What functions should a best call center software system have in your company?

12 July 2023

Business solutions are changing at a rapid pace, which is why it is so important for a contact center system to provide everything that a comprehensive call center needs. Depending on the requirements, such an application can have more than one contact channel, automated campaigns, or reporting capabilities, among others. When choosing a system for your company, it is worth considering the communication channels through which you want to serve customers, which processes can be automated, and where you can find savings with the help of appropriate systems. If your company focuses on sales calls, you will benefit from other features than a company that handles customer service calls.

Best call center systems – mandatory features

The primary feature of such programs is customer support. If you decide to handle customers only through voice interactions, a call center system will be sufficient. One of the basic functions is the ability to make outbound calls. This capability allows you to set up a sales department or a telephone customer service department, among other possibilities.

On the other hand, a powerful call center system offers more features like call queuing, call monitoring, or chat analysis. In less advanced systems, employees have access to a recording device, but the recordings are not available online. By keeping the process of unlimited call recording, your feedback will gain significantly, as you will have examples right there.

Comprehensive programs allow you to verify agents’ work in real-time, and one such application is Genesys. With it, you can dial into an ongoing conversation and provide support to the consultant without the customer knowing about your presence. Call center apps also offer omnichannel and multichannel capabilities, enabling broad communication with customers. By having unlimited call possibilities, your database will grow without any obstacles.

What other call center systems software features should be included?

The software should be tailored to the specific needs of a company. However, it is important for it to have the capability to implement new solutions. As the company grows or enters new market areas, the requirements may also increase. That’s why it is crucial for the system to guarantee scalability with features like multichannel capabilities, reporting, and sales tools, so that it can continuously improve the quality of customer service.

An effective solution that can improve handling time is an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system. This feature allows customers to select a specific topic before initiating a call, which can contribute to better service quality. The employee will know what the customer is calling about before the conversation even begins. Then, based on this, the proper call script will be available.

When choosing a system, it’s important to consider the ability to monitor and control employee activities. This requires a robust reporting infrastructure. Another important feature is the ability to monitor the interaction of your call center agents. With live monitoring, you can react immediately to any issues or provide real-time feedback.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Phone System

VoIP technology utilizes an internet connection or other IP-based networks to make phone calls. To utilize this technology, you need a device with internet access and a VoIP adapter.

VoIP minimizes missed calls by associating them with the user’s account rather than a specific phone number. Users can easily switch between incoming calls, thereby increasing efficiency in call reception.

Other advantages of this technology include cost reduction and high call quality.

Automatic campaigns across multiple communication channels

Have you considered automating processes in your company? Automatic campaigns maintain consistent communication with customers, increasing their satisfaction and your team’s efficiency. It allows you to handle more campaigns without significantly increasing your support staff.

Such campaigns can be conducted simultaneously across multiple communication channels, including email, SMS, or phone. This solution enables you to increase sales in your company or streamline information flow. Automated campaigns allow you to reach a large number of customers in a short period of time, enhancing the efficiency of your consultants. Advisors have a higher Effective Conversation Time (ECT), increasing their chances of making a sale.

One notable tool in this regard is the Predictive Dialer. It is an intelligent system that adjusts the number of leads presented to logged-in employees, ensuring the telemarketing department is always efficient. Additionally, Predictive Dialer bypasses voicemail, so consultants only receive records that will be answered, i.e., physical connections with customers. The system selects employees systematically, ensuring they are constantly engaged in conversations and able to carry out sales transactions. Predictive Dialer can adapt to different environments, accommodating anywhere from five to a hundred users simultaneously. It is particularly effective for large databases with small teams.

Automation of selected tasks during a handled conversation

An advanced call management system enables process automation in your business! By integrating communication channels and systems, such as CRM, you can positively impact customer service time. By reducing the number of tasks that an agent needs to perform manually, you can increase their effectiveness. One element that improves sales, for example, is automatic lead handling. This allows the sales process to be conducted much faster, as the system completes several stages on our behalf. These advanced features will definitely make your agents’ work easier.

System capabilities, such as IVR call routing, can impact queue management, the number of handled calls, and reduce the duration of each interaction. It also allows customer verification at the IVR stage. This solution enables the system to retrieve customer information, saving the employee time on searching for the account in the system. With this call center feature, you will be able to reach lower AHT.

In many aspects, task automation can be compared to sci-fi movies from the 90s. The job market is changing, personnel turnover is occurring, and employment costs, along with training, are increasing. Monotonous and repetitive methods of increasing efficiency may not yield the same results as they did several years ago. This is where new voice assistant-driven conversation automation systems come in. The concept is not complicated – a virtual assistant in the form of a voice interface engages in conversation with callers. Such an assistant is ideal for inbound traffic, especially in campaigns where the conversation topics are repetitive, and the phone advisor follows a predefined script.

