Communication is the backbone of a great customer experience. Nowadays, customers expect better customer service, faster communication, etc. For this communication, there is a need to integrate your system with the best cloud call center software.
Back when call centers first started to appear, employees used to communicate with customers by reading a script. Cloud call center solutions have transformed the way companies interact with their customers.
Call center software solutions include cloud-based (cloud telephony) and on-premise call center software. As SaaS solutions (software as a service), cloud-based solutions are subscription-based, meaning customers pay a monthly subscription fee for the software they use as long as needed.
Businesses can forgo the need to invest in and manage their equipment, allowing them to effortlessly adjust their capacity to match their evolving operational needs. In the global market, numerous cloud telephony service providers are available, but identifying the ideal one can be akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. This parallel challenge is also encountered when seeking on-premise call center solution providers.
This is why we have curated this blog, where we will discuss the features and integrations of call center solutions, the top 15 international cloud telephony providers, and on-premise call center solutions.
What is a Call Center Solution?
A call center solution is software employed within call centers to facilitate customer communication through various channels, including phone calls, live chat, email, SMS text, and instant messaging. Typically, this software streamlines the handling of both inbound and outbound calls.
What are the Features of a Call Center Solution?
Efficiently overseeing customer service holds just as much significance as the quality of the services and products businesses provide. Therefore, businesses require a robust, authentic call center solution that delivers top-notch customer service. Besides handling all inbound and outbound calls, a call center solution must also offer many essential features, which include;
1. IVR/Interactive Voice Response
IVR is an important feature of a call center solution, ensuring an automated 24/7 phone reception. IVR allows the calls to be kept on hold and also allows self-service without agents’ help. Additionally, an IVR will manage the call volume and gather customer information before the agent interacts with the customer.
2. Automatic Call Distribution
An Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) enables intelligent call routing. Inbound calls are directed to the most adept agent, considering factors such as agent skills, spoken language, product knowledge, and more. This minimizes customer waiting time and enhances their satisfaction by ensuring clear and prompt responses.
3. Call Recording
The call recording feature of a call center solution allows one to record the conversation between the customer and the agents. This can be used for future reference and agent training. It is a feature that helps improve the customer experience. Hearing the calls can reveal the progress areas, possible problems, and customer complaints.
4. Omnichannel Strategy
Including an omnichannel feature within a call center solution facilitates customer communications via email, live chat, and social media, ultimately enhancing the quality of customer interactions and the overall customer experience. This feature guarantees a consistent customer experience, regardless of the communication channel. Furthermore, it empowers agents and managers with a comprehensive 360° perspective on customer interactions by centralizing all channels within a unified interface.
5. CRM Integration
Cloud call center solutions must have a CRM/ Customer Relationship Management integration feature. This enables seamless connections between call center software and CRM tools, help desks, ticketing systems, payment systems, and more. Such integration enables rapid customer identification and facilitates personalized responses, thereby elevating the quality of customer service.
6. Reporting & Analytics
A call center solution’s reporting and analytics feature empowers managers and supervisors to monitor agent performance and access data related to inbound calls, including call volumes, trends, and other relevant metrics.
Reports can identify customers’ problems, reveal customer support needs, and uncover training opportunities.
What are the Integrations That are Important for a Call Center Solution?
A call center solution has many features, such as those described above, and add-ons that improve the functionality and, thus, the customer experience.
Apart from the various add-ons, different solutions must be integrated within a call center solution for increased customer satisfaction. Here are a few of them:
1. WhatsApp
WhatsApp integration within a hosted contact center solution is the most favored and popular communication channel. This is especially useful to reach customers during support campaigns or sales campaigns. WhatsApp integration ensures quick interaction between the customer and agents, increasing customer satisfaction.
2. SMS & Email
SMS and email integration within a call center solution would increase customer satisfaction since they are offered timely support. Some customers prefer contacting and being contacted through SMS and emails to modern communication channels.
3. CRM
Integrating CRM with a call center solution will help store customer information and interactions between customers and agents. Also, it enables agents to view customer data during the call and improves customer satisfaction by facilitating better conversations.
4. Webphone
Most call center solutions use a softphone, requiring additional software to be maintained. Agents need to make extra efforts to attend calls using a softphone. However, with webphone integration in a call center solution, the issues associated with using a softphone are avoided. It also helps in increasing agent productivity apart from keeping the customers happy.
Having discovered the features and integrations of call center solutions, let us now read about the best international cloud telephony providers.
