Are you looking for the best call center software for your business? Then, this post is for you.
Choosing the right software can boost operational efficiency, agent performance, and customer satisfaction. Here, we explore the best call center software and how they can benefit your business.
What is a Call Center Software?
It’s a tool for managing customer interactions and optimizing operations for inbound and outbound calls. The software helps sales and customer service teams manage and route phone calls from customers to skilled agents.
The call center solutions can have features like IVR, auto-dialers, call routings, reporting, dynamic integrations and more to streamline call center operations.
Why Use a Call Center Solution?
Here are five benefits of using call center software for business operations:
- Consistent Service: You can standardize customer service by setting a quality standard. This means customers receive consistent support, irrespective of the agent they speak with.
- Customer Support Availability: Modern cloud-based call centers can provide 24×7 service to customers, even during off hours, with self-service options like IVR
- Operational Efficiency: The platform centralizes various tools and functionalities, like CRM, call routing, and automated workflows, reducing routing tasks. This streamlines, allowing agents to focus on meeting customer needs.
- Cost Savings: By automating workflows and reducing infrastructure needs, businesses can cut down expenses related to hardware, maintenance, and manual efforts.
- Quality Assurance: With built-in quality assurance tools, supervisors and agents can identify problem areas and use the insight to bridge performance gaps.
Top Features to Look for in Call Center Software
The right features can help reduce mundane manual tasks and enhance agent productivity. Here are some key features to look for in call center software.
» Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
It’s a popular self-service feature that answers inbound calls automatically using pre-recorded messages and menus. Customers can navigate the menus to find answers to common queries and speak to a human agent if needed.
» Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
Cloud-based or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) runs through the internet instead of traditional phone lines. The system doesn’t rely on on-site infrastructure and servers, allowing agents to access the platform from anywhere. The functionality also avoids geographical limitations, meaning a business can have phone numbers for global markets.
» Smart Call Routing
Robust call center software auto-routes calls based on agent availability and skillset. It uses the IVR technology to identify the nature of the call and assign it to a relevant agent based on various criteria.
» Automatic Call Dialing
Auto dialers like predictive, preview, and progressive dialers ensure high call pickup rates and lower idle times. Automated dialers use the caller’s past behavior to detect the best time to call and equip agents with all the right information about the customer.
» Advanced Analytics & Reporting
The platform can do more than streamline inbound and outbound calls. It can analyze call center performance and efficiency across determined metrics like FCR, call duration, abandonment rate, average wait times, etc.
» CRM Integration
Integrating your call center software with the CRM platform ensures the agent can access all customer history and interactions. The integration automatically pulls up the data during customer conversation, allowing agents to personalize their approach in real-time.
Platforms like Exotel offer remote-ready and comprehensive call center features to enhance customer engagement and improve call resolution rates. Book a demo to see how it can improve connectivity and optimize your call center operations.
The 10 Best Call Center Software
Here are the top call center software with all essential features to help your business nurture a lasting customer relationship.
Call Center Software | Key Features |
Exotel | » Auto Dialer
» IVR Integration » Automatic Call Recording » Daily Email Reports » Conditional Call Routing » Missed Call Services |
Dialpad | » AI-powered Agent Assist
» Multichannel Communication » Quality Assurance Scorecards |
Nextiva | » IVR
» Reporting & Supervisor Tools » Call Flows » NextivaONE App |
JustCall | » Call Transcription
» Agent Coaching » Comprehensive Call Center Features » Voicemail |
Talkdesk | » AI-Driven Customer Journey
» Employee Collaboration » Customer Experience Analytics |
Five9 | » Outbound Dialers
» Global Virtual Contact Center » Intelligence Virtual Assistant |
RingCentral | » Multichannel Communication
» Call Management » Optimizes Call Routing |
Aircall | » Intelligence Call Routing
» Real-Time KPI Tracking » Team Collaboration » Enhanced Conference Calls |
Zendesk | » Omnichannel Agent Workspace
» IVR » Call Routing & Transfer » Embedded Voice & Voice API |
CloudTalk | » 3-Way Calling
» Call Transcription » Call Flow Designer » Voicemails |
1. Exotel
Exotel is an AI communication platform that offers solutions for inbound and outbound call centers. The platform is suitable for organizations of all sizes and teams dispersed across multiple locations. It also supports omnichannel communication, allowing you to integrate other channels like chatbots, emails, SMS, and social media with voice platforms.
