When your company begins to grow and expand, you need to focus on adjusting your operations to match the shifting demands. One major area to target during this period includes your current communications strategy. For example, having a team of a few people who answer the phone and respond to emails may need to be scrapped for a modern call center that allows you to streamline both your outgoing and incoming conversations. However, those who are new to the concept of setting up a call center may not know what they need to do to ensure success or what types of products they will need to purchase along the way. Are you looking to build a call center for your business? Here are a few things to make the process of acquiring call center software a little less confusing.
Types and features of modern call center software
Running an efficient call center means using the software that works best for you. To simplify things, there are generally two types of call center software options: on-site and cloud-based. If your company has an on-site IT team that handles all of your technical needs, you may be able to choose an on-site setup in which you are provided with the hardware and the software and run the system in-house. If you do not have these types of resources and are looking for a cost-effective, easy-to-use option, cloud-based software is handled by the provider so that you don’t have to worry about dealing with any issues that may arise.
In addition to the two types of software you could purchase, you should also think about the product features that you need in your system. For example, many products have features such as:
- Predictive dialing to conduct cold calls
- Analytics to learn more about productivity and engagement
- Interactive voice response systems to direct customers to the correct department
These are only a few examples of popular features, but they give you more insight into how effective and flexible your call software can be. Keep these factors in mind when you’re shopping around for the best product for you.
The process: How call center software works
Call center software is designed to improve communication by making it easier to communicate with your customers. Here is what a typical scenario would look like between an agent and a customer in your call center:
- The call is made by the customer and recognized or recorded by your software.
- Your software will pull up information about the client on the other end of the line if they have engaged with your business in the past.
- If the reason for calling requires a conversation with a live person, the customer is placed into a queue. If not, an automated voice system will handle the issue.
- An agent picks up the call and tries to handle the situation, recording everything that’s happening to maintain records.
- If the situation is fixed, the software may allow you to follow up with that customer through another online medium. If the problem isn’t fixed, this can be recorded in the call center software so that follow-up calls can be made.
By maintaining a database of customer information, cutting down on unnecessary in-person interactions, and tracking all call data, you can run an efficient, friendly, affordable call center just by using the right software. If better outbound marketing is your goal, many call center software products offer features for this as well. In any business that anticipates massive growth, an enterprise call center should always be in the plan. Learn more about what your call center will need and what you should expect from a software provider with the guide above.