Top 15 International Cloud Telephony Providers
1. Office24by7
Office24by7 is the top international cloud telephony provider. Its dedicated award-winning cloud telephony solution helps one scale up their business without compromising quality and cost.
As the leading cloud telephony provider, Office24by7 ensures that businesses of any size can access scalable and reliable unified communications. It offers the most affordable cloud telephony services.
Features
- Real-Time Screen
This feature allows for agent monitoring to know whether agents are attending calls of customers, how long agents have been on a call with customers, etc. This is very useful for the managers to keep track of all the agents’ performance.
- Virtual Numbers
Office24by7’s cloud telephony system offers three virtual numbers: Virtual landline, virtual mobile, and toll-free.
- Call Forwarding
This feature enables customer calls to be forwarded to an admin number in the case of the absence of agents. Without an admin, the call gets forwarded to the manager.
- Multi-Level IVR
A multi-level IVR is part of Office24by7’s cloud telephony solution, allowing calls to be routed to agents without human assistance.
- Welcome Message
Welcome or greeting messages can be set and changed per clients’ requirements.
- Recording through Call
Voice templates can be created that can be used in the IVR system. Each voice template is created through a call to a specific person whose voice will be used.
- Voicemail Integration
Customers can leave voicemails with the Office24by7 cloud telephony solution that agents can answer later based on their availability.
- Scheduling of IVR
Office24by7’s best cloud call center software allows date-based, time-based scheduling of IVR menus and messages to adapt to the schedules of business operations.
- Audio File Upload
The cloud telephony solution provided by Office24by7 allows one to upload audio files from the library into the campaigns.
- Text-to-Speech
Audio files can be created from the text given. These audio files can then be used for the IVR menu.
- Sticky agent
Without playing the IVR or other messages, the customer is directed to the same agent (one-day activation available).
- In Queue Message
Music or message will be played while the customer is in the queue.
- Music on Hold (MOH)
Allows agents to play music while customers are on hold or in the queue.
- Pilot Number
A virtual phone number is a dedicated caller-ID for the target segment and agents for an outbound campaign.
- Automatic Call Distribution
Provides the option to distribute calls using round-robin, ring-all, or linear methods.
- Call Log
It allows for visualizing call data like inbound, outbound, and missed calls.
- Feedback Call with IVR
Allows feedback calls with IVR (simple Yes or No) to be sent to customers.
- Feedback with Short URL
Track responses to an SMS message containing a short URL to the survey form.
- Predictive Dialer
Automatically dial phone numbers from a database after estimating the availability of agents. Virtually zero idle time offered by predictive dialer ensures high productivity amongst agents and saves precious time for outbound dialing.
- Preview Dialer
The preview dialer feature of the Office24by7 best cloud call center software allows agents to be well-prepared for sales calls. It allows agents to access customer data about the upcoming call and prepares them for it.
No time is wasted on dropped calls (calls abandoned by the customer before talking to agents). The preview dialer is a manual dialer that allows an agent to prepare for a call with the customer. The agent can see or review the contact records.
- Campaigns
The hosted contact center solution from Office24by7 allows campaigns to be created that give data on the entire call flow process.
- Lists
One can upload customer numbers or contacts easily in the cloud telephony solution.
- Data Import
Allows one to import customers’ data in .csv, .xls, and .xlsx files as single or separate lists.
- NDNC Registry
Provides a national do-not-call registry that allows one to cross-check databases.
- Dashboards
Provides custom dashboards for real-time reviews that help monitor campaigns and agents.
- Reports and Analytics
Provides reports and analytics that can be useful for managers in assessing and improving agents’ performances.
Pricing
The basic pricing of Office24by7 starts at $25 and varies as per the requirements.
LiveAgent
LiveAgent is a complete help desk solution that provides a comprehensive Help Desk and live chat that can be customized to meet the needs of each customer. It has the fastest, most reviewed, and most rated small and medium business chat widget in 2022.
Features
- Enables agents to provide support for customers who are using the app on their mobile devices.
- Allows agents to customize text, chat colors, logos, etc.
- Allows agents access to choose data, features, etc, based on agents’ roles, groups, etc.
- It can easily integrate with other software like CRM to improve functionality.
- Offers reporting or analytic tools that give data about the business progress and metrics.
- Offers ticket creation & ticket response user experience
- Allows tickets to be routed based on various parameters, such as changes in status, field values, and time criteria.
- Allows agents to track and manage service level agreements (SLAs) through tools.
Pricing
Pricing for cloud telephony solutions starts at $15 per user per month at LiveAgent.