Key Features:
» Auto Dialer: Streamline the calling process and allow agents to focus on offering meaningful conversation
» Omnichannel Platform: Integrates communication channels, such as voice, email, chat, and social media, into a single platform to manage all customer interactions from one interface
» IVR Integration: Allow customers to resolve their issues independently and free agents from handling easy queries
» Automatic Call Recording: Record calls to monitor quality and train agents in improving service quality
» Daily Email Reports: Gain a detailed view of how the customer-facing team is performing
» Conditional Call Routing: Divert calls based on criteria like the caller, time of the day, or the geographical location
» Missed Call Services: Ask clients to give missed calls to your business number so you can follow it up by a call, SMS or combination of the two
» Automated Quality Management: Analyze customer-agent calls against your KPS and SOPs for consistent quality service
» Reporting & Analytics: Stay up to date on call center performance, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions in real-time
2. Dialpad
This AI contact center is a cloud-based platform that offers traditional phone calls along with web conferencing, SMS, and chatbots for communications. Dialpad offers a visual voicemail interface that helps agents review transcribed customer voicemails to prioritize them and respond directly through the platform.
Key Features:
» Multichannel Communication: Allow agents to engage customers across multiple channels like voice, social media, chat and more.
» Quality Assurance Scorecards: Automatically evaluate every customer-agent interaction against pre-determined metrics, ensuring quality service and satisfaction
3. Nextiva
This call center software offers a VoIP solution for high online call volume. Nextiva is ideal for businesses with virtual call centers as it supports self-service and automated multichannel customer support.
Key Features:
» IVR: Allow customers to resolve their issues independently or customize the flow to direct callers to the right agent
» Reporting & Supervisor Tools: Monitor agent performance against customer support metrics with scheduled reports and visual call analytics
» Call Flows: Offer customized call experience by designing call flow with drag-and-drop and setting up your IVR in minutes
» NextivaONE App: Allow agents to configure their automatic call distribution status by enabling them to sign in or out of call center queues, take calls on their mobiles, and chat with team members
4. JustCall
The call center software offers an AI-powered business phone system with global reach in 70+ countries. JustCall provides features like automatic call scoring and an AI voice agent that can manage multiple calls.
Key Features:
» Call Transcription: Automatically captures conversation during calls so agents can focus on interactions instead of taking notes
» Agent Coaching: Analyze live conversation to evaluate the agent’s potential and identify areas of improvement
» Comprehensive Call Center Features: Create a seamless experience with multi-level IVR, intelligent call routing, and mobile apps to answer calls when agents are away from their desk
» Voicemail: Allows customers to drop voicemails directly to your customer support’s email inbox
5. Talkdesk
This cloud-based customer experience platform delivers a balance of speed, reliability, and agility with advanced AI and seamless integrations. Talkdesk offers a mobile app that enables agents to handle calls remotely.
Key Features:
» AI-Driven Customer Journey: Optimize customer journey using tailored recommendations and workflows from customer’s information
» Employee Collaboration: Manage a distributed workspace, enhance team collaboration, and improve quality with integrated and seamless communication across the organization
» Customer Experience Analytics: Automate customer interaction analysis and gain insights into inbound and outbound calls
6. Five9
This call center software is easy to integrate with your existing setup. The platform analyzes call recordings using machine learning. The solution highlights coaching opportunities after calls to help supervisors train agents.
Key Features:
» Outbound Dialers: Offer agents TCPA-compliant dialers like power, progressive, preview, and predictive
» Global Virtual Contact Center: Offers a unified platform integrated with cloud-based IVR to deliver consistent customer service 24×7, anywhere in the world
» Intelligence Virtual Assistant: Offer advanced speech-enabled IVA and IVR, allowing customers to resolve their concerns
7. RingCentral
This cloud-based contact center solution offers powerful functionalities to streamline customer service operations. RingCentral offers customers the option to receive a callback instead of waiting for an agent.
