Taking advantage of Caller ID

[sun818]

Has anyone considered taking the phone numbers customers provide and put in your contacts database? I have a voice modem and software that opens an Microsoft Outlook contact on the screen. This way I know what the phone call is about before the conversation starts. If the customer does not know their sales order number, you might be able to help them.

[Morocco]

So when someone calls you, their contact information appears on the screen

[Essex_boy]

Ive used a system like this before, it flashed up a warning if we thought they might be awkward. Good idea around.

[sun818]

> So when someone calls you, their contact information appears on the screen

Exactly! I use it to track previous conversations with customers as well. I think customers appreciate that you remember their name and what they called previously about.

[Rugles]

That is a great thing. Too bad it would not work for us. Maybe in the future.

[rogerd]

Contact managers and CRM software often offer Caller ID screen pops, too. It's pretty cool - the only snafu is that if you deal with large corporations, they may randomly assign CO lines and use a different number each time they call you. You can log these, though, and eventually should be able to assign them. (If you have multiple contacts at that account, though, you probably won't be able to distinguish them.)

Be careful you don't freak people out by saying, "Hi, Susan, how can we help you today?" when you answer the phone - most find that a bit Big Brotherish and disconcerting. :)

[Easy_Coder]

Talisma's CRM System does these types of screen pops...

[ecommerceprofit]

uline.com does this when you call them on the phone. They must be making a lot of cash - they send me several thick catalogs monthly.

[ngentot]

How about Caller ID with Sound that screams the caller name at you? It's good if you like to fall asleep at work...

[bppilot]

This can actually be done very easily on IP based systems (such as Nortel) or full PBX systems with a SMDR device (~ $200). The SMDR device just plugs into a normal phone jack connected to the system, and then has a serial port which outputs the raw data to a computer system. It captures the raw data stream with information about every single call/line. This data can be manipulated to show on the screen or be ported into your CRM or accounting software to pull up the callers info, etc. We use it to track hold times, phone usage, and notes to the customer's record.

I know that MBNA uses this technology so that when you call them, you don't need to enter your card number, just the last four of your SSN or other piece of information which is quite handy.

The only problem is when you're dealing with high value items or ones with high fraud rates is that Caller ID can be spoofed. This could make you think you're dealing with one person when you're really dealing with a third party.

BPPilot