What are the benefits of this approach? Primarily, it achieves what every contact center platform aims for, which is reducing waiting time almost to zero, as the system can handle virtually an unlimited number of queries simultaneously. Additionally, it ensures certainty (and speed) of information delivery, reduces labor hours, resulting in immediate tangible savings, and ultimately allows for more precise training of advisors (through the creation of specialized groups) on topics that still require direct interaction with a live person. Also, a beneficial call center management system should offer inbound call distribution based on agents’ availability. Automatic call distribution will help you speed up the call flow.

Surveys via SMS, IVR, email

Automated surveys, which can be facilitated by a comprehensive application, will help you assess customer satisfaction. Their functionality allows you to save time and gather customer expectations and feedback with minimal effort.

Through system integration, post-contact satisfaction surveys can be sent to customers automatically. An advanced contact center system enables conducting such surveys through various channels. One of them is an automated voicemail system. Implementing this solution reduces the workload of your agents. To increase effectiveness, additional surveys in written form, such as SMS or email, are often deployed, allowing customers to provide their feedback at any time.

The most popular type of survey conducted through automated surveys is the assessment of customer satisfaction and loyalty, known as Net Promoter Score (NPS). This survey has been gaining popularity, not only in contact center operations but across various industries that involve customer service.

Reports module

Contact center software provides reporting capabilities. These key features can help effectively manage ongoing projects, create dashboards, and gather data necessary for the proper functioning of campaigns. It is important for the system to store data that may be useful in the future, allowing analysts to create customized reports based on them.

The reporting module also allows for analyzing organizational performance through non-financial measures, such as the quality of conversations, customer satisfaction levels, employee turnover, or the effectiveness of promotional or sales campaigns. One of the functions is the ability to generate real-time analysis. The system enables presenting results as trends or deviations from trends, facilitating analyses from different perspectives, providing support to employees, and addressing current issues.

Integration with your company’s systems

The right software for handling operations can not only impact the quality and customer satisfaction but also automate your company’s work.

When choosing interfaces for your company, it’s worth considering self-service IVR. With voice prompts, customers can, among other things, independently check their account balance, perform basic account-related tasks, and connect with an advisor.

It is also worth considering the possibility of integrating with other systems, such as CRM or ticket system. By selecting the appropriate option on the automated secretary, you can enable customers to independently verify and manage their accounts. The flow of information will happen automatically, and specific account details will appear on the screen. This solution is modern and secure, thanks to proper encryption and electronic verification. In today’s times, it’s important to have access at any moment to facilitate running and managing a company.

Cloud-based Contact Center

With this innovative call center platform, you can manage the work online. The virtual platform allows you to control the situation from anywhere in the world. It’s also worth mentioning the cost reduction aspect, as both you and your employees only need a computer to perform tasks. When having a cloud-based call center software, it’s important to ensure proper data security.

In addition to cost reduction, another advantage is the safety during outages. Most tools require remote desktop access to function properly. In the event of an outage, with such a solution, it is impossible to receive calls. A cloud contact center as well as contact center outsourcing enables working in emergency mode even when other systems are not functioning.

AI-Powered Personalized Customer Service

Chatbots are becoming increasingly common in customer service. With AI-powered systems, during a chat interaction, the bot is able to personalize customer issues more quickly and accurately, resulting in comprehensive and efficient issue resolution, while allowing your employee to focus on more complex tasks. A chatbot can handle a larger number of users than a single human agent. It is a cost-effective solution and enables faster service, particularly in crisis situations.

AI-powered chatbots utilize natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to understand and analyze human conversations, and adapt their responses accordingly. They rely on educational databases, as well as predefined answers or past customer interactions. These applications can even handle transactions. Chatbots are capable of self-learning based on previous conversations conducted.

AI elements are also useful for customer satisfaction surveys. Instead of a human employee, the surveys can be conducted by a bot. This saves time and money, while still allowing you to gather customer feedback.

How to choose a contact center system?

When selecting the right software, it is advisable to seek the opinions of specialists who will consider factors such as multichannel customer support. At CCIG Group, we conduct a business analysis to gain a thorough understanding of your needs. We also analyze the products and services offered to create a suitable customer service script and select a system that will effectively support sales operations.

With 20 years of experience in the contact center market, we strive to be pioneers, relying on people, experience, and technology. We aim to be the preferred contact center in every market we operate in. We have specialized support departments and an experienced management team. Our office fosters a creative atmosphere, and every employee has the opportunity for career development to enhance their skills and leverage their strengths. With a comprehensive motivational system in place, employees focus on individual and team goals, while the management team fosters partnerships, respect, and shared values.

Are you planning to launch a contact center for hotline support but don’t want to waste time on software system implementation? Or perhaps you need support for operational campaign execution? Learn more about our contact center outsourcing services.