Reach Out With New Calling Technology

By Marti Lythgoe

If your call center’s primary purpose is to handle inbound calls from members, consider how to use it to more efficiently and effectively reach out to them. Is your marketing department limited in the number of personal contacts it can make? Is your collection department manually dialing calls to notify members of overdue loan payments?

With the addition of a predictive dialer, you can eliminate the drudgery and time required to dial calls manually and listen to rings, busy signals, and operator intercepts. Only answered calls are transferred to your member service representatives (MSRs), doubling or tripling productivity.

Predictive dialing technology isn’t new. But are you aware of the sophisticated dialers specifically configured for financial institutions? They come loaded with new technology that makes them easier to use and more cost-effective than dialers created primarily for telemarketing. With the latest technology, MSRs can use predictive, power, passive, and/or preview dialing modes, allowing the dialer’s capabilities to fit the call’s length and purpose.

Multiple applications and campaigns—calling lists based on differing marketing efforts or collecting by the type of loan, age of the account, and so on—can run simultaneously. Call data are downloaded via an interface, either batch or real-time, from your core processor or collection software. Systems specializing in ease of MSR training and including a manager’s at-a-glance monitoring screen further enhance productivity.

Get personal with automated messages
Outbound interactive communication systems can be an economical and powerful addition to existing call center resources. They can help you provide valuable member services while freeing your staff to perform other important tasks. Contacting members more frequently is a proven way to build loyalty and increase use of your services. Without additional personnel, you can:

• Deliver “welcome new member” messages;
• Alert members to information on your Web site;
• Encourage members to use online services;
• Announce changes in interest rates;
• Promote specific types of loans, checking accounts, or other services;
• Offer a month with no payment due;
• Advertise sweepstakes promotions and other contests to use your services; and
• Educate members about new products and services.

You also can use automated messages for payment reminders or to collect overdue payments. Prerecorded, interactive collection calls can ask for a member by name, speak a message that asks for and takes payments by check or credit card, and, upon request, transfer the call to a live MSR. They can be used to work low-balance and old accounts, or collect nonsufficient funds checks.

By contacting hundreds of members daily, automated messages can generate a substantial number of inbound calls and dramatically reduce mailing costs.

Be the best with both
Most credit unions can benefit from both predictive dialing and inbound/outbound interactive communications. Look for a system where both can operate simultaneously on one platform. Ensure that the call center solutions you invest in integrate seamlessly with your core data processing and host collection systems.

One key to differentiating your organization from the competition is to find new contacting processes and systems that enhance convenience for members while reducing delinquency rates and operational savings. A growing number of credit unions are using advanced call center technology to help them use limited personnel resources, substantially reduce collection costs, provide additional services, and stay competitive.

Marti Lythgoe is marketing manager for Information Access Technology, Salt Lake City. Contact her at 800-574-8801, ext. 260.