by Glen Taylor
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I have a friend who texts me about once a week with a simple message, “Dinner tonight?” About half of the time I’m not available, but when I am, we grab a cocktail at the latest hot spot, order up the house specialty, and have a great evening. It occurred to me that I spend more time with this friend than any other, largely because of this simple question; and in the end, it has led to a much stronger friendship.
My friend has unwittingly stumbled upon a powerful tool for gaining trust, loyalty, and undivided attention, and it’s just as effective for organizations that want to build stronger relationships with their customers. In the business world, we know it as outbound or proactive communication; when strategically employed, it contributes to extended customer lifetime value.
One powerful tool for managing outbound communication is the Avaya Proactive Outreach Manager (POM). With its full-featured campaign management and out-dialing engine, POM pairs with the powerful Avaya Aura Experience Portal (AAEP) self-service platform to provide seamless integration between inbound and outbound contact center strategies. Its robust multi-channel feature set supports voice, SMS, and email options, offering sophisticated solutions that provide measurable value for almost any enterprise level organization.
Types of Outbound Campaigns
The use cases for outbound calling are many. Each can strengthen customer engagement while providing significant protection of revenue streams. Here are just a few types of outbound campaign methodologies.
Automated Notification
The prototypical use for automated proactive outreach is for appointment reminders, alerts, broadcast messaging, etc. The benefits cannot be overstated. Customers, patients, and constituents alike enjoy these convenient reminders and messages that keep them informed and on track. Buried within the customer engagement benefit is increased operational efficiency from successful scheduling, decreased inbound call traffic, and expanded business.
Outbound Self-Service
Although the common expectation is that voice self-service is offered on inbound calls, outbound self-service is equally effective. Actively engaging customers to pay bills, submit renewals, or complete surveys achieves much greater success than passively waiting for customers to contact you.
Agent-Based Outbound Campaigns
There are still many instances where personal interaction between an agent and the customer is required. In addition to the purely automated outbound campaigns, Avaya POM now supports agent-based outbound campaigns using preview, progressive, and predictive dialing methods.
In preview dialing, the next call record is delivered to the agent before the platform dials the number, allowing the agent to review the record before dialing starts. Preview dialing is ideal for interactions where the agent must prepare to ensure a successful customer interaction. Although the preview method automates the dialing process, valuable agent time is consumed listening to call progress and dealing with voice mail.
With progressive and predictive dialing, the platform places calls before an agent is assigned and automatically handles call progress. Using algorithms based on prior dialing history or configuration parameters, POM ensures that an agent is highly likely to be available when a call is answered. These dialing methods maximize the use of agent time and are ideal for contact centers handling large numbers of calls that are not improved by significant agent preparation time.
Inbound and Outbound Blending
While agent-based outbound campaigns can be scheduled to maximize resources, inbound calls cannot; as a result, inbound agent teams experience peaks and valleys in call volumes. By cross-training agents for both inbound and outbound calls, it is possible to use “blending” to more effectively manage the inbound and outbound load. When blending is enabled, POM will acquire all of the agents with the skills required for a particular outbound campaign. If the capacity of the inbound queue reaches a preset threshold, POM will release some dual-skilled agents to help with the inbound calls, effectively throttling its outbound calls. Once the occupancy of the inbound queue falls below a lower threshold, the dual-skilled agents will be re-acquired and POM will utilize them to complete the outbound campaign.
Multichannel Campaigns
Automated outbound, agent-based dialing, SMS messaging, and email are each effective methods for reaching customers at various points along the customer journey. There are many individual tools available to provide each of these outbound contact methods, but POM integrates them all into a single platform for more efficient multichannel campaign management. For example, a single weekly collections campaign could send an email reminder for accounts that are due in the current week, provide an SMS reminder for accounts less than a week past due, offer automated bill-pay for accounts less than a month past due, and use collections agents for accounts that are more delinquent.
Effective Outbound Campaigns
Avaya POM is a versatile platform with many useful applications. To be effective, it is important to develop an outbound strategy that puts the needs of your customers at the forefront, focusing on useful information that provides convenience, saves time or money, or prevents potential frustration. When you contact people with information that is relevant to them, you increase the likelihood of success.
Speak with an INI solutions architect to see how Avaya POM with an effective outbound strategy can maximize your IVR investment and elevate your customer relationships.