With the right call center solution in place, you can accelerate the quality, efficiency, and value of your customer communications. But how do you go about picking the right one?
There are dozens of call center solutions on the market. To ensure you invest in the right software for your business, you need to consider everything from the type of call center solution you want to the features you need to meet your goals.
Before we explore some high-quality call center solutions, let’s quickly discuss why you need a call center in the first place.
The benefits of a call center solution
From the collaborative advantages of video conferencing to the productivity-boosting luxury of meeting note templates, we all know the benefits of having a good internal communications system. But what about an external communications system?
There are plenty of practical reasons to invest in a call center solution, such as cost savings and competitive advantage. However, at the heart of it, a call center solution benefits the most important assets to your business: your customers and your agents.
71% of customers make purchasing decisions based on the quality of a company’s customer service. To deliver high-quality service, businesses need to provide seamless, quick, and personalized experiences, which they can do with contact center features like omnichannel, self-service, and intelligent routing.
Quality service significantly increases customer satisfaction, which in turn generates more sales. 91% of customers say that excellent customer service encourages them to make repeat purchases.
For your agents, call center solutions provide powerful automations and integrations that relieve them from the stress of managing high call volumes, low-value calls, and disorganized workflows.
Types of call center solutions
The first step to setting up a call center for your business is considering what type of call center you need. The four main types of call centers are as follows:
- Inbound call center: Designed to handle incoming calls from customers seeking support and advice.
- Outbound call center: Designed to handle outgoing calls made by agents, usually to make outbound sales and conduct customer surveys.
- On-premise call center: A call-center in which all equipment is housed in a physical location. Most on-premise call centers are in the process of undergoing mainframe cloud migration due to the growing disadvantages of on-premise systems. Definitely learn more about ‘what is mainframe migration’ and why it has become such a pressing initiative on a global scale.
- Cloud call center: All call center technology is hosted in the cloud and managed by a third-party vendor, allowing businesses and agents to operate from anywhere in the world.
Most cloud-based call centers are actually contact centers. Contact centers don’t just handle calls, but also SMS, social media, email, live chat, and more.
Call center software features you need
Call center solutions are jam-packed with useful features, but these are the essentials.
IVR
Interactive voice response (IVR) systems greet and interact with incoming callers via an automated menu. If the automated system can’t solve the caller’s query, it can route the call to the most appropriate agent.
IVR systems help you manage and reduce call volumes. Not only do they free up your agent’s phone lines by handling basic queries, but they reduce transfers and wait times by routing the caller to the appropriate department/agent in the first instance.
Omnichannel and self-service support
Customers want to connect with you via social media, SMS, live chat, and email as well as via phone – and they want it to be seamless. Contact center solutions allow you to manage all of your communication channels in one place, eliminating data silos and providing your customer with smooth, streamlined experiences across their preferred channels.
As well as omnichannel service, customers also want self-service. According to Emplifi, 35% of consumers say that having a fully self-service customer care option available to them is incredibly important to their customer experience.
AI is the future of call centers. Give yourself the competitive advantage by investing in a solution that excels in AI/chatbot capabilities to meet this need.
Cloud-based calling
Cloud-based calling, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is critical for modern business communications. It enables you to make audio and video calls over an internet connection, which comes with a bunch of benefits including increased remote work productivity, heightened scalability, and cheaper global communications.
Call routing
Being able to intelligently route calls is potentially your most important call center feature. It’s what helps you keep a handle on call volumes, wait times, and transfer rates, all of which are essential to customer satisfaction.
The call center solution you choose should have a variety of intelligent call routing options including skills-based routing, rotary routing, talk-time routing, and more.
Other essential call center solution features include:
- CRM integration
- Reporting and analytics
- Call forwarding, call transfer, and call queuing
- Call recording
- Call barging – (What is call barging? It’s a feature that allows you to drop in on an existing phone call, handy for helping an agent answer a question or close a deal.)
10 Call center solutions you should check out today
1. Dialpad
Dialpad’s cloud-based contact center solution comes equipped with all of your essential call center features including skills-based call routing, advanced call handling, extensive omnichannel support, and more. Renowned for its rapid deployment, intuitive interface, and rich flexibility, Dialpad’s contact center solution is suitable for both small and large businesses.
