AI technology is changing the nature of the call center industry. While the industry only spent $1.6 billion on AI technology this year, but is growing at a rate of 21.3% a year. Clearly, the market is growing at a fast pace as more call centers are discovering its benefits.
In 2020, IBM AI published an article in Forbes on the changes that AI is bringing to the call center industry. The article pointed out that AI technology has been used in the call center industry for over 20 years. However, in the past, AI was used to cut costs rather than improve customer service.
The industry is embracing AI in a new way. Call centers have finally started using AI to create better service. They are also using it to improve their telemarketing strategies as well.
“The explosive growth of widely available cloud services and machine-learning tools has put powerful new AI capabilities in the hands of call centers to improve customer service in all forms. Indeed, enterprise executives today cite customer experience as their No. 1 reason for investing in AI, according to a recent poll; cost reduction has moved to second place,” the authors write.
AI is Drastically Disrupting the Telemarketing Sector
Despite the availability of many other channels for consumer interactions, telemarketing remains an effective strategy for growing an enterprise. Contrary to popular belief, the practice isn’t only about closing and opening businesses over the phone; it’s also used for conducting marketing research or gathering accurate data to implement effective marketing techniques.
In fact, the telemarketing industry is becoming more valuable than ever as AI improves its effectiveness. There are actually many powerful ways to utilize AI to get better responses.
It also doesn’t always have to boil down to bullying prospects into submission. Success is about understanding the value the brand or company brings clients, as well as the ability to deliver the information using the right tools without being overbearing or breaking any rules or industry standards. Fortunately, AI can make the process easier than ever.
With that said, here are some tips on how to succeed as an outbound telemarketing call center by leveraging AI technology to your advantage..
Use AI to Gauge the Effectiveness of Your Workers
CMSWire has a very insightful article on the benefits of using AI in telemarketing. They cited Poorvi Shrivastav, the General Manager of HubSpot about the benefits of using AI to gauge the performance of call center employees. They can use Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to monitor hours of data to observe the performance of individual employees.
Follow the Rules
While it may be easy for compliance oversights to occur, it’s a mistake that can cost outbound call centers dearly. The reality is that telemarketing is governed and regulated by strict rules like the TCPA or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. And the failure to adhere to its guidelines may result in legal ramifications that could lead to sizable fines and the cessation of operations.
For this reason, it’s crucial to maintain TCPA compliance at all times. From avoiding calling those listed on the DNC registry to following disclosure and identification requirements, toeing the line is the first step to the success of any call center business.
Take Advantage of Conversational AI
More call centers are using conversational AI technology to automate many of their calls. Many AI-based call center platforms like Bright Pattern and Mind Titan use AI to handle simple tasks more easily.
Make Sure AI-based Telemarketing Strategies are Based on Accurate Data
AI technology can be very useful for many call centers. However, the success of their telemarketing strategy is going to be based on the quality of the AI algorithms they have in place.
Quality AI programs depend on quality data. Therefore, you need to develop a plan for accumulating relevant data for your call center strategy.
For efficient and effective telemarketing operations, every outbound call center must have a management plan for its workforce that includes relevant and measurable KPIs and clear and concise expectations on what agents should deliver. More importantly, these expectations must be monitored so thoughtful feedback can be provided.
Suppose performance fails to meet expectations, set improvement plans that are achievable for your employees. Also, to maximize output, be smart with scheduling. Having a full-time team managing the schedule to ensure everyone gets enough downtime without compromising call time can go a long way in improving sales.
Allow the Data to Guide the Model
You need to use quality data to improve your AI. You don’t want to make manual tweaks to your AI algorithms when you have actionable data that provides better insights. This means that your data quality needs to be prioritized.
Data isn’t unlike currency in today’s digital age, and it’s valuable to telemarketing as it offers insight into consumers. Therefore, if you lack an analytics team, try to form one. When you do, try to migrate all data into one platform. In this way, you’ll create more visibility for the information and enable relevant personnel to get insights efficiently, whether it’s on sales performance or conversion rates.
Maximize your digital resources
An integral component of managing a call center in this day and age is understanding how to effectively navigate the role it fills in an increasingly digital environment. In other words, you need to map the consumers’ journey and consider the digital activities that best serve their interests and your relationship with them. For example, telemarketers may send an email for further information on a specific product or service they offer during or after a call.
Conclusion
AI has been a remarkable boon for the marketing profession. A growing number of telemarketing companies are using AI to transform their approach. Despite its lucrative nature, running a call center can be a challenge, especially one with outbound telemarketing operations. However, with the right plan, tools, and strategies, you’ll be able to set up the foundation for the success of your business today and give yourself more opportunities to grow tomorrow. AI technology will help make this easier!
