Improving Efficiency & Performance of Your Outbound Campaigns
At DBI, we understand the importance of reviewing, adapting and reflecting on the efficiency and performance of our outbound campaigns. So, we have put together this handy bite sized guide to help you make your outbound team more efficient and improve performance!
The below will not cover everything you need to consider but some key points:
Performance:
- A Licenced Dialler with Support:
Are you an I.T / Dialler expert? Not many people are… That’s why having a licenced dialler with support is a key product for your outbound calling team. With a free / open source dialler, unless you have the knowledge and skills, ironing out any issues can greatly impact business operations. Having a licenced dialler with support gives you the peace of mind that if any problems do arise, such as audio delays, voice compression or frequently dropped calls, you can relax without costly service disruptions by knowing the your VoIP is being monitored 24/7 and the majority of issues are usually rectified before you even realise there is a problem. Free is not always good and licenced dialler costs will be a fraction of all of your costs as a business, don’t be penny saving foolish!!!
- Do you Have a Dialling Plan?
With your current dialler, do you have a detailed dialling plan / action process for your agents to use? For example, if you get an answer machine, when will the number be called back or when does the number get removed if a prospect becomes a customer? You need to ensure that your data and dialler strategy are aligned to your business objectives. Consider what your action plan is to tackle each dialler disposition – is there thought and strategy around this and are the agents disposing calls correctly?
- Calling Times:
When are your peak connection times? Does the product or service you have, fit with the time you dialling the customer? For example, mobility product consumers may prefer to receive telephone calls 9am-5pm, whereas mobile network provider customers may be happy to receive calls until 8pm at night. Use this data wisely and schedule your agents’ shifts and your campaigns around this. Also consider any changes that can be made to the campaign hours to coincide with your peak connection hours.
Efficiency:
When considering the efficiency and effectiveness of your outbound campaign the following factors may determine whether the campaign is a flying success or a forgettable nightmare!
- Quality Checking:
What percentage of calls do you quality check? Here there are two efficiencies to measure:
- The Agents – Are the agents performing? Is the script being followed and are they following the training you have provided, especially rebuttals.
- Call Disposal – Are the agents disposing of the calls as per your dialling plan? If not, your analysis of the data won’t make any sense at all.
- Suppression Files:
Creating, updating and maintaining suppression files that fit your target audience are extremely important, as are those files that are flagged, for example, those that don’t want to be contacted or, those that are already buy your products/services. Why buy data that you already hold?
Keeping a suppression file’s lifecycle and timeline fresh of around 12 months old (no older) is essential to contacting the right consumers – a consumer you contacted a year ago, may not have been interested then, but is now.
Most suppression files are run by landline or mobile telephone numbers and consumer preferences change. When you called a year ago, you were calling to speak to Mrs Smith, who purchased your product, this time you are calling for Mr Smith, who may now be interested.
- Sharing your Script:
Sharing your script with your call centre partner ensures the question set the agents are asking, fits in with your opening pitch. Use the facts which are gained by the call agents to set up your calls and give you a strong opening. Opening should be short and to the point, the consumer should clearly understand the intention of the call quickly. Long openings that are not clear will add to confusion and then hang ups.
- Improve Answer Rates & Calling Line Identity (CLI):
Not everyone likes telemarketing! Calling Line Identity (CLI) facilities provide information to the recipient of the call about the party making the call and your CLI may be blocked, this is now happening at network level. Checking your CLI number on a regular basis will help you to identify these issues. If needed, change your number to ensure increased answer rates! If you do change your CLI then stick to all the guidelines to ensure its compliant.
Many diallers can be set to match your prospect’s geographical area. Set your caller ID according to the area you are dialling, and you will see your answer rates improve! When a prospect sees a familiar number, they are more likely to answer the phone.
We have years of experience of script writing, direct selling and objection handling experience and we can analyse your script to ensure we provide records fit for purpose. By getting your scripts checked before we start a campaign, we can ensure we deliver records that will add value!
If you would like any further information on how DBI can help to improve your outbound campaign, please contact marketing@dbiph.com or telephone 0203 630 8888.
