Dialing Modes and IVR Modes

When you configure a campaign, you'll need to choose a dialing mode or IVR mode that best suits your campaign. Your choice will depend on the type of campaign you're running, the number of agents, if any, assigned to the campaign, and compliance regulations. This article describes the available dialing modes and IVR modes.

Dialing Modes

There are two types of dialing modes: automatic and manual.

For automatic dialing modes, a dialer automatically dials phone numbers and then bridges the answered calls to agents. The system refers to an advanced algorithm and pacing calculations to determine such things as the number of calls it should make and the rate at which those calls should be made. Refer to the Pacing and Optimization page for more information about pacing.

In manual dialing, agents dial customers or contacts manually.

The table below provides a summary of each dialing mode and lists the available pacing options and optimization parameters for each. If a field is blank, it means those options do not apply for that dialing mode.

Dialing Mode	Description	Pacing Options	Optimization Parameters
Predictive (Automatic)	The fastest dialing mode. The dialer uses an algorithm to predict agent availability and call results so that it can safely dial multiple phone numbers for each available agent. The constant rate of dialing results in reduced agent idle time. To minimize the risk of call abandonment, use Predictive only in high-volume campaigns with at least 15 agents.	Small Group mode Ignore very long calls Average inbound/outbound call duration Inbound rate calls per hour	Agent Busy Factor Abandoned Call Rate Average Agent Wait Time
Predictive with Seizing (Automatic)	The system reserves agents before making calls. The agents are 'predicted' to be ready to take the call when the call is connected. Use in high-volume campaigns with at least 15 agents in a group.	Small Group mode Ignore very long calls Average inbound/outbound call duration Inbound rate calls per hour	Agent Busy Factor Abandoned Call Rate Average Agent Wait Time
Progressive (Automatic)	The dialer places only one call for every one available agent. This guarantees that there’s an available agent for every contact who answers a call, so there’s no risk of exceeding the abandoned call rate. Use in low-volume, high-value campaigns with fewer than 15 agents in the group.	Lines per agent Reserve agents for inbound calls
Progressive with Seizing (Automatic)	The system reserves agents in advance of making calls. Unlike the Predictive with Seizing dialing mode, which expects agents to be on the line when a call is answered, in Progressive with Seizing, agents are already reserved and waiting to take the call. Use in low-volume, high-value campaigns with fewer than 15 agents in the group.	Lines per agent Reserve agents for inbound calls
Pull Preview (Manual)	An agent requests (pulls) records from the system, previews the record, and then decides whether to dial the call. Use in high-value campaigns, where individual ownership of accounts is the highest priority.
Push Preview (Manual)	The system pushes records to an agent. The agent previews the record and then decided whether to dial the call. Use in high-value campaigns, where individual ownership of accounts is the highest priority.

Enabling Dialing Modes

Any dialing mode can be enabled at the Dialing Profile, Campaign Template, or Campaign Group level:

1. Click the Dialing tab.
2. From the Dialing Mode menu, select the dialing mode you want to enable.
3. If applicable, select the pacing options or optimization parameters that will dictate the pacing for this campaign.
4. If you are using either Predictive with Seizing or Progressive with Seizing, check the Engage agents first option.

IVR Modes

Use an IVR mode when you want to send personalized and/or interactive messages to your contacts.

Use Cases

A retailer wants to solicit feedback from customers via an interactive survey. The customer answers a series of questions via a touchtone keypad (for example, Press 1 for Yes or Press 2 for No). The call ends when the contact completes the survey. A bank sends out a late payment reminder to its customers. Customers can press 0 to speak to make payment arrangements with a customer service representative.

The table below provides a summary of each IVR mode and lists the available pacing options and optimization parameters for each. If a field is blank, it means those options do not apply for that IVR mode. Refer to the Pacing and Optimization page for more information about pacing.

IVR Mode	Description	Pacing Options	Optimization Parameters
Predictive IVR	Calls can be connected to an agent. For example, Press 0 to speak to a customer service representative. The system bases pacing calculations on defined optimization parameters and pacing settings, just as it does when a campaign is running in the Predictive dialing mode.		Agent Busy Factor Abandoned Call Rate Average Agent Wait Time Average Distribution Time
Progressive IVR	Calls can be connected to an agent. For example, Press 0 to speak to a customer service representative. The system bases pacing calculations on the number of allocated IVR ports defined for that campaign group.	IVR ports. See the section on IVR ports below.
Power IVR	Agents are not involved in these campaigns, so contacts are never given the option to speak to one. When the message ends, the call ends.The system based pacing calculations on the defined number of calls per minute value.	Calls per minute

Enabling IVR Modes

You first enable an IVR mode on the Dialing Profile page, as follows:

1. Click the Dialing tab.
2. Set the IVR modes option to On. All three IVR modes will now replace the automatic dialing modes in the Dialing Mode menu.
3. From the Dialing Mode menu, select the IVR mode you want to enable.
4. Select the pacing options or optimization parameters that will dictate the pacing for this campaign.
5. Optional: Specify the number of IVR ports you want to allocate to that campaign group.

You can select a different IVR mode or switch to a manual dialing mode (Push Preview or Pull Preview) on the Campaign Template and Campaign Group page, but you cannot switch to an automatic dialing mode. You must either return to the Dialing Profile page and switch to an automatic dialing mode (set the IVR modes option to Off) or use a different dialing profile for that campaign template.

Using IVR Ports

When you use any IVR mode, you can allocate a set number of ports to the campaign group. This allows you to define the maximum capacity (number of concurrent calls) for that specific dialing event. The distinctions between each IVR mode are as follows:

• Predictive IVR - In Predictive IVR, where pacing is driven by the agent optimization parameter, the number of IVR ports assigned caps the maximum number of concurrent calls. Typically, setting a number of IVR ports for a campaign group allows you to allocate a specific amount of their overall capacity to a particular dialing event.

• Progressive IVR - The allocated number of IVR ports acts as both the maximum capacity and the pacing mode, where the pacing algorithm looks to fully utilize the maximum number of ports (concurrent calls) at all times.

• Power IVR - Pacing is set by the number of calls per minute; however, the calls-per-minute rate is capped by the number of IVR ports assigned.

Related Topics

• Pacing and Optimization
• Create a Dialing Profile
• Create a Campaign Template
• Create a Campaign Group