In general, auto dialer apps use an outbound call center setting to come up with multiple services and campaigns like lead generation and cold calling. For that reason, many bigger businesses have already utilized these for the efficiency of their operations. However, with smaller businesses, the need for such a feature may not be as evident. Hence, the rise of the question of whether it’s really worth it to sign up for and invest in auto dialer apps or not.
So, to get right to the bottom of things, yes, auto dialer apps can help small businesses. Through the simple fact of it being automated, it can be expected that auto dialer apps can achieve so much more than manual dialing can’t. And considering its high demand, there are various types of auto dialer apps to choose from, each with its respective pros and cons. And so, when the perfect match is achieved, your business is slated to benefit well enough from auto dialer apps.
Here, you’ll come across a detailed and comprehensive guide on what you need to know about auto dialer software and apps, particularly how they can help small businesses.
A Brief Background On What An Auto Dialer Is
Before jumping right into the benefits of using auto dialer apps for your business, it’s important to tackle first a brief introduction to what an auto dialer is. This can make it easier for you to have a picture of what it can do for your business.
An auto dialer app like Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail & Text is a software tool programmed to automatically dial telephone numbers from a list you’ve made. And once the call is picked up, the auto dialer then connects the call to a pre-recorded message or a live call agent.
For small businesses, this can be great when making cold calls for marketing purposes, and more so, to provide better customer service too. Especially if you’re in the sector where repetitive phone calls are the norm, that’s when an auto dialer will certainly come in handy. Those industries generally include sales, education, healthcare, and hospitality.
The Benefits Of Auto Dialer Apps For Businesses
- It Can Be A Cost-Efficient Communication Tool
One of the most pressing advantages of an auto dialer app for your business is the cost savings it brings. Yes, you’ll have to pay for it. But the returns can be considerably high as it can bring in significant cost savings in the long run.
The cost savings here come in through better efficiency. This means there’s no more manual dialing. By this, all other constraints such as misdialing, call drops, and excessive wait time that usually comes along with manual dialing can be eliminated. And when gathered as a whole, those constraints affect operational efficiency, which can be a top budget-eater.
When your small business uses an auto dialing app, only the connected calls are sent to a voice recording or a live agent. In addition, auto-dialing apps can detect busy signals and non-serviceable numbers, too, thereby increasing the call connect ratio significantly. As a result, wastage can be reduced, which can then lead to higher operational efficiency and better productivity.
- It Comes In Many Different Types
Auto dialer apps aren’t all the same. This fact is considered another benefit to small businesses. And because there are many different types you can find, there’s that higher certainty that you’ll find the best match for your small business. You can rest assured you aren’t wasting your investment on an auto dialer app that wouldn’t work well for your business and wouldn’t match your company’s growing demand.
To that end, some of the most common types of auto dialer apps to choose from include:
- Power or Progressive Dialers: This type generally doesn’t allow you to decide whether or not the next call is to be placed. Rather, the app or software automatically places the next call available right after the previous one is done. This type works best if you’re after generating more quality conversion leads.
- Preview Dialer. This type gives you an option to either place an outbound call or to skip it. This proves to be advantageous, especially when you want to preview information first regarding the individual they’ll be speaking with before auto-dialing.
- Predictive Dialer. This is one of the most efficient types of auto dialer apps or software, as it allows your business to dial multiple phone numbers at once. A pacing algorithm is used, to help determine when the user will be done with their current call. That way, the next call can be placed on the line before the user even finishes the entire sales script.
- It Helps Improve The Efficiency Of Small Business’s Operations
Along with cost-efficiency, small businesses and those in the startup phase will also have to learn how to master more efficient operations. There are many ways in which operational efficiency can be achieved. Here, the focus is on the phone calls made.
With an auto dialer, no more manual dialing has to be done. Greater efficiency can be achieved when previously time-consuming tasks can now be done faster and more systematically without affecting the quality.
Here’s how operational efficiency is achieved with auto-dialers. When your business utilizes one, agents only make connected calls. And as such, no time is wasted dealing with unconnected or unproductive calls due to busy signals and non-serviceable numbers. So, the ability to make more connected calls can help result in higher and better efficiency for your business operations.
- It Improves Your Business’ Internal Processes
Besides saving time and money, auto dialer apps for small businesses can also help improve your business’s internal processes. For instance, the auto dialer app can do other functions along the lines of dissemination of information, faster and better data entry, and knowledge sharing. This can enable your call agents to have the best information on any call they’re making.
More so, the improvement in your business’s internal processes can be achieved through the following:
- Duplicate efforts are avoided
- Agent effort overlap is lessened
- Time wasted on dialing wrong and dead numbers can be reduced
- Duplicate dialing is mitigated
With all those improvements in the business’s internal processes, it can be easy to see how automation can enhance accountability and communication within your organization. And more so, keeping all departments well informed and up-to-date with information is one of the essential keys to enhancing internal operations.
