3 of the Most Overlooked Factors Vital to Outbound Campaigns

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1 nexbridge 3 of the Most Overlooked Factors Vital to Outbound Campaigns

2 nexbridge 3 of the Most Overlooked Factors Vital to Introduction Contact centre Campaign Managers and other professionals involved in campaign planning have a variety of factors to consider before things go ahead. Outbound campaigns, by nature, demand a well thought out strategy to ensure a good return on investment. Today s modern Campaign Manager will have an idea of what vital requirements will be needed for campaign success... Although no single decision maker will adopt the exact same strategy, the modern contact centre must keep up with consumer behaviour and developing technologies, giving every good outbound campaign some common ground. 1/10

3 nexbridge 3 of the Most Overlooked Factors Vital to Ponderings of a modern Campaign Manager Contact success rate will directly affect return on investment. Performance monitoring must be solid. KPI s should be highly tailored. An intelligent predictive dialler and agent interface are vital to maximise efficiency. The cloud could be the best choice, for maximum control, adaptability, and scalability. I'll combine different channels to keep up with consumers. Voice, SMS, , social media... Agent training is key, as is their motivation and satisfaction. 2/10

4 But although these may seem like the main factors to consider, behind the scenes there are a number of commonly overlooked issues, which if not covered, really can spell disaster for an outbound campaign. High volume, short duration calls, require a network which is designed to support the demand, and it can be all too easy to forget the importance of a solid communications setup to ensure that campaigns achieve their potential. The Three Factors Network Capacity Call Quality Resilience and Support You ll be making call attempts every second, your network shouldn t hold back the potential of your internal systems. Bad lines are still common place for most contact centres. Good call quality can positively affect campaign success. Scrimping on your traffic routes is the wrong way to save costs. A resilient communications system is a must. 3/10

5 1 Network Capacity A specialised network setup has never been so important for outbound campaign communications. It is imperative that the call traffic you route to your network does not overwhelm the network itself. This may seem like a given, but it can quite easily happen without Campaign Managers necessarily being aware of it. Some network setups will leave you restricted in terms of the number of calls that can be connected due to the high volume, short duration nature of outbound calling. 4/10

6 A traffic jam behind the scenes If your campaign uses a large number of agents it will demand tens to hundreds of call attempts per second (CAPS) from your network. Without the right network setup, this level of call attempts can lead to a high number of unconnected calls, which means a waste of data. Having the most sophisticated dialler and the most relevant and up to date call data means very little if your network prevents you from making the level of calls you require. Traditionally, telecommunications networks and carrier infrastructures were not built for the kind of traffic generated during outbound campaigns. There are specialists in the market, and finding a network that will suit your campaign is a must. This is why it can be a good idea to ask your current provider whether they impose any restriction on the number of CAPS that can be supported at any one time. 5/10

7 2 Call Quality It takes investment to reach right party contacts, so when you do reach them you need to make sure your network can support the conversation to be had. Losing a lead in a sales campaign due to voice quality issues can be one of the most frustrating problems agents face, and it s a lot more common than most would like to think. Your agents may be well equipped with the best training and phrases to say, but all preparations will fall short if voice quality is not up to scratch. Voice quality issues can cause transaction errors, increased call times and generally frustrated customers. Research has suggested that over 70% of consumers have experienced issues with line quality when talking to call centre agents, showing how widespread the issue can be. Making a call where there is no exchange of information isn t much use for a contact centre. But one-way audio is another issue associated with poor voice quality, and can be present in any outbound campaign where the right precautions have not been taken. 6/10

8 What s the cause? It can be tempting to opt for the cheapest route for call traffic to maximise return on investment, but the saying you get what you pay for couldn t be more relevant at the network level. It is important to ensure that your network has established agreements with Tier 1 carriers to maintain good voice quality, even when traffic levels are high. Cheaper routing options may be provided by networks that place less importance on quality, which does nothing for campaign success. Again, for outbound campaigns network specialisation is vital. If your connection is SIP based, it s often required that you set up a separate network connection for your voice traffic, which prevents voice quality issues such as jitter. Alternatively, you can change the Quality of Service options on your router to allocate priority to voice and data independently. If you re thinking of changing provider because of voice quality issues, insist that a trial period is run, where voice quality can be monitored and tested using a high traffic load. 7/10

9 3 Resilience and Support If the correct precautions are not taken by the call provider, an outbound campaign can grind to a complete halt in the event of a traffic outage, or some other network fault. The nature of the campaign means there is always heavy investment in the agents and the systems they use (hardware and software). An issue outside of the premises which cuts the communication can mean capital down the drain, which is why a resilient network should be a priority. But what makes a resilient network? The way your network provider operates is out of your control, so how can you be sure your provider has taken all the precautions to minimise interruptions to your service? Resilience - separating the good from the excellent Redundant equipment (back up) Network alerts Multiple connectivity options Geographically diverse data centres 8/10

10 Support when you need it Another important consideration to make concerns how much support your network can provide when something does go wrong. Experienced Campaign Managers know that when outbound communications are hosted by an external provider, they need a network that they can rely on. Identification If you have a communications issue you can t identify or understand, you want to be confident that there is a technical team behind your network to solve the problem. It can be a good idea to build a good relationship with your provider s technical staff as they will be the people identifying any network issues. 9/10

11 Finding genuine customer care Call centre professionals know better than anyone the importance of real customer service. Although networks vary in reliability, the nature of the telecommunications industry is such that some issues are out of human control. Networks are so interconnected that other internet or telecoms organisations, software providers and carriers can sometimes affect service. Often, resolving issues comes down to good old fashioned care and assistance, and a commitment to fix the problem. This is why choosing a provider with good customer care is as relevant at the network level as anywhere else, and should not be overlooked. 10/10