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Today, most businesses already have ongoing outbound campaigns, with sales and customer service teams using traditional channels, contact centre systems and CX platforms to engage customers.

So if most businesses have access to the right technology… why isn’t everyone seeing the results?

In this article, we break down 6 reasons why businesses are failing with their outbound CX campaigns and the most effective ways to improve them:

6 REASONS YOUR OUTBOUND CX CAMPAIGNS ARE FAILING

1. MULTI-CHANNEL VS. OMNICHANNEL

It can start to get confusing when hearing the words Omnichannel or Multi-channel but there are very distinct differences to bear in mind.

A multichannel contact centre allows agents and customers to interact through different communication channels for different types of interactions (e.g. phone calls for payments, the website for sales and Live Chat for customer complaints.)

However, with a multi-channel approach, these channels are not all connected and operate in isolation from one another. This means that all information is not centrally stored, and agents cannot pick up from where they last left off if a customer tries back to follow up on their query through a different channel.

Multi-channel distribution creates much frustration for customers as many feel they are back at square one with their journey rather than progressing.

THE OMNICHANNEL ADVANTAGE

An Omnichannel solution offers multiple methods of communication but with a seamless experience across all means of communication. All the information is stored on one database and can be easily accessed by any agent, with the ability to pick up from where another agent last left off.

Through Omnichannel, CX agents can look at all past interactions and offer more personalised customer engagement and boost customer satisfaction.

An Omnichannel platform is better equipped for outbound CX campaigns, as it opens up all relevant communication channels for customers, allowing more customers to interact with your outbound campaigns and removing the barriers that could stop them from responding to your outreach or remaining engaged in the CX process.

2. LACKING CUSTOMER DATA INSIGHTS

How can you make decisions based on customers preferences if you are not sure what they want? In an attempt to improve customer experience and foster successful outbound campaigns, businesses need to rely more on a data-driven approach.

CREATING ACCURATE CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

Accurate customer data has become an instrumental tool for creating value in outbound interactions. Utilising customer data can empower your team to analyse and adapt to customer wants based on real feedback. These customer insights are derived from interpretations of quantitative and qualitative data gathered from customer feedback and other informational sources.

By analysing this data, you can predict behavioural trends that will improve the effectiveness of marketing, sales and service initiatives. The power lies in understanding where your customers are getting stuck, and what is preventing them from converting. It’s important to highlight that although having quantitative and qualitative data is powerful, the feedback needs to be actionable.

Predictive modelling is another means to gain insight and make decisions. Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, you can use algorithms and statistical models to analyse large quantities of data and variables.

Predictions such as what time of the day people are most likely to answer the phone can assist with agent scheduling and workflow management.

Using Customer Engagement Software from leading providers, businesses can use customer data to accurately predict and display exactly what time and which platforms customers are being most receptive towards. Using this data to improve your business strategies to achieve your results will boost your outbound campaign performance rapidly.

3. NOT ANALYSING CUSTOMER SENTIMENT

Did you know that the average unhappy customer will share their negative feedback with an estimated 16 people? It is therefore inherent that businesses know how their customers are feeling about outbound campaign experiences by utilising tools such as sentiment analysis.

Sentiment Analysis tools utilise AI technology to monitor and analyse customer feelings within CX interactions. It works by analysing customers’ speech patterns, words and tone over the phone or their choice of words through text to create an accurate reading of how the customer is feeling about the interaction and why.

Sentiment is a crucial part of outbound campaigns, as trying too hard to sell to a customer or leaving them unsatisfied with your approach will not only lead to failing your outbound goals (e.g. sales or renewals) but will also make them less likely to want to interact or engage with your business going forward.

According to a report by Glance, 78% of customers have backed out of a purchase due to a poor customer experience.

SENTIMENT AND SPEECH ANALYSIS TOOLS

Sentiment and speech analysis provides contact centre teams with valuable real-time insights, giving them the crucial opportunity to change their approach if a customer is flagged as seeming dissatisfied, uninterested or even annoyed by the interaction.

