Data Import

In this section we’ll see how to import and manage data that is used by the DialedIn CCaaS solution. That includes Contact information, Do-Not-Call (DNC) information, call records, and recordings.

Some of this information, like Contacts, is fed into the system, which then may process it and aggregate it during the course of call center activities. Other information, like call records, is generated by the system based on actions and activity.

Contacts Import

Contact information is always imported into the system. For Outbound Call Management its’ usually referred to as Leads, and the Leads source could be an internal organization or an external vendor. What it’s important is that the information is properly formatted in a comma-delimited file (of type CSV).

The rules are simple:

Use a simple table of records, one row per record.
It’s highly recommended that the first row be a label row, with each label, hence the column, representing a field of the record.
Each label must correspond exactly, character by character, including blank spaces, and case-sensitive, to a field name defined for the Campaign for which the records will be loaded; that includes default fields and custom fields.
Fields, hence, columns and labels, can be included for any system-default field and custom field defined (for the Campaign); refer to Custom Data for details on custom fields
Each row after the first one must contain values that correspond to its column label (and corresponding Contact field)
Each value must be able to be interpreted in the format of the corresponding field defined in the system, whether it’s a default field or a custom field.

Important guidelines to consider:

Avoid creating and using fields for which default fields already exist, as this may create erratic behavior; refer to System-Provided Contact Fields under Custom Data for the list and description of these fields.
It is good practice to include a column (and label) for each default and custom field in the corresponding Campaign, and in the order which they’re presented in the system or custom table, with default fields first, whether corresponding data is available or not (blank value); do note that it is not required to have all fields.
The system, during the import activity, will try to match a column label to a field name, therefore non-exact matches and inconsistencies could result in issues with the import activity or the imported data itself.

Refer to the following picture for an example.

Now, let’s go through the steps to import a set of Contact records. Go to the main menu area on the left and click on Data Import. On the right, click View in the selection box for Import Leads/Contacts. Refer to the following picture.

Then click and select the File Upload tab, in order to display the CSV File Options panel, which is the first step of the process to import Contact information from a CSV file. As a matter of fact, the system will guide you to the next tabs as parameters are entered and Next is clicked. Refer to the following picture.

The most important option to consider in this part is the checkbox for First Row Contains The Column Info because it tells the system how to interpret the first row; if selected, it will use that row to determine what Field, whether Default or Custom, the column corresponds to, trying to find the most relevant match. Ideally and highly recommended, the Column Info will be an identical match to one of the Field labels; if not, will make a best effort to find a corresponding match.

Do note that, although a CSV file is usually opened with MS Excel, it actually is a text file of records (rows) containing comma-delimited fields. If a character within a field in a row could create confusion (e.g. a comma), a Text Qualifier can be used (e.g. double-quotes).

When ready, click on Select File and proceed to select your file; when done, the system will analyze and interpret its contents, and display the results. Refer to the following picture.

After you review the results, you may click on Next to move to the Field Mapping tab; there, you’ll have the opportunity to make some adjustments after you select the Campaign, and optionally a Sub-campaign (note that here you can select an existing Sub-campaign or create a new one) so the system can now try to map the data from the file to the fields defined for your campaign (Default or Custom Fields). Refer to the following picture.

Note a few things. First, it will show all Campaign Fields, and next to them the Data Column from the import file that the system has matched to each field. If it could not determine a Data Column for a particular Campaign Field, it allows you to manually ‘select’ one via a pull-down menu (menu shows up when clicking on ‘select’). If the system has not found a field match for a Data Column in the file, it will not include it (unless you manually assign it to a non-matched Campaign Field).

There are a few other options available in the Field Mapping tab, as follows.

Make Campaign Active In All Skills	Checkbox to activate the associated Campaign for all Skills once the import operation is completed.
Make This Subcampaign Active For Dialing	Checkbox to activate the associated Campaign for all Skills once the import operation is completed.
Use Advanced Table	Checkbox to include Custom Fields in the analysis and corresponding import operation; this is highly recommended, although there may be some very special circumstances where those custom fields are never intended to be imported (all-or-nothing).
Check Against DNC List	Checkbox to indicate that records to be imported be checked against the internal DNC lists; if a DNC list has not been generated, the system attempts to check against existing Contacts that have been dispositioned as “Do Not Call”.
Check Against No Call States	Checkbox to prevent including records that correspond to US states that have been included in the No-Call States list, if any, and the list applies to the Campaign to which the imported record is to be associated; if this option is not selected, the record is imported, but the No-Call rules still apply.
Check Against Duplicates	Checkbox to check if a record represents a Contact that already exists, and disallow the import operation in that case; if not Campaign is selected (through corresponding pull-down menu), the check is performed system-wide, otherwise just against the selected Campaigns; it is highly recommended to avoid duplicate records.
Allow Updates	Checkbox to indicate that the import operation is actually an update operation, expecting records in the file to correspond to existing Contacts in the system; although records that represent non-existing (new) Contacts are allowed, it is recommended to separate the activities of importing new Contacts from the activities of updating Contacts.

