12 Questions to Ask When Choosing Contact Centre Software
Common call center problems and solutions are resolved using contact cneter solutions
When looking for the right contact center software for your company, choosing from a large software selection can be difficult. Each option, which includes cloud contact center software, hosted solutions, and on-premise call center software, has its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
It would help if you considered several factors that will influence which option is best for your business, including the number of calls you expect to handle, the size of your team, and, most importantly, your budget.
Review the 12 questions to ask when choosing contact center software to help you make informed purchasing decisions.
1.How will the call center solution integrate with your existing system?
CRM Integration is important
Selecting a system that allows your business to integrate call center software with its existing systems easily is critical. It is especially important if your company has been in operation for a while and has already implemented a CRM system (CRM). It’s a waste of money to invest in call center solutions that don’t improve your company’s overall efficiency and productivity.
2.How reliable is the service?
Reliability
You can’t afford to have your contact center service go down for even a few minutes as a business because you’ll lose money. As a result, inquire about the software provider’s uptime guarantee and what is included in the service.
3.Can the service scale as your business expands?
Scalability
Don’t get stuck with a solution that can’t keep up with your company’s growth. Numerous contact center solutions are adaptable, effective, and scalable as your company expands. Ask the service provider if their call center software is scalable in the future to handle more complex business needs.
4.Does the contact center software come with good reporting tools?
Reporting tools
As your company grows, you’ll find yourself, like many others, relying on reporting and analytics tools to forecast staffing needs and assess your company’s performance in detail. To ensure that you can easily access key data and information, choose a contact center system that includes a comprehensive and easy-to-navigate set of reporting tools.
5.Does the software support multichannel communication?
Multichannel
Is it a purely telephony-based system, or does it also support multi-channel communication, including social media, SMS, email, ticket-based queries, and more? Customers expect businesses to be easily accessible for help via a variety of channels at their leisure. Companies are investing in multichannel communication systems to stay ahead of the game and provide seamless communication between departments.
6.What is the pricing structure?
Pricing structure
The pricing structure varies depending on the software provider. The pricing model is based on upfront payments and ongoing licenses for pay-as-you-go solutions, in which you only pay for the features and the amount you use. Small and medium-sized businesses, as well as startups, prefer this pricing structure.
7.Does your customer support agents find the software useful?
Usability
Since your employees, particularly your customer service agents, will be using the software, solicit feedback from them. Your agents’ productivity will suffer if they find the software difficult to use or disruptive. That is why it is critical to consult with your agents before implementing a large-scale deployment.
Some people are afraid of change, so there may be some pushback. Ask your agents to explain their problems to determine whether what you’re hearing is simply fear of change or legitimate objections. Are they having trouble adjusting to new features? Is the user interface too complicated for them? Is it possible to resolve these issues through training or software configuration changes?
If most of your agents complain about the same issues, pay attention to them because they will be using the software the most.
8.Is there support available for blended agents?
Blended agents
Businesses are adopting a blended approach to managing a contact center to keep costs low and make the most efficient use of the staff they have available,
Blended agents are supported by the right contact center software, allowing employees to switch from inbound to outbound campaigns with a few clicks before switching back when call volume dictates.
9.Can employees work remotely?
Work remotely
Another useful tool for businesses is remote worker support. Is it simple to add and remove agents from systems while routing their calls to a different phone number? Remote working improves customer satisfaction and helps businesses cope with fluctuating call volumes by bringing in extra agents when needed on a short-term basis, rather than having underutilized staff in the office.
10.Can the system scale depending on the business needs?
Scalability
It doesn’t make sense to invest in a system that will be underutilized most of the time as a small or medium-sized business. Look for contact center software that can scale up or down depending on your business’s needs and that can be switched back to handle lower volumes and fewer agents as needed. As they are based on large and powerful infrastructure, cloud systems are good for scalability and generally offer on-demand provisioning.
11.How thoroughly can you demo the software solutions before deployment?
Deployment
You can usually test contact center software on a different network to see how it works. It may not be the same as using it live, but trying the demo version will allow you to see any gaps in the software’s capabilities.
Before deploying a solution for real, try a few contact center solutions and run test runs, and have your employees test the solution as well. Your existing agents will give you the best feedback on how the software fits into their current workflow.
12.How broad is the product solution set offered for cloud-based solutions?
Cloud-based technology
Remember that it’s not just about the software; it’s also about your service provider’s capability, expertise, and experience.
Today’s telecommunications are extremely complex, so how well-versed in telecommunications is your software provider? Do they have a telephony solution that is suitable for businesses? Can they bring a diverse set of skills to the table to help you achieve your goals?
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