collection predictive dialers

Why does the predictive dialer matter? It can simultaneously place hundreds or even thousands of calls and filter out no answers, busy signals and answering machines, thus allowing only real people to be routed to agents. This makes it an indispensable tool for reaching out to large volumes of customers and prospective customers in a relatively short timeframe, and with a personal touch. For marketing departments, it builds brand recognition; for CFOs, it generates revenue streams. As a result, the predictive dialer has evolved into the centerpiece of any outbound marketing campaign, and is a key ingredient in a well-rounded contact center. However - and this is going to be a recurring theme - the predictive dialer is a technology. It is a means to an end, and a tool. Unfortunately, some tools have been used unwisely at one time or another.

The most flexible predictive dialers are constructed using a building block approach. They are built on open systems, with client/server distributed processing that enables various components to be enhanced and updated as new technology becomes available. Advanced predictive dialers are software-based solutions that use computer-telephony integration (CTI) technology to dial numbers predictively. Such a solution allows predictive dialing to be carried out from any phone terminal in an enterprise network, instead of limiting predictive dialing functionality to phones/terminals in call centers.

Predictive dialers automatically initiate outbound calls from programmed calling lists and hand off the completed calls to agents. Predictive dialing algorithms "predict" that customers answer the phone only a certain percentage of the time and, consequently, make an appropriate number of outbound calls to produce a manageable number of completed calls to agents. This prediction saves time for agents, since they don't have to wait while the phone rings or listen to answering machines and busy signals.