Insights on sentiment are not only useful for real-time engagements but also for refining your outbound CX campaigns going forward.

Reports on sentiment analysis data – from calls and written communication (email, SMS, LiveChat) – can be utilised to see where agents are going wrong in their approach and what type of messaging customers are not responding well to.

These insights can then be used to refine outbound campaigns going forward, as your business will have a better idea of what customers like and dislike when being approached. Having access to this data can help you identify critical issues, boost customer satisfaction and improve outbound campaign performance.

4. NOT EFFECTIVELY UTILISING SOCIAL MEDIA

Outbound campaigns are no longer just limited to traditional communication such as email or phone.

The average consumer spends 2 hours and 24 minutes every day on social media platforms (e.g. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn) making them the ideal platform for your outbound CX campaigns.

Though many businesses focus on outbound pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaigns across search platforms like Google, social media advertising can be a much more effective use of your businesses outbound campaign budget.

UTILISING PAID SOCIAL MEDIA ADS

Not only is the average cost of social media adverts lower than PPC but social platforms also offer a wider range of advert options from images to videos and even immersive experiences.

When paired with personalised ad targeting – only showing ads to users based on their interests and demographics – social media ads can utilise your existing knowledge of your customer base to effectively target their interests and create buy-in from the second they see your ads.

An example of a social media ad on LinkedIn

These ads are not only an effective way to start your customers buying journey but they can easily be integrated into your customer engagement processes to create quick and efficient sales funnels.

Social ads can link customers directly to product pages, sign up forms, callback requests or even direct messages on the same social platform to make the buying journey of your outbound campaign as quickly as possible.

5. INFLEXIBILITY IN OUTBOUND CALLS

With continuous software developments and contact centres becoming more advanced with calling techniques, phone and text scams are unfortunately at an all-time high.

In the first part of 2021 alone, 1 billion nuisance calls were made, and this number is increasing every month by 30%.

As a result of these common scams, many customers are no longer willing to answer a call from an unknown number due to the number of spam calls received daily. With this in mind, your business needs to use the call time they can get with very wisely.

59% of customers believe that companies need to provide cutting-edge digital experiences to keep their business – so cold calling customers and expecting them to hold will most likely lead to them not wanting to engage with your agents or hanging up.

ENABLING CALLBACKS FOR CUSTOMERS

The ability to decrease your average wait time, and offer a callback option will dramatically increase your customer experience rate. More than 50% of callers will abandon a call after 45 seconds if not properly engaged. Call back features software allows customers to request a call back from an agent, keeping their place in the line, or, at a time that is more convenient for them.

According to a survey conducted by Software Advice, 64% of customers prefer a callback option – with this number increasingly rising due to the high call volumes experienced globally. Having a callback option syncs perfectly with an omnichannel customer experience, creating more value, and happy customers.

6. LACK OF INTEGRATION

Many contact centres struggle to implement their strategies in a way that maximises business outcomes. Enabling seamless integration into your campaign is a critical part of achieving success.

Many outbound campaigns lack integrating payment options, where clients can make secure encrypted payments via multiple channels.

INTEGRATING PAYMENTS

One example is using systems like Payment IVR. The clever message routing allows customers to use IVR self-service, a fully automated feature to make their secure payment. Payments can be made 24/7, with no human error. This allows for reduced wait times and real-time reporting. 

For those customers who prefer to do payment with an agent, the agent can simply stay on the line while the customer’s keypad allows them to enter their payment details safely. Offering these various forms of payment for customers that are directly integrated into your CRM system allows for minimal human error and reduced wait times.

Providing support to your customers, 24/7, 365 days a year is vital to staying competitive in today’s market. If consumers don’t receive the answers they are looking for, when they are looking for them, they will go elsewhere. This is one of the main reasons why outbound campaigns fail because there is either no 24/7 availability or an option for LiveChat communication.

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