Click on Next when ready; before the actual import operation is performed, the system presents its findings and offers to execute the operation. Refer to the following picture.

You may select to import, or not, records that have been flagged. This is done through the following checkboxes: Bad Rows in File, Duplicates in File, Duplicates in DB, No-Call States Rows in File, and DNC Rows in File; you may click on Download Selected Results to save these records into a file.

Next, either click on Back to adjust settings, or click on Import to proceed with the record import operation; the system then presents a message indicating the completion of the operation. Refer to the following picture.

If instead an update operation was performed, the system will show the number of records to be updated. Refer to the following picture.

Either click on Back to adjust settings or click on Update to proceed with the record update operation; the system then presents a message indicating the completion of the operation. Refer to the following picture.

DNC Import

The DialedIn CCaaS system can be used to keep an internal list of Do-Not-Call (DNC) telephone numbers, and this list can be populated via an import operation.

The information can be imported from a simple, but properly formatted, comma-delimited file (of type CSV). The rules are simple:

Use a simple table of records, one row per record.
It’s highly recommended that the first row be a label row, with each label, hence the column, representing a field of the record.

The steps to import a set of DNC records is as follows. Go to the main menu area on the left and click on Data Import. On the right, click View in the selection box for DNC Import. Refer to the following picture.

Then click and select the File Upload tab, in order to display the CSV File Options panel, which is the first step of the process to import DNC numbers from a CSV file. The system will then guide you to the next tabs as parameters are entered and Next is clicked. Refer to the following picture.

Once again, the most important option to consider in this part is the checkbox for First Row Contains The Column Info because it tells the system how to interpret the first row. Do note that, although a CSV file is usually opened with MS Excel, it actually is a text file of records (rows) containing comma-delimited fields. If a character within a field in a row could create confusion (e.g. a comma), a Text Qualifier can be used (e.g. double-quotes).

When ready, click on Select File and proceed to select your file; when done, the system will analyze and interpret its contents, and display the results. Refer to the following picture.

After you review the results, you may click on Next to move to the List Type tab, where the Campaigns associate with the internal DNC list are selected. Specify, as well, whether the data in the file follows the Federal (USA) format or a Custom format. The Federal format consists of two fields, which are the Area Code and the Telephone Number; the Custom format includes a single column, which is the Telephone Number. Refer to the following picture.

Click on Next when ready; the system indicates the success status of the import operation. Refer to the following picture.

Lead and Call Records (Views)

As we have discussed, the DialedIn CCaaS system revolves around Contact information, which is stored as Contact records in the database. We first import this information through a comma-delimited (CSV) file, often as leads, and then the system appropriately updates each record every time there’s a corresponding activity (e.g. a call).

In order to access this information, DialedIn CCaaS provides a search tool named Views, which we discuss here.

To access it, go to the main menu area on the left and click on Views; you will be presented with the standard search panel and options. You can either perform a standard Search or proceed to an Advanced Search. Refer to the following picture.

Standard Search

A standard search is a quick way to search Contact records based on common filters; certainly, you could not include any filters and get back the whole database, but that’s not recommended for obvious reasons. Refer to the following picture.

The following filter options are presented when you first access the Views panel, allowing you to select one or more as described in the following table.

Campaigns	Pull-down menu to select one or more Campaigns so only Contact records from those campaigns are searched; by default, *All Campaigns* is selected.
Agents	Pull-down menu to select one or more Agents so only Contact records that have last been dispositioned by those agents are searched; by default, *All Agents* is selected.
Results	Pull-down menu to select one or more System Dispositions or Wrap-up Codes so only Contact records that were dispositioned with them are searched; by default, *All Results* is selected.
Additional Search	Pull-down menu to use additional criteria for Contact record search filtering; by default, it is set to *None; a selection brings up additional elements to define corresponding search values; most of these Additional Search* options are types of date ranges, but not all; they are: *Create Date, Last Activity, Primary Phone, Smart Search, Last Call Date, and Call Date*.

If the Additional Search option selected is a date range (Create Date, Last Activity, Last Call Date, and Call Date), two new pull-down menus are presented in order to select the start-date and end-date (i.e. date range) to satisfy the search criteria.

If the Additional Search option selected is Primary Phone, a new input field is presented in order to specify a telephone number; the search will look into the system-provided PrimaryPhone field for any record that matches the value provided.

If the Additional Search option selected is Smart Search, a new input field is presented in order to enter a value that will be used as ‘keyword’; any indexable/searchable field will be looked upon for a match.