In addition, an auto dialer app is considered even more needed, particularly when some of your employees are working remotely. Since you don’t see them daily, you may need the help of technology to keep the internal processes running smoothly and seamlessly. All thanks to the automated processes an auto dialer app bring, now you have that higher guarantee that your employees can complete their work, regardless of whether or not they’re in the physical office.
- It Reduces Idle Time
Businesses should be aware that idle time is among the top money and productivity eater. Idle time may only be a few minutes at a time, but when you take in all those minutes as a whole, you’ll realize that it does accumulate. So much else could’ve been achieved during that wasted time.
Without an auto dialer app in place, your small business has to settle for manual dialing. And this may often lead to high agent idle time simply because your staff has to wait until a call is connected. Most of the time wasted is spent unproductively listening to busy tones, facing disconnected calls, or having to deal with an answering machine.
With an auto dialer app, there’s very little idle time wasted. More productivity can be ensured by skipping calls that come with time-wasting signals. Only answered calls are routed to your team members. And as a result, this enables your staff to make more calls at any given time.
- It Comes With A Wide Range Of Features
Auto dialers are among the beneficial technological advancements and innovations of this modern age. As such, you can be assured that when you sign up for one, your business can have a lot of features to make use of. Those features can contribute to all the advantages your small business can gain from using one.
But for that reason, consider selecting an auto dialer app that can provide you with full features to have meaningful and successful conversations. That way, you can have the most optimal and efficient experience.
With that in mind, here are some of the notable features your business can experience:
- List filtering: In any business, you may come across customers who’ll likely request to be placed on your Do Not Call (DNC) list. And so, to keep your customer service strong, it’s important to respect those wishes.
If you’re still using a manual dialing system, it may be challenging to keep track of records of those. And if your records aren’t up-to-date, you may make the mistake of calling a customer who requested to be on a DNC list.
You can avoid this mishap from happening by using an auto dialer app. It can help filter your list automatically to be certain not to call those numbers who requested to be placed on DNC.
- Unproductive number detection: Time is wasted when your business continues to frequently call unproductive numbers. Auto dialer technology, however, can tell when a certain number on your list isn’t worth calling at the moment.
For instance, those unproductive numbers include busy lines, calls automatically sent to voicemail, or an answering machine. By this, your team doesn’t waste their time calling unproductive numbers, which could’ve been spent instead calling and nurturing relationships with other callers and clients.
- Time zone management: When is the best time to call a prospective customer? There’ll be conflicting answers to this question. This question becomes even more confusing when you need to call potential customers who are in a different time zone. Manually factoring all those differences in time zone can be time-consuming and can be a headache for your team.
This problem can be best addressed when you’re using an auto dialer. Time zones can automatically be adjusted such that you’re only calling customers when it’s the right time for them. Just imagine how badly it’ll hurt your reviews and customer service when you’re unknowingly ringing customers when it’s sleeping time for them.
- Integration: Another feature that brings in so many advantages of an auto dialer system for your business is good integration. Most auto dialer apps can be integrated with ease with other software, particularly those used to store customer contact information.
One of the most important of those is customer relationship management (CRM) software. Remember the very premise of what a CRM function is. It can be used by businesses to track information and data relating to customers, their preferences, and even their past interactions with your business.
To make phone calls more meaningful, valuable customer information is often shared. You wouldn’t want to have all those manually written down at the risk of having confidential information divulged. It’s best to keep that information in a CRM. Then, integrate the CRM with your auto dialer app. In doing so, auto-dialers can automatically update customer information based on what’s said during the call.
- Call transfer options: This feature works to be an advantage if your small business is operating a remote working arrangement or a hybrid scheme. This is the norm for many businesses today. While ideal, it can also bring in the challenge of having a scattered workforce.
In that case, your employees may not always have access to the office phone. Or, perhaps you also need to check or qualify a certain caller first before they even start a conversation with another person in your business. Either way, an auto dialer app can do that function for you.
- Contact list management: Auto dialers are also equipped with the power to manage your contact lists. Particularly when you’re using a cloud-based system, it’s easier to upload important customer information. This is highly needed for efficiency, and a good quality auto dialer app or software can do that for you.
Conclusion
There’s so much a business can gain from signing up for and investing in an auto dialer app. Of course, given the condition that you’re able to choose an auto dialer app that best fits your business’ needs and demands.
For that reason, don’t skimp on the quality you’re going for. An auto dialer app can only work as well as its overall reviews and quality. It’s an added cost, but the benefits it brings for the growth of your business can’t be denied. Small business or big, an auto dialer app can work very well to your advantage.