Key Features:
» Multichannel Communication: Allow customers to contact you via channels other than phones, like chat, email, and SMS
» Call Management: Optimize operations with features like real-time call monitoring, whisper or take over IVR, and skill-based routing
» Optimizes Call Routing: Ensure smooth and efficient call flow with intelligent call routing and automatic call distribution
8. Aircall
This easy-to-setup call center software lets your sales and support team start customer engagement with a computer, headset, and internet connection. Aircall’s contact center solution forwards calls to agents’ mobile phones, allowing remote call management. Its post-call analysis and QA features allow supervisors to evaluate agent performance and conduct quality assurance.
Key Features:
» Intelligence Call Routing: Customize IVR menus and routing rules to direct customers to relevant and skilled agents
» Real-Time KPI Tracking: Monitor call center performance with live reports and optimize strategies at the moment
» Team Collaboration: Manage a shared inbox to allow agents to work together on call handling, tagging, assigning follow-ups, and commenting
» Enhanced Conference Calls: Allows five participants in a conference call using VoIP tech
9. Zendesk
It is a cloud-based customer service software offering omnichannel communication through calls, emails, and texts. Zendesk call center software is integrated into their customer service suite so agents can provide phone support along with other communication channels from the same workspace.
Key Features:
» Omnichannel Agent Workspace: Allow agents to track and manage phone calls, emails, and text interactions from one platform
» IVR: Guie callers through a simple menu to help them resolve their query without waiting for any agent
» Call Routing & Transfer: Forwards calls to the right agent for faster and seamless resolution
» Embedded Voice & Voice API: Add a call button to your company website, allowing customers easy access
10. CloudTalk
The most capable AI business calling software is cloud-based outbound and inbound call center software. The platform is compatible with web browsers, desktops, and mobile devices and is designed for customer service and sales teams.
The platform offers a smart dialer that skips unproductive calls, and its WFM features help agents forecast call volume to optimize staff schedules.
Key Features:
» 3-Way Calling: Allow agents to listen in or invite experienced colleagues to help them with complex customer issues
» Call Transcription: Automatically transcribe conversations into multiple languages
» Call Flow Designer: Customize inbound call journey that fits the unique customer expectations and business needs
» Voicemails: Respond to customer voicemails from anywhere and anytime you see them
How to Choose the Best Call Center Software?
To scale your business with changing customer needs, your call center software should align with your organizational needs. Here’s what you should evaluate:
» User Experience: The platform should offer an intuitive, easy-to-learn interface that reduces the learning curve for agents
» Service Quality: Evaluate the uptime and performance of the software to ensure it maintains excellent service standards and minimizes operational disruptions
» Omnichannel Support: Look for a platform that goes beyond calls and supports channels like email, chatbot, and social media
» Scalability: The solution should grow with the business needs, accommodating the increase in call volumes and automatically scaling down without a glitch
» Integration Capabilities: Find a call center software that smoothly integrates with your CRM and other business tools
» Analytics Capabilities: Ensure the platform’s reporting and analytics features provide insight into customer experience, CSAT, agent performance, service quality, and operational efficiency
» Security & Compliance: Prioritize a platform that complies with the highest data security standards and adheres to industry regulations
Check out Exotel’s cloud call center software, which helps you efficiently manage remote sales and support interactions. The platform offers inbound and outbound solutions, multi-level IVR, auto-dialers, call analytics, conditional call routing and more to enhance call resolution and agent productivity. Book a demo to see the advantages of Exotel’s call center software.
FAQs
1. What are the Types of Call Center Software?
Primarily, there are five types of call center platforms:
- On-Premise: The platform is installed locally on company servers
- Hosted/Cloud-Based: The solution is hosted on remote servers managed by the software vendor
- Virtual: Designed for remote or globally dispersed teams to access the software from anywhere
- Inbound: Primarily focuses on handling incoming customer calls
- Outbound: Focuses on outgoing calls for sales, marketing, and customer support operations
2. What is the Difference Between Call Center Software & Contact Center Solution?
Call center software manages voice interactions, focusing on inbound and outbound calling functionalities. It offers omnichannel support across voice, emails, social media, SMS, and chatbots to provide a unified and uninterrupted customer experience.