How to Set Up Your First Campaign

How to Set Up Your First Campaign

This guide will walk you through the process of creating and launching your first outbound calling campaign with CloudOut. Follow these steps to get your agents making calls quickly and efficiently.

Step 1: Plan Your Campaign

Before creating your campaign in the system, it's important to define your goals and strategy:

• Define the purpose of your campaign (sales, customer service, surveys, etc.)
• Identify your target audience
• Determine the best time to reach your contacts
• Prepare your call scripts and talking points
• Set measurable goals for the campaign

Step 2: Prepare Your Contact List

Your contact list is the foundation of your campaign. Here's how to prepare it:

1. Format your data: Create a CSV file with the following columns at minimum:
   • First Name
   • Last Name
   • Phone Number (in E.164 format if possible, e.g., +12125551234)
   • Email (optional but recommended)
   • Any additional custom fields relevant to your campaign
2. Clean your data: Remove duplicates, verify phone number formats, and ensure compliance with do-not-call regulations
3. Segment your list: Consider dividing your list into segments for more targeted approaches

Step 3: Create a New Campaign

Now you're ready to create your campaign in CloudOut:

1. Log in to your CloudOut dashboard
2. Navigate to "Campaigns" in the left sidebar
3. Click the "Create New Campaign" button in the top right corner
4. Enter a descriptive name for your campaign
5. Select the campaign type:
   • Predictive Dialer: For high-volume calling with automatic dialing
   • Power Dialer: For more controlled pacing with one-to-one agent-to-call ratio
   • Preview Dialer: For allowing agents to review contact info before dialing
   • Progressive Dialer: For automatic dialing after an agent completes a call
6. Click "Next" to continue

Step 4: Upload Your Contact List

1. On the "Contacts" tab, click "Upload Contact List"
2. Select your CSV file
3. Map the columns in your CSV to the corresponding fields in CloudOut
4. Click "Upload" to import your contacts
5. Review the import summary to ensure all contacts were imported correctly
6. Click "Next" to continue

Step 5: Configure Campaign Settings

1. Schedule: Set the days and hours when the campaign should run
   • Select active days of the week
   • Set start and end times for each day
   • Configure time zone settings
2. Dialing Rules: Configure how calls are placed
   • Set the dialing ratio (for predictive dialer)
   • Configure abandoned call settings
   • Set retry rules for unanswered calls
   • Configure caller ID settings
3. Call Recording: Enable or disable call recording and set retention policies
4. Agent Scripts: Upload or create call scripts for your agents to follow
5. Click "Next" to continue

Step 6: Set Up Dispositions and Outcomes

1. Call Dispositions: Define the possible outcomes of each call
   • Add standard dispositions (Answered, Voicemail, Busy, etc.)
   • Create custom dispositions specific to your campaign
2. Lead Statuses: Configure how leads progress through your sales funnel
3. DNC Management: Set up rules for handling do-not-call requests
4. Click "Next" to continue

Step 7: Assign Agents

1. Select which agents or agent groups should work on this campaign
2. Set agent priority levels if applicable
3. Configure agent-specific settings if needed
4. Click "Next" to continue

Step 8: Review and Launch

1. Review all campaign settings on the summary page
2. Make any necessary adjustments by going back to previous steps
3. Click "Save Campaign" to create the campaign
4. To activate the campaign immediately, toggle the "Active" switch to "On"
5. Click "Finish" to complete the setup

Step 9: Monitor and Optimize

Once your campaign is running, it's important to monitor its performance and make adjustments:

1. Real-time monitoring: Use the dashboard to track active calls, agent status, and queue metrics
2. Performance analysis: Review key metrics like contact rate, conversion rate, and average handle time
3. Quality assurance: Listen to recorded calls to evaluate agent performance
4. Optimization: Adjust campaign settings based on performance data

Tips for Campaign Success

• Start small: Begin with a smaller list to test your settings before scaling up
• Train your agents: Ensure all agents are familiar with the campaign goals and scripts
• Test your caller ID: Verify that your caller ID displays correctly on different devices
• Monitor compliance: Regularly check that your campaign adheres to all relevant regulations
• Gather feedback: Ask agents for input on how to improve the campaign

Common First Campaign Mistakes to Avoid

• Setting the dialing ratio too high, leading to excessive abandoned calls
• Scheduling calls outside of permitted calling hours
• Using poor quality contact data
• Not providing agents with enough information about the campaign
• Failing to test the campaign flow before full launch

Need Additional Help?

If you need assistance setting up your first campaign:

• Watch our Campaign Setup video tutorial
• Contact our support team for personalized guidance
• Schedule a training session with our customer success team