of potential customers. They also have features that can help companies better target their audience efficiently.

Lead generation software effectively allows businesses to store customer data, find out more about them, identify their needs, and nofollow up with a marketing campaign. It makes the whole lead generation process faster, easier, and more effective.

Companies can save time by quickly finding out what their potential customers are looking for.Then they can contact them and introduce their products or services. It will help businesses improve sales by only contacting potential clients that are likely to be interested in their products or services.

9. Compliance And Security

Today’s consumers are more cautious. They’re sophisticated, tech-savvy, and they know how to track everything that has to do with their personal information. It’s common for them to demand proof of compliance and security.Business owners must ensure that their call center is compliant with current customer data protection laws. Many countries worldwide have privacy laws to protect customers from abuse of their personal information by organizations and businesses. There are also compliance laws related to recording calls for training purposes.

Implementing call center technology compliant with your country’s privacy laws makes your business processes more transparent. It’ll not only boost your business reputation, but it’ll also provide reassurance to your customers that the personal data they give to your company is safe with you.

10.Verified Calls

Spam calls have become one of the most common concerns of mobile phone users around the world. A lot of people have had issues with unwanted telemarketers and spammers. Scammers also use caller ID spoofing to trick victims into picking up their call or responding to them. That’s why applications that can prevent unwanted calls became popular. Call blocking and flagging applications allow people to identify and take action on suspicious calls, which is an excellent way to reduce fraud. However, it also means it’ll be more challenging for outbound call centers to reach clients as they may block most of the outbound calls they receive.

Fortunately, there’s a new technology solution to this issue: Verified Calls. Businesses can now use this mobile feature to let their clients know their calls are legitimate. Companies may just have to complete a prerequisite requirement to sign up for the service.

Then, after a business has a Verified Call profile, any call from them will be flagged as safe and reliable. The customers mobile phones will display the caller’s company name, logo, and why they’re calling. Thus, clients will know it's safe to answer the call.

11. AI Integration

While AI is usually associated with robots, it’s a branch of computer science that focuses on developing systems that can think like humans. This technology is already being used widely,from voice assistants to search engines, and outbound call centers are also taking advantage of it.

This technology can help companies save on costs while still providing the same level of support to customers. An AI can learn to deal with customers; requests by processing data and learning from previous conversations to respond intelligently. It also allows businesses to route calls and send messages without human intervention. This way, they can save more money and optimize their resources.

12. Virtual Call Centers

Remote working is becoming more and more common. Many businesses that were skeptical about it before are now starting to understand its benefits. They're now adjusting their business models to accommodate this type of set-up. Some choose a hybrid approach, while others do remote work exclusively. Virtual call centers aren't possible without cloud-based contact center solutions.

Cloud contact center solutions is a contact center platform hosted by a third-party data center,allowing businesses to reduce their infrastructure costs and resources. In short, it enables companies to manage their calls from anywhere. As a result, an entire department can be relocated to another location – from the comfort of their homes.

The advantage of virtual call centers is that they can provide businesses with significant cost savings. Companies don't have to rent or buy office space anymore. They also save money on equipment and furniture. When you choose this type of model, your company can hire employees from anywhere in the world. It means you can contact a wider pool of candidates and reduce operating costs.

13. Broadcast Chat Tool

Collaboration platforms have become a popular way for employees to share content and information. For outbound contact centers that choose remote working exclusively, a broadcast chat tool is a helpful way to stay in touch with their employees.

It’s  an instant messaging application installed on employees; computers, tablets, and evensmartphones. It allows employees to chat across different teams and groups. These conversations can be archived so that team members can refer to them later.

This application helps businesses preserve team productivity and contact rates by offering employees a quick way to communicate with each other even when they're in different physical locations.

Final Words

As the market becomes more competitive, contact centers must keep up with constant changes. Businesses should consider implementing the right technologies in their operations to ensure they continue to provide excellent support to their clients.

A predictive dialer is a popular way to reduce call times and increase efficiency, while ringless voicemails allow businesses to complete their campaigns without bothering clients. For remote working employees, a broadcast chat tool helps them communicate and collaborate more effectively, while verified calls ensure that calls are safe.

Implementing these technologies can help businesses improve their outbound call center operations and provide better customer service.