A preview dialer is an automatic telephone dialing system that initiates calls from a predetermined list of phone numbers. This is what all the auto-dialers do, but the difference with the preview dialer is that it provides the call center agent with crucial information about the customer to be called next. After the call agent has gone through the information, they will decide whether to go ahead with that call or skip to the next number on the list. The preview dialer, depending on the outbound campaign parameters, will allow the automatic delivery of phone numbers to the call agents. They then have ample time to review the information, and when they do go ahead with the call, they are well prepared to handle the customer. This preparedness improves customer engagement and satisfaction.
Preview dialers bank on making a judgment call whether or not it is worth calling a certain number from a list of many other numbers just by looking at the presented information about the contact. The campaign parameters for a particular call campaign will determine which numbers to prioritize when making the outbound calls. The objective is to increase the probability of making sales by choosing numbers that match the set targets. This also keeps the call agent one step ahead as they have all the information they need to close the deal.
How does a preview dialer work?
Preview dialers in a contact center
Contact centers initiate multiple calls every hour with the help of outbound dialers. These dialers increase the productivity of every business size, taking the business calling campaigns to the next level. The preview dialer works by first accessing the contact information of clients from a list of numbers. The system looks at the records of the client, such as call history and leads, and then presents the information to the sales agent. The call center agents review the information and make a decision.
The sales agent working with the dialer also has some roles. The first step for the agent is to review the presented information of the target contacts. After a thorough review of the information, a click to call option is activated. This dials the number of the client and connects them to the agent. Depending on the campaign setup, the call can also be connected to a prerecorded message justify in the client’s answering machine. After the interaction is completed, more target contacts are fetched and delivered to the agent, and the process continues.
This automation process works for all business sizes, large, small, and midsized businesses. Companies with complex sales campaigns that involve customer research before making phone calls benefit the most from this dialer.
Advantages of a preview dialing system
How businesses benefit from the preview dialer?
A preview dialer is an effective outbound dialing tool. All business sizes benefit from having a preview dialer in their outbound contact center. Here are some ways the contact center benefits from the preview dialing system.
1. Preview dialers connect to calls immediately
A lot of people hang up telemarketing calls because they talk too long to get connected. With other dialers, when the client answers a call, they are kept on hold for too long. This makes the prospective customer frustrated and may cause them to hang up. Plus, this is a sign that the call is an advertisement or from a telemarketer. With preview dialers, such delays are not experienced. Prospective clients are immediately connected to a live person without any delays.
2. Dropped calls drastically reduce when using preview dialers
In the telemarketing business, dropped calls translate to lost leads. With the preview dialing system, the rate of dropped calls is significantly reduced. This is important because dropped calls do not only mean that you lose potential business but also, the morale and spirit of the call agents are affected.
3. The efficiency of call agents is increased by the preview dialing system
Call center agents work with targets, which is to close as many deals as possible. With the preview dialing system, the agents are armed with important background information and other details about the client they are about to talk to. This increases their chances of having a more productive interaction. As you empower agents with prior information, their efficiency increases, and they become more productive.
4. Customer engagement is improved with the preview dialing system
The call agents relate better with clients they understand and have some background information on. The agents are better equipped to deal with the client on a personalized level and hence improving customer engagement. Outbound contact centers with thousands of calls benefit from this.
5. Preview dialers make work easier
Telemarketing and phone advertising is a hard task. Without an auto dialer, the call agents will be forced to call hundreds of phone numbers on a daily basis. Instead, a lot of the tasks are now automated, saving the agents a lot of time and energy. Large and midsize businesses, in particular, require auto-dialers in their contact centers.
6. Preview dialers are cost-effective
All businesses prefer a cost-effective option that will save the company some money. This all-inclusive call center will save your business resources and incorporate well with your business phone system.
Preview dialer and other automated dialers
Preview dialer vs. progressive dialer vs. predictive dialer
Automated dialers include preview dialers, progressive dialers, and predictive dialers. We have discussed preview dialers and its benefits. Now let us look at how it compares with the other auto dialers.
Progressive dialers
According to PC Magazine, a progressive dialer is the original auto dialer concept. Calls are dialed automatically one after the other without the control of the agent. Call agents here have no option of either dialing or not dialing a number, unlike in the preview dialer. This eliminates the risk of dialing a wrong number and the tedious manual dialing process. Here, the dialer initiates outbound calls when the call agent is free and ready to handle the call. In the preview dialer, this was not the case. It was the agent who prompted the system to dial a specific number. However, in both cases, the customer is immediately connected to a live person in the contact center. Both progressive and preview dialers promote good customer engagement. The interactions of preview dialers are more superior as the agent can personalize the conversation since they have more information.
Predictive dialer
Call agents in predictive dialers as well do not have the opportunity to choose whether to dial or skip a number. The calls here are queued up in a similar way to progressive dialers. The difference between predictive and progressive dialers is that the predictive dialer does not wait for the agent to be available for it to initiate a new call. The system uses an algorithm to predict the average call duration, and after the time, a new call is initiated. This leaves predictive dialers with a high dialing rate. After an agent has answered any inbound calls, the preview dialer predicts when the call will be wrapped up and starts dialing another number. After the first call ends, a new call is automatically connected. With this dialer, there is no time wasted between calls. The agent talk time is maximized, but the delay during connection leads to reduced customer satisfaction.
Which is the best auto dialer software?
The needs of your calling campaign play a big part in determining the type of auto dialer software to choose from. These include the TCPA dialer, preview dialer, progressive dialer, and predictive dialer. Some campaigns are sensitive to customer engagement, and therefore, a dialer that pays special attention to the quality of customer interaction should be picked. A preview or progressive dialer, in this case, will work well for the campaign. Predictive dialers will work well in situations where the quantity of calls needs to be high. The features available in an autodialer is also key in decision making. Some of the important features include CRM integration, safe dial, voice broadcast, click-to-call, answering machine detection, and time zone conscious features. Picking the correct phone dialer is as important as getting the right business VoIP phone.
How much is an auto dialer?
The nature of the calling campaigns also plays a big part in determining the amount of money spent on an autodialer. For a few hundred dollars, you will get the standard auto dialer version with one outbound call at a time. For a power dialer capable of initiating thousands of automated outbound calls, you will pay thousands of dollars.
