Trends in outbound dialing technology

Telemarketing, Jun 1995 by Rowles, Kelly G, Bergman, Michael M

Call centers are responding creatively to an ever-increasingly competitive environment. Many call centers are being squeezed harder to get more out of their operating dollars. Others are trying to provide more sophisticated services and marketing techniques. These demands are being linked to advances in technology by savvy call center developers. Many more options and capabilities have become available while every day another call center manager is confronted with needs that are not met by their existing setup.

In this article we will touch on the components of computer and telephone technologies as they pertain to outbound dialing. We will explore how they fit together, what the major tradeoffs are, what the major new options are and where they are going. As you will soon see, many of the seemingly dissimilar technological advances and standards actually converging are just a few common principles.

If a call center needs more efficiency, productivity, flexibility, control, reporting, or better functionality with the rest of the organization, the new technologies definitely have something to offer. A handful of new technologies that have come to market in the past couple of years have combined with existing technologies and some creativity to create a roster of call-center enabled applications. Useful sciences that are maturing include many software advancements in the forms of "groupware," unified messaging, client/server systems and many standardizations. Major telephony system enhancements, such as ISDN, central office switch "PBX" functions and frame-relay, are becoming easier to implement and offer exciting opportunities for data and voice distribution. Overall connectivity between functions, data and operators' tasks are providing limitless options. We are no longer focused entirely on efficiently connecting TSRs to live contacts; we are moving rapidly toward comprehensive and automatic interaction between all departments.

As we look at the changes that have occurred and the likely direction of future call center trends in outbound dialing technology, a few key questions seem to be governing call center direction:

* Does it provide live, pertinent information to management for monitoring and control?

* Does it function smoothly, especially in the areas of administration and reporting, as the system grows?

* Will the system provide the technological flexibility for growth within the call center, or will the system's platform and proprietary nature hold the business owners hostage?

* Will the system support and enhance data coordination with related office operations?

* Can the costly, labor-intensive and often inaccurate double entry of call center results be eliminated?

* Does the technology combine to enhance the company's image and service?

* Does the system meet all laws, and can it be quickly adapted to meet new legislation?

One thing is certain. There is a great deal more to "dialing" than just making calls. The trick for most call center planning is to manage around and with the expectation of changing needs. Think of the outbound dialer as part of an overall system in the business, not as a stand-alone function. Invariably, it will be much more expensive to presume that the way you want to do business today is going to work as effectively two to three years from now. While it may seem impractical at first to obtain some of the more costly capabilities, it is critical to consider the secondary cost savings of a well-put-together dialing system. If a system addition will increase productivity of the TSRs, what about the additional management and resulting reporting and accounting requirements? Will the staff become slaves to list management or customer reporting? Can you expand within your facility without substantially replacing the initial investment? Can the same system expand to other locations with central control or decentralized control with centralized reporting? Consider long-term objectives carefully, and remember that it often still "takes money to make money."

The major parts of an outbound dialing system include the telephone service; the switch; a data storage and distribution function; a TSR terminal or PC interface; and hopefully, a well-thought-out set of manager utilities for maintenance and control of lists and people.

Telephone Services And Links

Today, the most common line service for more than eight TSRs is digital T1 service. By itself, it is generally the most cost-effective service for moderate and high-volume calling. Now, digital telephone enhancements from the phone service providers for ISDN and frame-relay services are being integrated more and more with dialing equipment. These services provide a solid means of transmitting crisp digital voice and data on shared high-speed lines, Automatic call and data conferencing or routing between offices while a call is in progress is getting much easier or more reliable. This is still a bit pricy for smaller companies, but it is a smooth method of linking the calling system to phones to remote operations. The ability to adapt to these telephone services will become more important to even smaller call systems that have a need for interoffice CTI services.