SMB Marketing for the Masses

Even little pups can have a big bite, says OPC Marketing, which this week released its latest predictive dialer product for small and medium businesses (SMBs). The product, dubbed SpitFire Predictive Dialer, functions as an inbound and outbound system. SpitFire runs on either T1 or analog lines, and does not require a PBX (private branch exchange) system to switch calls between enterprise users on local lines, nor does it require a separate database server. By using digital sound cards to transfer calls, the product can decrease call abandonment rates by reducing call transfer time without clicks or silences. Complying with many states' "Do Not Call" regulations and preparing for the much-anticipated national "Do Not Call" registry, SpitFire immediately removes restricted numbers automatically, without manually updating the system, the company says. Managers can also get real-time digital readouts of agent and line activity, as well as provide real-time recording, monitoring, and coaching capabilities. Additionally, managers can select scripts and databases on the fly, and customize them for each agent. The product can increase agent productivity from 150 percent to 400 percent company sources say, by calling then routing live answered calls directly to agents. By tracking the number of agents available to field calls, average talk time, and dialing time, the predictive dialer can predict when to call customers and how many calls to make. It can recognize and hang up on answering machines, disconnected numbers, and busy signals, and immediately transfer live calls. The predictive dialer is designed for organizations with two to 48 agents with telephone lines from four to 96, representing a telephone line--to-agent ratio of 2:1. A basic system runs $5,995, and includes a two-agent, four-line system, rack-mount server, software for server and agents, and headsets. An eight-agent, 16-line system with the same software and hardware is $11,995. With states setting their own regulations on call abandonment rates, OPC Marketing designed the system so that each company can adjust this. "The system is adjustable. The abandonment rate is dependent on how you set the machine. You can set it for zero if you want. That's just a function of how the algorithms work," says Steve Brownrigg, marketing manager at OPC Marketing.