Refer to the following picture.

In any case, after specifying the search parameters and clicking on Search, the search results are presented. Refer to the following picture.

Advanced Search

If instead we click on Advanced Search, a new search window pops out presenting a more complex set of search options. Refer to the following picture.

The Advanced Search window allows using the same search parameters as in the Standard Search, and a few more, but also all together in a single window making it easier to visualize the options together.

On the top are we can see the date-range options; start by expanding the pull-down menu to select the type of dates to search for, and then proceed to select the corresponding start-date and end-date. Refer to the following picture.

Instead of using a specific date range (Fixed Dates), you could use the shortcuts in the right-top pull-down menu to just indicate to search (for the date-type) Contact records that correspond to Today, Yesterday, the last Week, or the last Month; the date fields are disabled when selecting one of these shortcuts. Refer to the following picture.

As previously mentioned, the Advanced Search window also includes the search options used by Standard Search. Instead of offering a pull-down menu, it presents a scrollable list-box to make the selections for Campaign, Rep (Agent), and Call Status (Result); it also adds Sub-Campaign as an additional filter option.

Just like with dates, it also provides shortcuts via select-buttons to only show Call Status of types other than Any Result: Callable and Non-Callable.

The Advanced Search window can also be used to search specific Contacts by specifying one or more of First name, Last name, Phone, City, State, Zip Code, or Client Id, which correspond to the FirstName, LastName, Phone, City, State, ZipCode, or ClientId system-provided fields.

It’s also possible to filter the search based on the number of Call attempts; select a logical comparison option from the pull-down menu (default is Not Selected), and then enter a value in the box that appears next to it after selecting a comparison option. The logical comparison options are MoreOrEqual, LessOrEqual, and Between (non-inclusive).

Refer to the following picture.

Finally, the Advanced Search window allows to filter search results by one or more call types using the Select Call Type(s) pull-down menu; the options are None, Outbound, Inbound, Manual, Transferred, Conference, Progressive, and TextMessage, and they refer to the last call type for the corresponding Contact.

Audio Recordings

Being voice calls a key aspect of the DialedIn CCaaS solution, it is important to a access audio recordings; this is facilitated by the Audio Recordings module.

The Audio Recordings module allows you to play back recordings, save recordings, rate recordings (5-star rating system), and add notes to a recording (for agents to view).

To access it, go to the main menu area on the left and click on Recordings. The recordings panel will be displayed, with multiple options for filtering and for directing a search, which is highly recommended due to the potential large number of recordings available.

The top row provides context filters for Campaigns, Agents (Reps), and Call Status (disposition / wrap-up code). Refer to the following picture.

By default, the context filters are set to search everything (All Campaigns, All Reps, All Statuses); pull-down a corresponding menu to instead limit the search to a specific campaign and/or a specific agent, and/or a specific disposition.

On top of filtering a search, we can search for specific recordings based on a telephone number (PrimaryPhone field) or last call date (CallDate field). This is done through a pull-down menu, which allows you to select Primary Phone or Last Call Date; if you select Primary Phone, the field to the right allows you to enter a telephone number; if you select Last Call Date, two fields to the right are presented to select a date range. Refer to the following pictures.

After selecting filter and search options, click on Search; on the right side, a Record count will display the number of recordings satisfying the filter and search parameters; below, a list of all those recordings is presented.

By selecting a row (recording), and right-clicking over it, a context menu is presented that allows you to Play or Save (externally) the recording.

Refer to the following picture.

Selecting to Play the message will start an audio player and show corresponding controls, while selecting Save will open a dialog box to save the file externally. Refer to the following picture.

The Audio Recordings module also allows you to rate recordings using a 5-star system; this could be useful to let agents know of good, or not so good, call handling. Refer to the following picture.

Hand in hand with rating a recording goes adding notes to it, which the ChaseData CCaaS solution allows you to do by clicking on the Note icon, which will pop up a window to enter your notes (Manager Notes); notice that Agent Notes are also shown, which could have been added by the Agent through the Agent Client app. Refer to the following picture.

Agent Voicemail Transcriptions

In addition, the DialedIn CCaaS system includes the ability to enable, generate, and make available Transcriptions of Agents' Voicemail for Missed Inbound Calls. When enabled, corresponding voice messages are transcribed from voice to text for easy access and review.

You can also configure the DialedIn CCaaS system to send those VM Transcriptions to the corresponding Agents via SMS, which is enabled at the Skill level; refer to Agent Skills under Accounts. And the Agent must have a valid telephone number configured for SMS Notifications; refer to Agent Accounts.

Note that access to VM Transcriptions must be enabled by DialedIn (Group Settings).

When enabled, VM Transcriptions are available with Voice Recordings for Inbound Voicemail records. Refer to the following picture.