Aircall
Aircall is one of the top modern hosted contact center solutions. Aircall’s cloud telephony solution enables businesses to function smoothly via sales team support. It provides systematic and transparent communication with the customers via extensive insights and real-time analytics.
Features
- Provides agents with the ability to call customers via the web.
- Allows agents to send or forward messages instantly over the web.
- Allows many agents to make outbound or video calls over the web immediately.
- Allows agents to communicate with other agents or colleagues via phones or landlines.
- Allows agents to play music for customers on hold or waiting in the queue.
- Allows agents to create automated attendants for attending calls when agents are busy.
- Combines with other software where agents can add the tool to existing subscriptions like Outlook 365.
- Allows agents to record calls for future reference.
- Provides agents with the capability to make outbound calls using their mobile devices, laptops, or other devices.
- Allows contacts to be gathered from integrated tools so that agents can call these contacts in one click.
- Allows agents to take notes during and after a customer call for future reference.
- Allows one to send voicemails and emails to potential clients.
- Allows calls to be routed to agents based on time, the customer’s priority, IVR outcomes, and skill-based routing.
- Until an agent becomes available, the customers are kept in a queue or placed on hold.
- Manages agent tasks and call records for admins.
- Agents can be guided or interrupted during live calls to ensure appropriate answers are given to customers’ queries.
Pricing
A cloud-based telephony solution from Aircall is priced from $30 per user per month to $50 per user per month and is billed annually.
Do you know everything about an IVR? If not, then read our latest blog on IVR here.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is one of the best cloud call center software specializing in business communication and collaboration. Its cloud telephony solution is very useful for small and medium-sized businesses. As a cloud telephony provider, Bitrix24 aims to help businesses be more efficient and get more customer satisfaction.
Bitrix24 was created to allow businesses to have a virtual office. It has the added benefit of allowing others to collaborate and share information without limits.
Features
- Provides business phone numbers (valid in different countries), call forwarding, voicemail to email, call recording, and remote access to the system.
- Provides relay phone numbers/shadow numbers to route calls through Dialpad.
- Rent a phone number that permits you to have an unlimited number of incoming lines and to configure the phone to your preference.
- Allows businesses to use their current number that has been there for a long time.
- Allows you to manage multichannel communications, such as video and voice calls, through SIP softphones that ease communication via the internet.
- Provides agents to share information, get help, and collaborate with other agents.
- Allows agents to call the customers through the CRM and keep track of all the customers coming from various channels.
- Helps to engage website visitors and allows quick sales contact.
- The application contains built-in telephony features that include one-click calling, customizable IVR, and automatic call routing.
Pricing
Bitrix24’s cloud telephony solution costs $7.8 per monthly user to $159 for unlimited users.
VICIdial
Vicididial is an open-source, scalable, and flexible hosted contact center solution for small to large call centers. The cloud telephony solution can be installed from this cloud telephony provider on your hosted service or hardware.
With more than 500 agents managing more than 2 million calls per day, VICIDIAL’s cloud telephony solution is a unique cloud telephony provider.
Features
- Provides agents with the ability to make voice calls.
- Enables agents to make live web chats with clients and vice versa.
- Enables agents to receive and answer emails from customers.
- Calls and voicemails can be routed to the most suitable agent based on the availability, priority of customers, IVR outcomes, etc.
- Customers can be kept in a queue or on hold whenever the agent is busy or unavailable.
- Agents can receive many calls at once without compromising the quality of the calls.
- Allows agents to make outbound calls automatically with one click.
- Allows visibility of agents’ screens with customer data.
- Allows agents to be provided with notes or data about a call, its disposition, history, etc.
- Allows access to administrators about agent tasks and call records.
- Allows management of agents’ workforce, such as agents scheduling and vacations, team assignments, etc.
Pricing
VICIdial has customized plans, and its pricing varies as per subscription plans.
Conclusion
Call center solutions are pivotal in empowering service-oriented businesses, equipping them with the tools to bolster customer service effectiveness and elevate the overall customer experience. As enterprises strive to enhance customer service interactions and metrics, they increasingly adopt call center solutions to make their operations more customer-centric and efficient. A key focus is catering to diverse customer segments, particularly addressing self-service requirements, adhering to service-level agreements, and managing budget considerations.
The advantages of a cloud-based call center solution surpass those of on-premise alternatives, making it a highly favorable choice. Office24by7 proudly offers India’s premier cloud telephony solution, soon to be available internationally. For expert assistance in optimizing your business operations, please contact us today at +91 7097171717 or email us at sales@office24by7.com.
