There is a certain cliché that a contact center only deals with inbound calls: Answering customer questions, providing advice, support and helping to solve problems. However, the outbound line in a contact center, i.e. the outgoing calls, are just as important.
If you do not know exactly what outbound calls are in a contact center and the different types they can take, this material is for you! We will also explore what outbound calls do for businesses, how to determine their effectiveness and why outsourcing outbound call services can be beneficial.
What are outbound calls in a contact center?
Outbound calls are telephone calls that are initiated by the contact center itself or by the contact center’s customer and that are routed via the contact center’s outbound line. In other words, outbound calls refer to all calls where contact center agents make calls to third parties.
For what purpose are outbound calls made in a contact center?
From a business perspective, outbound calls are used to communicate with existing or potential customers (partners). Depending on the type of business, companies use outbound calls from contact centers for the following purposes:
- Sales (telemarketing);
- Informing customers about news, promotions, etc;
- Market research;
- Non-commercial or charitable fundraising activities;
- Updating the customer database;
- Surveys (marketing, sociological);
- Obtaining information from other companies;
- Post-sales support.
Separately, outbound calls from collection services and calls from technical support services with anticipatory notifications (about possible disruptions, temporary interruptions of certain services, etc.) can be highlighted.
Industries in which outgoing calls are in demand
Here are just a few examples of companies that rely heavily on outbound calls for their business:
- Retail
- E-commerce
- Manufacturing
- Software development
- Financial services
- Real Estate
- Healthcare
Outbound calls are mainly used in sales, for information purposes or to approach potential customers. This applies in particular to high-value, technological goods, which are often found in the B2B sector.
However, outbound calls are not the only area in which they are used. Outbound calls are very useful when it comes to servicing existing customers, attracting potential customers, expanding the company’s contact list and increasing customer loyalty.
Cold, warm and hot outgoing calls
Sales departments can make so-called “cold” calls to new customers who have not yet had a relationship with the company. However, in the work of the telemarketing department, there are also warm and hot outbound calls. Let us understand what they are and what functions they fulfill.
Cold calls in the call center
In a cold call, the call center agent and the called party know nothing about each other. Since there was no relationship between the call center agent and the potential customer before the call, there is no “warm relationship” between them. This is why this type of outbound call is also referred to as a “cold” call
Cold outbound calls are considered a first form of lead generation. They aim to:
- Identify needs for a product or service.
- Gather data to form a commercial proposal.
- Identify competitors’ shortcomings.
- Find out what displeases the customer and how problems can be solved.
- Reach the decision-maker.
- Conduct research on the needs and expectations of the target audience.
Warm calls in call center
Usually, a call is considered warm when the call center has already had contact with a potential customer. Also, you can address the prospect by their name since they had some contact with you beforehand. This means that the person who answered the call may have interacted with the company through channels such as social media platforms or forms for potential customers on the website.
Warm calls result from engaging potential customers and can be used as part of the lead generation process, for sales, and for market research.
Hot outbound calls
Hot calls are made to potential customers who are highly interested in your product or service and are ready for direct contact to make a purchase. Compared to the first two types of outbound calls, there is no need to “warm up” these potential or existing customers. The purpose of the conversation in a hot call may include sales, post-sales service, CSAT, CES, CSI surveys, assessing the current budget, and needs.
How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Outbound Calls in the Call Center?
Outbound calls play a crucial role in business operations. Similar to any other business process, it’s important to assess their performance using specific metrics. We’ve curated a list of some of the most valuable indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of outbound calls in a call center.
Answer success rate (ASR)
One of the key indicators for outbound sales call centers that allows assessing the effectiveness of outbound call campaigns. ASR indicates the percentage of calls answered compared to the total number of attempted outbound calls initiated by agents within a specific period.
Average call duration (ACD)
The ACD metric measures the average duration of each call. The calculation method involves summing the duration of all calls and dividing it by the total number of calls. Longer calls may indicate genuine interest from potential clients in the product.
Call volume per agent
This metric tracks efficiency and enables companies to monitor the number of calls each agent handles within a specific time frame. It helps identify ineffective agents and motivates successful ones.
Conversion rate (CR)
A percentage-based indicator that determines the number of successfully completed tasks (achieved goals) in the call center concerning customer interactions. Depending on business goals, conversion can include direct sales, appointment scheduling, accepting an invitation to a presentation, arranging a follow-up call, and other targeted actions.
First call close (FCC)
The First Call Close metric shows how many prospects have been converted into a desired outcome (lead, sale, etc.) within a single call. A high percentage of deals closed on the first call indicates that call center agents can effectively sell on the initial attempt. Closing a sale on the first call is challenging for most companies, but tracking this metric helps identify the nature of successful sales.
Average handling time (AHT)
Similar to the inbound line in a call center, Average Handling Time (AHT) is used to measure the average time agents need to process an outbound call. The time starts when the subscriber accepts the call and continues until the call is completed by either party. This also includes any time spent on call hold and post-call processing activities.
Call centers typically aim to reduce Average Handling Time as it means agents can process more outbound calls, leading to increased conversion rates.
Outsourcing the outbound line of a call center
Now that you understand what outbound calls are and their various purposes, let’s delve into outsourcing the outbound line. Why should a company consider outsourcing its outbound calls?
As we’ve previously discussed in our material on business process outsourcing, outsourcing call center services not only saves costs but also provides direct access to a trained and experienced team capable of optimizing your outbound call strategy through leading technologies and skilled efforts.
Why choose Global Bilgi for outsourcing the outbound line?
Our company boasts extensive experience in delivering high-quality multilingual outbound contact center services. This includes outbound telesales campaigns, lead generation through contact centers, customer data verification calls, and marketing research.
Global Bilgi’s outbound contact center services encompass a well-established human capital management system and robust digital contact center solutions, including Power Dialer auto-dialing service, outbound IVR, and more. Global Bilgi is always ready to provide high-quality outbound outsourcing solutions for your business!
Advantages of outsourcing outbound calls with Global Bilgi
Outsourcing your business’s outbound calls can offer numerous advantages, from providing better customer service to increasing sales and enhancing customer relations. By entrusting the outbound line to professionals, you:
- retain and regain customers who have made purchases or used your services. Approximately 80% of revenue comes from repeat customers, and we can reconnect with them, at the very least, reminding them of your existence;
- boost repeat sales and referrals from the customer base;
- increase market visibility and improve your position in the goods and services market.
Moreover, our experienced team provides top-notch telesales, outbound customer surveys, and lead generation services. By outsourcing these activities to the reliable Global Bilgi outsourcing contact center, you can benefit from cost-effective solutions and explore new avenues for profit growth, such as cross-selling. Achieve your most ambitious goals with outsourcing outbound line services from Global Bilgi!