Clicking on the Transcription icon for an applicable Voice Recording pops up the Recording Transcription window with the text of the transcribed voice message.

DNC Records

The DialedIn CCaaS solution allows maintaining an internal DNC (Do-Not-Call) database, and a tool to search telephone numbers in that database. To access the setup area, click on the wheel icon on the right side of the top area of the GUI (a.k.a. the Setup menu), above the Quick Search field, which will disply the Setup menu. Now, click on Tools, then on DNC (Do Not Call). Refer to the following picture.

You can either search the entire internal DNC database, or just search for a particular telephone number; to do so, select Primary Phone from the pull-down menu, and enter the number in the input field next to it. Refer to the following picture.

You could also search for telephone numbers inserted in a specific date range; to do so, select Imported Date from the pull-down menu, and enter the dates that define the range in the fields next to it. Refer to the following picture.

Several actions can be performed by right-clicking anywhere in the DNC window’s white space, which will generate a drop-down menu with options for:

Adding a new number to the DNC list — just enter a valid number when prompted.
Removing one or more numbers from the DNC list — must first select the numbers to be removed and then confirm when prompted.
Export numbers from the DNC list — must first select the numbers to be exported and then follow the file dialog to export the numbers to CSV (comma-separated-values) file.
Export all numbers from the DNC list — all numbers in the DNC list will be considered, then follow the file dialog to export the numbers to CSV (comma-separated-values) file.

Refer to the following pictures.

Check Duplicates

Under certain circumstances, the system allows for creating duplicate records of telephone numbers (Contacts); for example, when duplicates are allowed with import operations, or when a Contact may be handled by multiple Campaigns.

A tool is therefore provided to search and review duplicate Contact records. To access the setup area, click on the wheel icon on the right side of the top area of the GUI (a.k.a. the Setup menu), above the Quick Search field, which will disply the Setup menu. Now, click on Tools, then on Check Duplicates. This will display the basic search filter options, which includes Campaign, Agent, Result (disposition / wrap-up code). Refer to the following picture.

You could also add an additional search filter by expanding the Additional Search pull-down menu and select one of the following criteria: Create Date, Last Activity, Primary Phone, Smart Search, Last Call Date, Call Date. Additional selection fields are displayed to specify the corresponding filter values. Refer to the following picture.

Or, you could click on Advanced Search to specify a number of filter and search criteria. Refer to the following pictures.

After you entered all the search and filter parameters, click on Search and the results will display all corresponding Contact phone numbers that have a duplicate record. The record count will indicate how many total Contact records have been identified to be a duplicate or have a duplicate, out of the total Contact records that satisfy the filter and search parameters; below that, how many Contact records are unique (i.e. if we don’t count the duplicates). Refer to the following picture.

You can expand Contact records that have one or more call Attempts on them, which will show the call history (i.e. call attempts), from latest to earliest.

To delete a duplicate, right-click on a record and select Delete. Refer to the following picture.

Recycle

The DialedIn CCaaS solution includes a tool to help recycle Contact records (leads) so they can be reused; it resets the call status (disposition / wrap-up code) to blank (no status) and the number of call attempts to zero (0), which effectively makes the record fresh and callable (it does not change the original import date).

To access the search and recycle tool, click on the wheel icon on the right side of the top area of the GUI (a.k.a. the Setup menu), above the Quick Search field, which will disply the Setup menu. Now, click on Tools, then on Recycle. This will display a number of filter and search criteria, which includes Campaign, Sub-Campaign, Rep (Agent), Result Type (callable/non-callable dispositions), specific Call Status (disposition / wrap-up code), Call attempts, and other more specific search parameters. Refer to the following pictures.

After you entered all the search and filter parameters, click on Search and the results will display all corresponding Contact records. The information will include a record count and provide options to Recycle All found Contact records, or just Recycle Selected found Contact records (click / Ctrl-click). Refer to the following picture.

There’s also a context-menu with similar options, which is presented by right-clicking in the result area. Refer to the following picture.

If you select an action to recycle leads (Contact records), you will be presented with a dialog box to confirm. Refer to the following picture.

After requesting to recycle leads (Contact records), click on Search again to see the updates on the records.

Quick Search

The DialedIn CCaaS Management Console provides a Quick Search tool in the main screen area, top-right, to quickly search for Contact records in all Campaigns. Refer to the following picture.

The Quick Search tool is not intended to replace the other more specific and elaborate search tools in the system, but rather to look for a keyword in the demographics (e.g. FirstName, LastName, address fields, notes, etc.) and call history fields of Contact records. It will only search default (built-in) demographics and call history fields; it will not search every field. And it will only present the first 10 matches for the search. The results are shown in a Smart Search window that opens up after search is started. You can double-click on a search result to expand the record information on the right panel. Refer to the following picture.