The call center industry has a plethora of inbound call centers. This has given rise to the level of competition. In order to stay ahead of their rivals, these call centers don’t just need to have proficient human resource but latest technology as well. Nevertheless, there are some of the software features that no call center can do without. So, if you also have a call center or work in one, keep reading as herein, we tell you the must-have software.
- Automatic Call Distributor
The first software that you must have is the one that helps you in call distribution. An excellent automatic call distributor (ACD) helps your team in routing the call to the agents according to the requirement of the caller. They also act as strong foundation for other software and processes like call monitoring, call metrics, skill-based routing and similar.
- Multi-Level IVR
Multi-level automatic voice response software is the second software that is integral to the smooth functioning of the call center functions. The software helps in ascertaining the caller’s problem according to the series of responses given by him to the IVR system. The managers can use this to customize the menus and greetings. Such software is a savior for a busy inbound call center as a lot of time otherwise gets wasted in knowing the problem of the customer and transferring the calls. This in turn also increases the average call handling time and affects the results and targets of the call center adversely.
- Skills-Based Routing
This feature helps the agents in transferring the call to the best agent. Different agents in an inbound call center handle different kind of customers better according to the skillsets they have. So, this feature routes the call to the agents based on their skills after understanding the IVR selections of a caller. Moreover, the IVR also sees the history of caller’s interaction and the phone number. It also takes into consideration the language they are most comfortable with and the geographic location, and skills. All this promotes first- time call resolution and hence is an essential software feature.
- Customized Call Queues
There are times when a call center starts receiving ample of calls at a particular time of the day and the agents they have become less in proportion to the number of calls they are receiving. In such a situation, call back from queue and Queue to voicemail comes to the rescue. They help in reducing the stress and frustration that the customers face while waiting in the call queues. Moreover, the managers should also customize queue calls by making different queues for different departments.
- Software with a Built-in CRM
All the first four points were related to call routing. Now, to improve the satisfaction of the customers, you also need to have software to ensure a good customer experience while they are on the call. The agents get the Enhanced caller ID in which they get the phone number, picture, name, company and the position even if they are calling the call center for the very first time. Moreover, if there is some call history, the call center agent also gets to see that along with the recordings and voicemails. By knowing all these details agents get an idea of how they should be approaching this caller to make sure he gets the solution to his problem quickly without any frustration. This is precisely how a built-in customer relationship management (CRM) software is what will help you in increasing the satisfaction level of customers.
- Dedicated Phone Numbers
This is a great tool for inbound call centers, especially the ones who are B2B. If the call center already knows the VIP clients or customers, vendors and other business personnel, they should direct there calls to the agents of that department itself. In such a case, the IVR system shouldn’t be used as it makes the caller feel frustrated. When a customer calls, he wants to have human interaction and not responding to the IVRs. In a case when the IVR is long and complicated, a customer might even need to start the call all over again.
