Call Blasting: Everything you need to know

One of the tedious tasks of every business is to send out the right message to the right audience. The purpose of reaching out may be different, like running discounts, educating on outbreaks, product updates, or whatsoever. You cannot call a hundred people at once and sometimes SMS and emails do get overlooked or marked as spam. This is why call centers needed a way to broadcast information at once. This is where call blasting came in.
Call Blasting was initially introduced to businesses to address the problem of quick, large, and interactive reach. In a quick and bustling environment broadcasting text messages failed to ascertain the set desired result. Also, the additional effort for the customers to take their time out to read blandly set information created more friction. Call blasting soon came out as a preferred solution where the customers could not just listen to but also interact with the provided information if needed.

Content:

Call blasting also known as "Phone Blasting" or "Voice Broadcasting", is a software-enabled solution to provide quick and crisp information to your clients in bulk. Mostly used to inform already existing clientele of newly added services, call blasting can also have the added benefit of sometimes promoting businesses as well. Call blasting is a feature of the telephony dialer which is essential to any business.

Call Blasting is somewhat similar to an audio version of the WhatsApp Messaging Broadcast feature with the added benefit of sending it over a phone call. Messages can be pre-recorded and sent to a large number of customers or employees to notify them of set changes or additional newer benefits. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) can also be integrated into these messages allowing customers to pick or choose between predefined options to provide further customer interaction on a larger scale. Once the message has been recorded, then the system will automatically make calls based on the preset requirements to a set of customers at the same time. The interactions with each customer are then recorded and reports are generated based on the number of customers reached out to, interacted with (if IVR enabled), declined or sent to voice mail. This information serves the further use of targeting the most relevant set of people as potential customers while enabling extremely quick and large reach. Since the call blasting system is almost entirely automated, it serves to save businesses a considerable amount of time and money when compared to the alternative of hiring personnel to perform the same task manually.

1. Cost and Time Efficiency-

Once activated the calls are made instantaneously to multiple customers at the same time providing almost instant results without the need for a large number of personnel.

2. Integrated Statistics-

The biggest need for any good business is to understand its customer base and learn from their interactions. The automated system attuned to data handling caters to this need by providing insights of each interaction with a large number of customers, thereby helping businesses understand what they respond to best and when. In other words, you identify how many people listened to the entire message or cut the call mid-way or didn’t even pick up. There are other ways you can implement to improve your brand credibility.

3. Easy and Convenient Setup-

Most of the system is software with no need for extra maintenance. You just upload the contact list, record the message (voice recorded or done using the text-to-speech feature) and then activate the blast. There are no added steps or need for additional hardware. 

4. Interactive Experience-

Call Blasting makes sure the user has to put in the least amount of work while brands transmit their information to them. Voice recordings add a more personal touch as compared to the generic messaging systems. 

5. Reduced Effort-

Usually, you have to repeat information to customers because they might not receive your notifications on time. Or if you send them SMS or email, they might overlook it. You have to repeatedly notify them to get the desired response. With call blast the calls can be repeated on different days to capture the input from customers 

6. Send Proactive Reminders:

The purpose of call blasting is not just to inform people or send promotional messages. You can curate the experience by sending debt collection reminders, appointment reminders, or hospital report collection reminders. These proactive calling facilities can help your customers feel cared for. They can prepare beforehand for these events without missing out on them. 

7. Informational Reminders: 

Sometimes a business has to inform their customers about different incidents that have been going on. When my internet service provider is having downtime due to maintenance, they broadcast the messages through calls. It prepares me for the downtime and I ensure to wrap my work before it. This kind of convenience seems thoughtful and helps you to trust the brand. You can also educate them on new product lines or any warning needed due to faulty products. The call blasting feature can be useful based on the industry concerned. 

There are some etiquettes to be used in call blasting. While customers love proactive informational calling, they do not prefer in-person calls. Here are some tips to keep your customers happy and engaged:

• Ensure that the message is necessary and not promotional
• Marketing messages should be only for the customers who opted for it.
• Keep the messages short and to the point. 
• Ensure the message is clear to understand and not muffled jargon. 
• Use a Truecaller or similar verified caller ID to increase your call pick-up rate. Otherwise, the calls might get ignored as spam or sales calls.

Brands need to reach out to multiple customers at once for various reasons. Despite the reason, brands need to broadcast at times. Using call blasting is an easy, modern feature. While integrating with IVR is the usual way to capture feedback, we recommend voice bots that can do interaction with the customers during the broadcast calls.