You Probably Never Think About Call Center Software… Until it Doesn’t Work!

When dealing with the every day, it’s easy to put your call center software to the back of your mind.

That's because the best tools simplify call handling to the point where operations run smoothly without you having to lift a finger.

But, things can go wrong. This article is a reminder of four things your call center software is taking care of, and what will happen if it stops working.

1. Customers won’t be able to access relevant help

Call routing is one of the most important features of call center software. It’s what ensures your customers get through to relevant agents every time they contact your business.

Routing works by using information about the caller’s number to send them to the right agent. The system can tell where to send the call just by looking at the number and matching it with data in your CRM.

Your call center software can identify the following just from a phone number:

• The location of the caller
• The language they speak
• Whether they have existing support tickets
• Whether they have recent orders
• How much their account is worth

With a good routing system in place, your customers will have faster access to the help they need.

Without it, customers will end up talking to the wrong agents. This leads to more transfers, unhappy customers, and longer, more expensive calls.

2. You and your team will work more

Top call center software providers allow you to integrate all your tools into a single system. You can then create and run automation across each connected software.

This saves you and your agents a ton of time.

The most common call center automation includes:

• Automatically adding call data to your CRM, so agents don’t have to do it manually.
• Setting up rules that determine how outbound calls will be scheduled. Once the process is up and running, your dialer will do the rest for you.
• Setting up your IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to offer self-service help so customers can solve their issues without ever speaking to an agent.

Automation is useful because it helps your contact center run more efficiently. You'll save time and money as agents do less work to handle the same number of calls.

Streamlined processes also benefit customers too. They get faster access to more relevant support.

3. Your contact channels will be disorganized

Contact center software connects with your helpdesk software and CRM, allowing you to organize all your support channels into a single platform.

Leveraging an omnichannel approach by storing all communications in a single location means agents can easily access customer information.

Here’s an example of omnichannel support in action:

• A customer orders a product from your website.
• The package doesn’t arrive, so they email your customer support team who tells them they will look into it.
• The next day, the customer calls asking for an update. Despite not being the same agent who replied to the email, the agent who answers the call can see both the recent order and the support ticket.
• With this information, they can provide a rapid update to the situation without the customer having to re-explain their issue.

Compare this to what happens on disconnected systems: When the customer calls your agent, they’ll have to explain the entire problem again. The agent then has to recheck why the product is late, instead of simply getting the answer from the CRM.

4. Your support will be less personal

Call center software allows businesses to offer support that is personalized to each customer’s needs.

Many of the points we’ve already mentioned will also help you offer this kind of support. For example, you can route calls based on information about a customer, while omnichannel service provides crucial insight into customer problems.

But these aren’t the only examples of personalized customer service.

You can also route crucial data from your CRM to the agent alongside the call ticket. With this process set up, the agent can see all the relevant information about the customer before they start the call.

This allows them to:

• Call the customer by name
• See crucial account data
• See potential issues
• Gain further context into the reasons why the customer is calling

Good call center software is the key to high-quality support

Call center software helps you improve the support you offer. With a good system in place, you’ll save time, answer more calls, and provide better experiences that keep customers happy.