How Call Center Software is Revolutionizing the Customer Experience

 

Call center software, also known as call center Customer Relationship Management (CRM), is increasingly making the lives of call center agents easier. In turn, effective management of customer queries translates into a more seamless operation and ultimately greater customer satisfaction.

So you might be wondering: what exactly does call center software entail? Simply put, it’s a communication management system built to help you efficiently manage inbound and outbound communications from a variety of contact channels.

A business’ phone, voicemail, email, live chat, instant messaging and texts all require regular customer support. Call center software works to tie it all together and reduce the strain on your customer support team. Streamlining of processes is the name of the game.

Plus in this day and age when the customer is always right and time is of the essence, your business environment stands to gain so much from a call center software investment. The ability to more easily monitor, record, track, manage and route client requests is made possible and thanks to remote location support, access to user data from anywhere, agents can carry out their respective tasks from anywhere.. at any time.

 

To truly start to grasp the value of call center software you just have to look at some of the common features and functions:

 

Controlled Telephony:

Call center software is re-engineered to provide agents with the ability to hold, transfer and mute callers with one simple click of the mouse.

Automatic Call Distributors:

This tool uses a rule-based routing strategy that enables the automatic disbursement of calls to the most appropriate agent.

Interactive Voice Responses:

This technology functions via touch tones and also now includes voice recognition and artificial intelligence capable of responding to and route callers.

Real-Time and Historical Reporting:

This reporting feature analyzes metrics like a number of calls per day/ agent, average duration, average abandonment rate, waiting time, service level, etc. It’s very handy for informing management decisions.

Call Barging:

This gives new agents the option of receiving guidance on challenging calls through the use of a feature called whisper coaching. Callers are none the wiser while this is going on.

Integration:

This feature allows call center software to work with third-party apps to secure more caller information, process and analyze customer data, build up customer relations and perform other tasks within a single platform interface.

Voicemail and Notifications:

This feature allows customers to leave messages for agents when they’re unavailable. Some advanced systems are even able to transcribe and email messages to the agent.

Coding/ Tagging:

This feature tags the outcome of every call, e.g. ‘Not interested’, ‘Transferred to IT support’ and ‘Refunded’. Agents can easily select the code and attach it to the caller’s profile so it’s remembered in the future.

Now that you’ve had a taste of the features, here are some of the ways that they translate into awesome customer benefits:

Convenient multi-channel support

Call center software, with its stellar integration abilities, allows your business to offer enhanced customer service across multiple channels. Clients have a wide array of options for making contact. We’re talking: text, email, chat, voice calls, video, messaging apps, social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, you name it.

Reduced waits

Thanks to revolutionary features like voicemail and call routing, customers no longer have to sit around listening to elevator music while on hold. Call routing ensures that callers are automatically forwarded to the most appropriate agent. And call queues are growing shorter and shorter since call center software allows for redirecting calls and requesting callbacks in the event an agent is engaged or unavailable.

24/7 Continuous support

Call center software sometimes allows customers to benefit from 24/7 availability support regardless of their locations. When clients are able to contact agents at any time and receive prompt responses, they’re much more likely to keep coming back. There’s no denying that continuous availability and constant support adds to business productivity.

Secured and backed up data

Ensuring client information is kept safe and secure is a paramount concern for every business. Because call center software grants access to a database with customer account information and historical transactions, it has had to evolve to offer things like data encryption, cloud storage password policies and in some cases restricting access to user data. Thanks to increasing phone system security and reliability measures, customers no longer have to worry about their information falling into the wrong hands.

Prioritized service

If you’re inundated with call traffic, call center software prioritizing features allow you to predetermine rules that help to identify calls requiring more immediate attention. The ability to place clients in sequential order based on the importance of their queries or requirements is a godsend.

Also by identifying and responding to calls based on the level of urgency, the process of deciding who to answer when simultaneous calls come in is reduced. Also, your more high-profile or VIP clients can be flagged so their queries or technical issues can be addressed immediately to encourage continued loyalty.

In closing…

Call center software enables the provision of an all-around more rewarding experience. So If you operate a business in which clients need to talk to a live person, call center software can be an incredibly key touchpoint. Remember though, the software is only a part of it. Here are some call center best practices you’ll want to be following to ensure your business runs like a well-oiled machine.

At the end of the day, timely responses and professional treatment never go out of style. Call center software will help customers see more value in your business thereby increasing their loyalty. So make effective an inbound call center a key component of your customer service strategy today!