The type of call center software you choose will inevitably affect the quality of customer service you can offer your clients. A call center is one of the main areas where customers will come into contact with your business. That means you want them to have a good experience, free from technical issues or connectivity problems.
Not all call center software options are made equal, so here are five things you should keep in mind before you make your decision. Read on to get the lowdown on the software that can make or break your call center productivity.
What Type of Call Center Do You Run?
There are two main types of call center campaigns: inbound campaigns and outbound campaigns. Inbound ones handle incoming calls from customers. In comparison, outbound campaigns involve call center staff calling out to people.
To suit the needs of different campaigns, there are different types of call center software that suit different situations. You need to know what the main role of your call center is, how many calls will be handled per day, and how many staff will be involved.
Only by answering those questions will you know what to look for in your call center software. It’s also a good idea to chat with department heads and line managers. They can tell you if there is anything missing from your current software that might help your teams do their jobs even better.
What Features Do You Need in Your Call Center Software?
Now that you know what you need from call center software, you will be able to identify some key features to look for. For example, an automatic call distributor (ACD) is vital for inbound call campaigns, helping to distribute calls quickly and efficiently.
If your call center focuses more on outbound campaigns, then a predictive dialer will be more of a priority. This technology helps staff making outbound calls find lines that aren’t busy by calling multiple numbers at once.
Both of these features increase productivity for the respective campaigns. This shows just how important it is to find the best call center software for your call center’s individual needs.
What’s more, you need to keep one eye on the future when it comes to certain call center technology. 56% of call centers are planning to invest in AI for their technology. Make sure that you don’t fall behind when it comes to getting your hands on the latest equipment.
How Much Flexibility Do You Need?
Call centers can be as different from one another as every other kind of business. What one needs might not suit another, so looking for flexibility and adaptability in your call center software is a must.
For example, if you’ve been looking to grow your call center but your current software can’t keep up, you might want to consider cloud based call center software. Cloud-based software backs data up securely to the cloud and rolls out software updates seamlessly. This makes cloud call center software one of the best choices when it comes to flexible scalability.
What’s more, cloud-based customer service software is in the prime position to handle big increases in data. If your call numbers suddenly shoot up, or you want to be prepared for future growth, having online storage in a cloud-based setup gives you full peace of mind.
What Level of Customer Service Do You Want?
Running a call center, you know the importance of delivering good customer service. Not only should you supply it, however, you should also receive it from a good call center software provider.
If you want your staff to have good customer service characteristics in their interactions with your customers, you need the software to be relatively easy to use. If your employees are struggling to work the software, they won’t be able to dedicate their time and energy to helping the customers.
That means you need good customer service from your call center software provider. Any issues in your software need to be dealt with swiftly and professionally, so your staff can get on with the task at hand.
If the call center software seems particularly complicated, it’s a good idea to also ask about the level of onboarding. Integrating a new, complex system is sometimes necessary; if that’s the case, make sure you will get support and training on how to use it to its best advantage.
How Big is Your Budget?
Of course, like so many business decisions, the price will also be a factor when it comes to picking from all the different call center software solutions. When looking at software options at different price points, it’s important to remember that it’s really an investment in your business.
In a survey done by Microsoft, they found that 59% of people around the globe rated customer service as very important when it comes to brand loyalty. We all know that it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than it is to find a new one.
That means it just makes good business sense to invest in keeping your customers happy. Low-quality call center software will inevitably result in poor customer service. No matter how good your employees are, there is only so much they can do if calls drop or the quality is bad.
Paying a little bit more for good-quality software is your investment in retaining your customers. You’ll likely earn the money back by being able to deliver top-quality customer service and retaining customers for the long-term.
Try to find a happy medium between finding a good quality software option and staying within your budget. Remember, if a price seems too good to be true, that means that it probably is.
Ready to Learn More?
Ultimately, the call center software you choose needs to suit your business needs. See if you can try out a free trial of a few weeks or a month before you commit, so you can see whether it really suits your call center needs and your employees.
Keen to learn more tips and tricks about running a successful business? Browse some more articles in our business or finance sections.
