Configuring outbound progressive dialers for Zoom Contact Center

Zoom Contact Center admins can create outbound call lists, set up the system to automatically initiate calls to customers listed, and direct these calls to available agents designated to assist the customers on the list. Alternatively, the system can be configured to leave a predefined voicemail message if a voicemail system is detected. The progressive dialer enhances agent efficiency by eliminating downtime between calls, making it well-suited for outbound call scenarios with minimal research required between each call.

Dialers can be used for sales, telemarketing, surveys, customer service, lead generation, appointment reminders, collection, and other use cases that require high volumes of outbound calling.

This article covers:

• How to create a contact list
  • Manually add a contact
  • Import contacts from address books
  • Important contact from a CSV file
• How to create a do not contact list
  • Manually add a phone number
  • Import contact from a CSV file
• How to configure and run an outbound dialer campaign
• Outbound campaign settings
  • Settings section
  • Contacts sections
  • Connection Settings section
  • Hours section
• Agent and consumer experience

Prerequisites for configuring outbound voice progressive dialer

• Account owner or admin privileges; or relevant role/privilege
• Zoom Contact Center license with Premium or Elite package
• Voice queue created with outbound calling enabled

How to create a contact list

Before configuring an outbound campaign, you need to create a list of known or cold contacts for outbound dialer campaigns. These contacts may come from address book (known customers), cold contacts (from a third party), or other sources.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Campaign Management.
3. In the Contacts tab, click Create List.
4. Enter an internal Name and Description for the contacts list, then click Add.
5. Follow one of the below sections to import a CSV or manually add a contact.

Manually add a contact

Note: The contact will only belong to the campaign contact list, and will not be added to an address book.

1. Click Add Contact,
2. Fill in the fields, then click Save to manually add the contact.

Import contacts from address books

Note: This method will import all contacts in the selected address books. You can remove contacts from the contact list later on.

1. Click Import.
2. Select Import from Address Books.
3. Select the address books to import to the contact list.
4. Click Add.

Important contact from a CSV file

1. Click Import.
2. Select Upload CSV file.
3. Click Download CSV Sample in the web portal to download a sample CSV file and view the fields.
4. Fill out the CSV sample using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel.
5. Click Upload CSV and select your completed CSV file to start the bulk import process.
   Note: If there's an error in one or more fields, the process will not complete. You will receive an error message explaining why the import failed.
6. Click Close if the batch process is successful.

How to create a do not contact list

As an optional step, you can exclude certain contacts from dialer campaigns. This may be to meet local and federal regulations or to prevent from contacting consumers who have requested not to be contacted. Do not call (DNC) lists may come from the national do not call register, state lists, or internally managed customer lists.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Campaign Management.
3. In the Contacts tab, click the Do Not Contact Lists sub-tab.
4. Click Create List.
5. Enter an internal Name and Description for the contacts list, then click Add.
6. Follow one of the below sections to import a CSV or manually add a phone number.

Manually add a phone number

1. Click Add Phone Number,
2. Fill in the phone number, then click Add to manually add the phone number.

Import contact from a CSV file

1. Click Import.
2. Click Download CSV Sample in the web portal to download a sample CSV file and view the fields.
3. Fill out the CSV sample using spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel.
4. In the Zoom web portal, select one of these options:
   • Add new numbers only: Only import phone numbers in the CSV file that do not already exist in the current do not call list.
   • Replace all phone numbers in the list: Replace all numbers in the current do not call list with the phone numbers in the CSV file.
     Important: All existing numbers in do not call list will be deleted
5. Click Choose and select your completed CSV file to start the bulk import process.
   Note: If there's an error in one or more fields, the process will not complete. You will receive an error message explaining why the import failed.
6. Click Close if the batch process is successful.

How to configure and run an outbound dialer campaign

After you have a contact list, you can configure and run an outbound campaign to efficiently dial contact lists assigned to the campaign. The progressive dialer dials each contact on a list and assigns the call to an available agent once the call is connected to the consumer.

1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
2. In the navigation menu, click Contact Center Management then Campaign Management.
3. In the Outbound tab, click Add Campaign.
4. Configure the campaign settings as needed.
5. Save or publish the outbound campaign.
   • Click Save to save the outbound campaign but keep it in a draft state.
   • Click Publish to make the campaign ready to run.
6. Click Run when the campaign is configured and ready to run.

Outbound campaign settings

Settings section

• Name: Enter an internal display name for the campaign.
• Description (Optional): Enter an internal description for the campaign.
• Dialer Method: Defaults to Progressive, as it’s the only dialer method currently supported.
• Queue: Select a voice queue to use for the outbound dialer.
  Note: The queue must have outbound calling enabled.
• Caller ID Number: Select one of the queue’s outbound caller ID numbers to use for outbound dialing. Alternatively, you can click Select another caller ID number to use a custom caller ID number not assigned to the selected queue.
• Campaign Priority: In the case when multiple campaigns share a single queue, this indicates the priority level indicating the importance of this campaign relative to any others. Contacts in the campaign with the lowest priority will be dialed when there are no more records to be dialed in the higher priority campaign. 1 is the lowest, 5 is the highest.

