Are Dialers Predictive Enough for Collections?
Collections shops today face challenges with respect to efficiency due to traditional methods and poor customer experience(s). Moving forward, firms will find the most success in maximizing agent potential and utilizing it to the fullest. This is done by reducing customer hold time and hang-ups, which also improves the overall customer journey.
One solution that the collections industry uses is a predictive dialer – an outbound calling system that auto dials from a list of numbers. It is capable of screening for voicemail, busy or no answer, and disconnected numbers.
While this is an evolution of the generic dialer established nearly three decades ago, it does not detract from the fact that several collections shops are using obsolete technology. A generic dialer has very limited capabilities and was formerly installed as a hardware solution.
Dialers in Collections Today and Their Possible Drawbacks
The idea of having dialers is to make the job simpler for agents and management, improve revenue, and know who to call. Most dialers that pass off as predictive need constant monitoring and input, thus defeating the purpose. This is primarily because these dialers are based on technology used for telemarketing, customer service, market research or other industries. Our suggestion? Predictive dialers developed exclusively for the collections industry.
An example of how these industries are specialized is how a missed call is processed. In telemarketing, a missed call simply leads to the next prospect. In the collections industry, however, it could result in an uncollected debt.
Despite being introduced to increase collections, sub-par dialers render themselves redundant. Some dialers dial multiple numbers at the same time, without calculating the availability of the agent, leading to the customer hanging up thinking it’s blank call.
Moreover, in an effort to reduce harassment by robocalls, the FCC banned calls made to numbers without prior consent. This means dialers need to be compliant with the changing legal landscape.
Another region where dialers cause hiccups is in the kind of recommendations they provide. A predictive dialer is just that — a dialer — and today’s customers aren’t always available to pick up a call. Studies show that people today prefer various digital channels and not just calls. In fact, personalized emails deliver 6x higher transaction rates. Despite being over 20 years old, texting or SMS blasts remain a great tool to reach new customers while supporting and retaining existing ones, with 80% of people using it for business purposes.
What is Truly a Predictive Dialer?
A truly predictive dialer is a hands-off technology using various call metrics to generate the right number of leads at the right time to ensure maximum agent utilization. They predict when agents will be available to take the next call by determining outbound dialing rates as well as required resources for both phones and personnel.
Call pacing refers to speed of customized calls based on metrics such as list performance, agent behavior and inbound transfers, resulting in a steady stream of live contacts, adjusting inbound calls.
This is a leap over manual dialing, shaving as much as 30 seconds from each call. In a situation where an agent has to dial each number, only one out of every three or four calls get answered. Predictive dialers calculate the average length of a call, the number of dials to make a connection, and even optimize dialing to enable agents to move between calls seamlessly.
With a flood of first time debtors,millennials, changing legislation, and increasing automation, the collection industry needs to keep up with the current trends to ensure revenue.
What is True Predictive Analysis Capable of?
Predictive analysis combines data calculations into formulas and algorithms to improve efficiency by 200-300%. This directly saves management time while increasing collections.
Intelligent predictive analysis makes use of omnichannel engagement, reaching out to customers through their preferred mode of contact. Research shows that customers would rather not meet in person. By 2020, 85% of customer interactions will be handled without talking to humans.
Predictive analysis paves the way in showing how to engage with customers, through which channels, and when.
How Dasceq is leveraging predictive analytics for collections
Dasceq’s predictive software is the cloud-based, AI-driven 2i™ platform which aggregates and synthesizes collections data in order to identify data trends and patterns. This in turn helps understand the customer and provide recommendations. Additionally, our omnichannel presence and easy to use touchpoints simplifies the process of identifying the best time to contact and the optimal channel to contact through. Apart from which channel to use, the software gives us recommendations on how to engage.
True predictive analysis offers an integrated view of the customer and offers recommendations based on high quality data. This also generates statistics, infographics and reports in real-time, enabling agents to be more proactive, answer queries easily, follow up, and increase collections.
Inconsistent service in collections comes from differing levels of performance within the team. With predictive analysis, the organization can remove inconsistencies, provide structure, and improve agent morale as success comes. This process in whole boosts credibility while maintaining compliance.
Please feel free to get in touch for more information.