Unless you work in a contact center, the tools these businesses use probably aren’t something you think about much.
But, contact center software plays an impactful role in how you experience a brand.
Remember the time when an agent you spoke to knew your problem and had the correct information to solve it?
That was due to great contact center software that enabled data sharing throughout an entire team.
And how about that time when you spent what felt like hours navigating automated programs before you spoke to an agent?
Well, that was due to not-so-great call center software. Or at least good software badly implemented.
Here are some ways that call center software can directly impact the experience you have with brands.
1. Self-Service Helps You Find Solutions Independently
Most contact center software has powerful self-service features. These let customers find answers to their questions independently.
These tools come in several forms, but the most common are:
- Self-Service IVR: Self-service IVR is an automated system that answers calls and helps you find answers without ever speaking to agents. You get instant, 24/7 support for simple queries like discovering opening hours or booking updates.
- Chatbots: Chatbots have a similar function to IVR, except they do it for online text-based conversations. You can use these automated solutions to discover answers to simple questions.
- Knowledge Base: A knowledge base is a searchable resource you can use to find answers to your questions. Think of it as an interactive user manual for the product or service.
2. IVR Helps You Access The Right Help
We mentioned IVR in the section above, but these tools have a use beyond being a self-service resource.
They are also a way for contact centers to discover why the customer is calling the business. With this information, the tool can send the customer to the correct department.
Most people reading this will have experience with IVRs. They are the automated service that answers your calls and then provides a list of options that you can choose from by dialing a particular key.
Despite helping customers access the relevant help, these tools have a poor reputation. The list and dial system is clunky. And people view them as barriers to human help, not tools that help them speak to the right people.
But modern systems use conversational AI technology, which significantly improves the experience.
The IVR simply asks you why you are calling, and you answer with regular speech. The tool then deciphers this language and routes you to the correct department.
3. Routing Automatically Sends You to the Right Agent
Effective routing is a call center software feature that you almost certainly overlook. But it can nonetheless have a significant impact on your experience.
The reason is that routing systems analyze your call and automatically send you to the right department.
Good routing systems can send calls based on various factors.
For example:
- Location: The system checks the phone number and sends the caller to the contact center closest to their location.
- Open tickets: The system can check the number against open tickets and then route the call to an agent who can help.
- VIP routing: The system can identify high-value accounts and route these callers directly to agents while skipping the queue.
This results in shorter calls because you speak to the people best placed to help.
4. Omnichannel Support Ensures Quality Support Everywhere
Omnichannel support is when a contact center takes communication from different services such as email, social media, phone, and text, and combines them into a single inbox.
This hugely improves the service team’s ability to offer great support for three reasons:
- They can see all a customer’s communication in a single place, no matter which service the conversation occurred on.
- They can move the conversation to the most appropriate channel. For example, by using email to provide updates about a phone conversation.
- Other agents can see the conversations. This makes it easy for them to take over the conversation or add updates without needing the customer to bring them up to date.
These Features Have a Big Impact
These features directly impact you when you call a contact center. It’s why more businesses are switching to modern solutions that offer these tools.
It helps them provide excellent service that meets the needs of their customers, every time.
babelforce is the #1 most powerful platform for contact center service. Their No-Code toolkit puts customer experience into the hands of people who live and breathe it every day; make service easy for customers, easy for agents, and easy for you.