Contacts sections

• Contact Lists: Click Select Contact Lists, select the contact lists to add to the outbound campaign, then click Add.
• Do Not Contact Lists: Click Select Do Not Contact Lists, select the do not contact (DNC) lists to add to the outbound campaign, then click Add.
• Exclusion Logic: Specify how contacts matching the selected DNC list will be excluded from the campaign.
  • Exclude matching phone numbers only: Contacts with additional phone numbers will still be included in the campaign. In other words, the following rules apply:
    • If an associated DNC list contains a contact’s main phone number, and the consumer doesn’t have additional phone numbers, the campaign will not call this contact.
    • If an associated DNC list contains a contact’s main phone number, and the consumer has additional phone numbers that are not in the DNC list, then the campaign will dial this contact on the additional phone numbers that are not in the DNC list. Only the matching phone number will be excluded for this campaign.
  • Exclude all contacts with a matching phone number: Contacts will be excluded from the campaign if one or more phone numbers matches the DNC list. For example, if an associated DNC list contains a contact’s additional phone number, the campaign will not call this contact.
• Max Attempts per Contact: Select how total number of times the campaign should attempt to call each contact. When a call attempt goes unanswered, the campaign will re-dial the contact after all other contacts on the list have been dialed, and the retry period has elapsed. The retry period must be between 60 seconds and 7 days.
• Contact Number Dial Order: Specify the order in which phone number types will be dialed if contacts have more than one phone number. If phone numbers have duplicate labels, they will be dialed in the order listed in the contact. To change the order, click the up and down arrow, or click the six dots icon  then click and drag the number type.
• Always running: Enable to keep the campaign running after contacts are depleted. The campaign will dial new contacts added to the associated contact lists. The campaign only stops when paused by an Admin, otherwise the campaign remains active, even when 0 available contacts. New contacts will be dialed as they are added to the contact list.
• Contact List Order: If Always running is enabled, select the order that contacts are dialed
  • Ascending (First in, first out): Contacts will be dialed in the order they were added or received, with the oldest or earliest entered contacts being dialed first. This method ensures that the contacts are processed based on the time they were added to the list, allowing for a systematic approach where older entries receive calls before newer ones.
  • Descending (Last in, first out): Contacts at the bottom or the end of the list (those added most recently or received last) will be dialed first. It operates on a last-come, first-served basis, where the most recently added contacts take priority. This method ensures that the contacts added most recently receive calls before the older ones, potentially prioritizing newer leads or contacts that have just been added to the list.

Connection Settings section

• Max Ring Time: Enable to disconnect unanswered calls after the specified period of time has elapsed. If enabled, the max ring time must be between 5 (default) and 120 seconds.
• Answering Machine Detection: Enable to detect when calls are forwarded to an answering machine, then disconnect the call or leave an automated voice message.
  • If a person is detected: Specify what to do if a person is detected.
    • Route the call to agent: Route the call to an agent using the associated queue.
    • Play an automated voice message to the consumer before connecting to an agent: Zoom Contact Center will play an automated message for the consumer before connecting to an agent. Click Add greeting and select one of these options.
      • Add Audio: Select, record, or upload custom audio.
      • Choose from Assets Library: Select audio from the asset library.
  • If an answering machine is detected:
    • Disconnect the call
    • Play an automated voice message to the consumer before connecting to an agent: Zoom Contact Center will leave an automated message to the answering machine. Click Add greeting and select one of these options.
      • Add Audio: Select, record, or upload custom audio.
      • Choose from Assets Library: Select audio from the asset library.
• Abandonment Timeout: Enable to abandon unanswered calls if an agent is not connected within the specified period of time. If enabled, the abandonment timeout must be between 5 (default) to 30 seconds.

Hours section

• Contactable Hours: Specify the hours that the campaign will dial contact when the campaign is in the Running status.
  • Use Queue Operating Hours: Use the operating hours set in the associated queue.
  • Custom Hours: Use operating hours set at the account level.
• Closures: Select the check box to exclude closure hours from the campaign operating hours.

Agent and consumer experience

This section provides a summary of how progressive dialer works from the perspective of the agent and consumer.

1. Zoom Contact Center checks agent availability.
2. Outbound dialer calls each consumer in the associated contact lists.
3. If a call fails due to factors like an invalid number or the call is declined, the engagement ends. The system disposition is used for the closed engagement.
4. If the consumer answers, Zoom Contact Center attempts to connect to an agent.
5. If an agent answers the incoming call notification, the consumer and agent are connected.
6. If the agent declines or timeout occurs, the engagement ends and is considered an abandoned call. The system disposition used for the closed engagement.
   Note: You can change timeout and auto-accept settings at the queue level.