Top features to look for
Every business is different and therefore has different needs, however, here are some features you should be considering whether you are an established business or a growing one in order to improve the agent and customer experience.
Automatic Routing: Having automated routing capabilities available for every channel allows customers to be connected to the right agent more quickly and eliminates the need for managers to manually assign calls, emails, chats etc. to agents. For telephony this means being able to set up and continually modify routing settings for each phone number, including store hours, IVR and much more to ensure customers are always routed to the right agent. Chat and email conversations should have the ability to be routed too based on the nature of the customer’s request – usually referred to as content-based routing or rule-based routing.
Callback: Finding software that has callback can greatly improve your customer experience and it’s starting to become a feature customers now expect since 36.9% of contact centers already have it (Contact Centre Helper). Customers value their time and get increasingly more frustrated when they have to wait on hold to speak with a representative. Instead of waiting on hold, callback allows customers to hang up and receive a callback from an agent once it’s their turn.
Integration Capabilities: Make sure your new software can integrate with your current systems. For a webshop, this could mean integrating with Magento or Shopify so agents can have a clear view of a customer’s purchase and contact history when assisting them.
VoIP vs. Landline Phones: Using VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony, your business can simplify your call center infrastructure and save on costs. You will also be able to save space by eliminating the hardware that comes with landline phones.
Skill-based Routing: The last thing you want to do is keep your customers waiting, especially to be connected to someone who cannot help them. With skill-based routing, you can eliminate this issue by routing customers to queues with agents who have the skills to assist them based on what they selected throughout the routing process. This saves all parties time and effort, ensuring the best possible experience from the most qualified agent.
Analytics & Reporting: It’s crucial that you have the ability to view real-time and historical data on your team’s performance. Historical reporting can help managers identify peak times or seasons as well as areas that need improvement. Real-time reports should include: average wait time, average handling time, longest wait time and service level agreements across channels to start. Additionally, being able to measure perfomance on an agent basis is also a plus.
Automatic Customer Recognition: Recognizing customers and automatically displaying their data (contact details, order history etc.), can save agents from having to ask repetitive questions and allows them to provide more personalized support. This can help your team drastically improve their efficiency and avoid risk of human error while allowing them to focus on the customer instead of processes.
Mobile Capabilities: Having a mobile version of the solution available allows agents to provide support from any location at any time. From a customer’s point of view, having a mobile version of a chat widget is especially important since many people shop on their mobile devices.
Scalability: Make sure the software you choose is one that you can continue to use as you grow. Adding new agents, support channels and countries should be easy and shouldn’t require too much effort to set up. Don’t forget to clarify if you can keep existing phone numbers too as well as add new ones.