Mobile phones remain a top choice for customers to connect with businesses and ask for support in today's increasingly digital world. A CFI Group study backs this up with results that show that more than 76% of consumers prefer phone calls to reach customer service representatives (CSR).
With this many clients preferring this service method, managing your phone support is crucial to maintaining customer satisfaction. For startups, focusing on good customer service could give you the edge to stay ahead of the competition. However, it's not easy to keep up with the workload that comes with it.
Thankfully, multiple technological advancements today can help provide seamless phone support convenient for customers and businesses. If you're on the lookout for customer service upgrades to improve your company's call centre performance, we have a list of must-have call centre tools that can help boost your customer service performance.
Call Centre Software Features to Look For
Customer service is an integral part of a business, as it improves productivity and boosts overall brand reputation. As such, utilising call centre software can make all the difference for your company.
By definition, a call centre software is a system that provides features designed to support all aspects of a business' call centre, including inbound calls, outbound calls, or both. This kind of software will help you streamline your customer support to deliver better service to your customers.
When selecting a call centre software to incorporate in your daily operations, here are a few features you need to look for:
Omnichannel support
According to HubSpot, a unified customer service experience increases efficiency in a workplace and reduces customer friction. The omnichannel support feature allows everyone on your team to see the context of all customer records, regardless of the type of channel used. This results in a more streamlined service from your group that could improve customer satisfaction.
CRM integration
In running a business, knowing your customer is one of the first steps in creating a successful marketing strategy. Doing so allows enterprises to understand who their customers are so they know how to reach them better. The same can be said for customer service.
Agents who have better knowledge about their customers can provide more effective support. With a customer relationship management (CRM) integration option in the software, agents can easily pull up any information about the customer, including past interactions, and prevent them from repeatedly explaining their concerns.
Cloud-based calling
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a cloud-based phone system that runs through the internet instead of a typical phone line. Call centres that operate on cloud networks are usually the ones that require this kind of calling system.
Call routing
Call routing directs customers to the right person at the quickest possible time. A system with this feature can change your workflow while saving time and resources.
Routing can optimise operational costs by utilising each agent as efficiently and effectively as possible. It ensures that calls are always routed to an available agent instead of getting lost in voicemail. Try routing based on individual expertise to maximise conversion rates by addressing all incoming calls.
Interactive voice response
Interactive voice response (IVR) is an electronic voice that can help customers decide what kind of agent they want to be connected to, depending on their concerns.
Outbound calls
A call centre software isn't only for customer service. You can also utilise such tools to make outgoing calls if you offer proactive customer support options, like making follow-up calls to customers who had just ordered from your business to confirm their orders. This way, you get your business involved in the conversation through customer engagement.
Voicemail management
A call centre software should also provide voicemail management to customise how they greet customers and receive notifications. Some solutions allow sorting that shows the caller ID, time, message, and other details of the call, making it easier to respond to voicemails the next day.
Call recording
Call recording allows businesses to listen to previous conversations with customers and check the details to see how agents resolved the problem. This will enable you to check your service quality and customer satisfaction.
Reporting and analytics
Reporting identifies common issues your customers experience. Meanwhile, the analytics derived from the reports show the areas where you can improve and where you lack support. Having such a feature can help pin areas for improvement, which your team could work on through training.
Supervisor tools
Agent supervisor tools get the best out of your customer service team, as it encourages real-time help and responses. These supervisor tools include key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring, work optimisation reports, team messaging, and gamification.
Moreover, call barging allows supervisors to listen in on their team's calls to help them make the best decisions for their customers. This prevents poor customer service response or habits and enables customer feedback to be addressed quicker.
10 Best Call Centre Tools to Try for Your Business
Call centre tools are developed to benefit your business. However, there are a lot of tools with many other uses at well, so it can be a bit overwhelming if you're only starting to integrate them into your customer service process.
To help you get started, check out these call centre tools that can help you upgrade your customer service and customer satisfaction rating.
1. RingCentral
RingCentral is an omnichannel CRM platform that allows businesses to simplify workflow through team messaging, file sharing, and task management. The app also enables groups to communicate through various channels like phone calls, video conferences, and plain messaging.
Ultimately, integrating this tool will streamline work as it improves centre communication, making everyone more productive daily. Enjoy the benefits of RingCentral anywhere the app is available—phones and desktops.
2. HubSpot
One of the most highly-used CRMs today is HubSpot. This software comes with a ticketing system and helpdesk to keep track of customer requests in a single monitor, helping your team stay organised as they find solutions for customers quicker. This ticketing tool has routing and automation features that can help your team reduce their time managing the helpdesk and doing data entry.
3. Freshcaller
Freshcaller is an all-in-one call centre software that allows businesses to maximise phones for customer service. Depending on the plan, they offer various benefits to service teams, such as voicemails, call barging, recording, omnichannel routing, and more. These benefits enable agents to stay on top of their customer's concerns, resolving them at the quickest time possible.
4. ZenDesk
ZenDesk provides a voice solution system that syncs with all other channels, making it easy for agents to see customer information right away. What's great about this tool is it lessens customer wait time because of its cloud-based voice solution. ZenDesk also offers routing and queueing services to address all in an organised and timely manner.
5. TalkDesk
Another tool to try for your business is TalkDesk. This next-generation cloud contact centre software allows team members to deliver a superb customer experience using a unified platform to accomplish requests.
Their system encourages omnichannel engagement, employee collaboration, and customer experience analytics to solve concerns faster and continue developing new ways to help customers proactively.
6. Nextiva
Looking for a cloud-based VoIP system? Check out Nextiva. Their tool lets you take higher call volumes and automate multichannel customer support, including self-service options. Nextiva offers excellent customer service features like IVR, call recording, automatic call distribution, routing, and reporting.
7. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 has a CRM management system that places communication at its forefront. The system offers excellent IVR, live chat, call recording, chatbot support, and more. The great thing about Bitrix24 is its collaborative system that connects CRM, instant messaging, collaboration, and task management into one easy-to-use package.
8. Cloudtalk
Cloudtalk houses a powerful CRM system that can make and receive calls from your browser. It tracks and records calls for easier reviewing of solutions given to customers. This system houses all the necessary tools every contact centre needs, including call recordings, voicemail, conference calls, three-way calls, and more.
9. Avaya
Another company that provides cloud-based customer support is Avaya. With their tool called the Avaya OneCloud (Contact Center as a Service) CCaaS, connecting everything from voice to video is now made easier. Using this, teams can maximise contact centre performance and experiences.
10. LiveAgent
LiveAgent offers multiple CRM tools that can help any business improve its customer service. They claim to have the world's best-rated chat widget that provides personalised real-time support and invites customers to chat.
LiveAgent also provides cloud phone support with features like IVR, unlimited call recording, call transfers, and the ability to make outbound and inbound calls. With LiveAgent, you allow customers to resolve their concerns in the most convenient way possible, improving your business processes and reliability.
Integrate Call Centre Solutions This 2024
Businesses across all industries can benefit from call centre tools. With their long lists of pros, integrating them into your operations makes for a great investment that serves both your customers and your team better. In today's call centre market, you just have to ensure that you're matched with a company that best answers your needs.
When it comes to professional outsourcing for inbound customer support, outbound telemarketing, and business support services, Select VoiceCom might be the right fit for your company. We are a trusted and reliable call centre in the Philippines geared to enhance the quality of their process and improve customer relations at the same time. Contact us today to know more!
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