Unscripted: SoundBite Talks Communication Strategies

On the heels of its summer predictive dialer feature roll out, AR.net sat down with proactive communication provider SoundBite Communications Inc.  to find out about this technology launch's goal as well as discuss broad communication technology trends. Below is an excerpt from a recent conversation with Matt Edmunds, SoundBite’s General Manager for Collections:

AccountsRecovery.net: Tell me more about the predictive dialer SoundBite debuted this summer.
Matt Edmunds: We consider predictive as another [collection] channel. …We’re seeing in the marketplace a greater push toward hosted solutions and how to get more out of hosted [solutions].
Not every customer responds to one specific channel. …[Customers are trying to answer] 'What’s the right channel to use for the right person and spend the least amount of money to do it?' It’s another arrow in the quiver.

AR.net: In terms of its capabilities, what stands out to you?
ME: People are trying to automate communication more. They use automated voice messaging first. … [Maybe a person] picks up the phone, hears [the message] and hangs up. Our technology knows a live person picked up the phone and can call with a predictive dialer, perhaps with a different caller ID that immediately connects to an agent. …This should significantly increase conversations.

AR.net: Has SoundBite rolled out any other communication capabilities lately?
ME: Now, instead of using text-to-speech for Matt Edmunds's name, we can use a real human voice that makes [the communication] more seamless. … This feature doesn’t play too much in the agency space. …It just hasn’t been marketed there.

AR.net: What’s the best voice to use for collection purposes?
ME: It’s not whether it’s a male or female or British, it’s about rotating multiple voices. Do you have three or more that you constantly rotate around? A random rotation of voices provides more lift, that the British female is the best, etc., is true in pockets.

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