What makes Dialpad really stand out is its proprietary AI technology. Dialpad AI delivers hyper-accurate voice transcriptions, live sentiment analysis, keyword tracking, and real-time agent coaching. allowing agents to deliver exceptional customer experiences.
Screenshot from dialpad.com
Other standout features include:
- Customizable IVR, call routing, and call queuing.
- Powerful integrations with leading CRM, WFM, and QM providers.
- Automated voicemail and callback capabilities.
- Custom wall boards and supervisor dashboards.
- Truly unified communications.
2. AirCall
AirCall is a relatively new, budget-friendly call center software that comes equipped with all of your essential features like cloud-based calling and IVR. While it lacks many of the more advanced features, its simplicity makes it a good option for small businesses who want a simple, customer-centric call center solution.
Standout features include:
- Call whispering.
- One-click integrations.
- Call monitoring software.
3. LiveAgent
Inbuilt into its multichannel help desk software, LiveAgent’s call center solution stands out for its cost-effectiveness. With a decent all-inclusive plan and no hidden per-minute usage fees, LiveAgent is great for small to medium businesses looking to advance their omnichannel capabilities.
Standout features include:
- Full integration with 99% of VoIP providers.
- Smart call routing and unlimited call recordings.
- 180+ helpdesk features including ticketing and self-service.
4. Hubspot
Did you know that Hubspot is more than just a CRM? HubSpot’s help desk software and Service Hub provides businesses with an all-in-one call center solution that’s designed to enrich customer experiences. While it lacks some of the more advanced call center features, it’s perfect for sales teams who want to prioritize efficiency and personalization.
Screenshot from hubspot.com
Standout features include:
- Deep-rooted integration with CRM.
- Daily call queues.
- Click-to-call.
5. Five9
Five9 is an all-in-one inbound and outbound call center solution with a focus on efficiency. It integrates with leading CRM providers and includes workflow management tools. With customizable pricing plans, it is a suitable solution for small and large businesses alike.
Standout features include:
- Predictive dialing.
- Open platform APIs.
- CTI screen pops.
6. Channels
Previously known as CrazyCall, Channels is a reliable option for startups and small businesses looking for an outbound call center solution. While it does support inbound calling with features like IVR and reporting, its innate design focuses on sales-optimization, empowering agents to use their best sales skills more effectively.
Standout features include:
- Click-to-call Chrome extension.
- Easy call management through a single app.
- Auto dialing.
7. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is another call center solution with an in-built CRM. It boasts reliable omnichannel capabilities and all of your essential call center features.
If you already have a CRM solution in place, the high cost of this solution may make it financially disadvantageous. However, if you’re yet to find a CRM system, Bitrix24 can solve two of your problems at once.
Standout features include:
- Sales pipeline management.
- Sales automations.
- Call center reporting.
8. Twilio Flex
Twilio Flex’s contact center software is rich with possibility. Proclaiming itself ‘the world’s most flexible cloud contact center platform’, Twilio offers unmatched customization opportunities that allow you to tailor your solution to your needs (like, for example, if you wanted custom data analytics for telco industry performance).
Be cautious, though, as Twilio is incredibly tech-heavy. You’ll need a team of developers on hand to really reap its value.
Standout features include:
- Custom metrics
- Customizable workflows
- Intelligent routing and performance monitoring
9. Dixa
Dixa is rather unique in that it runs entirely in your web browser. Its agnostic platform is built for modern communications and fluctuating business needs, making it suitable for globally-dispersed and remote teams who want an adaptable, easy-to-manage cloud-based solution.
Screenshot from dixa.com
Standout features include:
- Auto-scaling.
- AI-powered chatbot.
- Easy-to-build intelligent routing sequences.
10. CloudTalk
CloudTalk allows small and medium businesses to exercise more control over their sales communications. Along with standard features like automatic call distribution (ACD) and click-to-call, CloudTalk offers a wide-range of customizable features.
Standout features include:
- Personalized greetings and voicemails.
- Custom call queues.
- Agent scripting.
Wrapping up
Whether you’re looking for Kixie alternatives for your small business or alternatives for your enterprise, this list of 10 call center solutions should point you in the right direction. Remember to align your decision with your unique business goals, taking care to prioritize value. And, if you’re a startup, make sure you pick a flexible solution that supports your potential for rapid growth.
