How to Choose the Best Call Center Software

Call center software helps call centers make and receive calls, route callers to the right agents, and provide better, faster service to customers.

Our research finds 75% of customers recommended a company based on excellent customer service. So, it's never been more important to find the best call center software to assist your service team.

Streamlining call center operations can not only help speed up your productivity but it can improve the service experience for your customers. Learn how call center software works, why you should be using it, the top features to look for, and more.

• What is call center software?
• How does call center software work?
• Benefits of call center software
• Types of call center software
• Key call center software features to look for
• How to pick the best call center software solution
• Why choose Salesforce for your call center solution
• Call center FAQs
• Step up your service operations with the right call center software

Call center software is the technology — programs, apps, and platforms — that helps call centers perform important tasks daily. This includes making and receiving calls from a computer or smartphone. But the best call center software will go a step further — automatically taking notes, recording conversations, routing calls, and storing customer data, so agents can provide top-quality service.

Call center software has become more advanced, with features such as artificial intelligence (AI) that can analyze sentiment and pull knowledge base articles to help agents resolve issues faster. However, the human touch is what makes a call center special. And call center software is a tool that helps live agents deliver better customer service.

Call center software works by connecting your customers with customer service agents — and all the information they need to do their jobs. The platform can make and take calls using a variety of voice technologies. Examples include a private branch exchange (PBX) that routes calls to onsite landlines, or a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) that handles calls digitally through a computer or mobile device.

Our research found that 26% of agents report lacking context about a customer's situation, making it harder to provide good customer service. Companies should invest in solutions, like call center software, that streamline essential service operations such as managing orders, providing tech support, and solving customer issues. This software makes it more cost-effective to provide support and improves the customer experience.

Here are the top benefits of call center software:

Efficiency and productivity

With the right technology, each agent can take on more calls and resolve problems faster. Automated routing systems match callers to agents with the skills to handle them. Customer relationship management (CRM) software stores caller data — including products customers have bought and their history with customer service — so agents can access the right information. Recordings and note chatbots take care of tedious but important tasks, such as documenting what customers say during calls.

24/7 self-service support

Call center systems can ensure only the calls that need a live agent get escalated. Callers can chat with an interactive voice response (IVR) function 24/7 to solve routine issues — like initiating a return or finding account information. Only the most complicated and sensitive issues get sent to live agents in your call center.

Error reduction and areas for improvement

An effective call center keeps records and gathers data. But doing this manually wastes a lot of time and is prone to human error — especially during times of high call volume. Call center platforms can record customer interactions and provide agents with AI-powered call summaries, but they can go even further. This software can analyze call stats and agent performance to find places where team members might need leader support. It can also identify bigger issues with the product or company that need to be addressed.

Improved customer experience

If you've ever called a company's service team for help, you know how frustrating it can be to get transferred, disconnected, given repeat information, or placed on hold. Call centers must be vigilant about the customer experience.

Smart routing to the right person is one way to make service calls smoother. If you use IVR, it can start working on a customer's issue right away. Scheduled callbacks are a great option for making sure customers don't sit on hold. And to avoid asking repetitive questions, agents can access a complete record of customers' interactions with chatbots, your help desk, digital channels like messaging and chat, and even other agents. All of this can improve your customer satisfaction scores (CSAT).

Personalized service

Our research shows that 81% of agents say customers expect a more personal touch than they did before. More data in the hands of skilled customer service agents makes a personal touch easy to deliver. "So, you've been using the product for the past few months? How's that going?" "Thanks for being a gold member for the past 5 years. We really appreciate your business." "OK, I see you called about this same issue a couple times last week. Sorry it's still giving you trouble, but I'll do my best to get it fixed." When an agent understands the caller and can make the experience feel personal, customers are typically happier.

Regulation compliance

For call centers that must comply with specific rules and regulations, such as medical institutions, call center software can enforce compliance. By automatically removing data that's no longer legal to keep — and notifying agents who violate rules — you can help ensure you keep sensitive information safe.

Quality assurance

Since analytics are collected automatically and bigger issues get flagged for supervisors, it's much easier to fix call quality issues. This helps your brand protect its reputation, ensures your team keeps improving, and contributes to a better customer experience.

Call center software takes a few forms, with some overlap. It's important to understand the different types, so you can decide which works best for your company:

• On-premises call centers: Traditional, physical call centers typically include a PBX for facilitating and routing calls and landlines for each agent. The pros of this type of call center are data privacy and a low per-agent cost, as software licenses are typically unlimited. They require heavy upfront investment and specialized IT staff to update and maintain your software.
• Hosted call centers: Hosted call centers use technology and software hosted entirely on cloud servers; calls run through those servers and are managed by a third party. They are similar to any software as a service (SaaS) product, get frequent updates and support, and have low upfront costs and ease of scaling. They tend to charge on a per-user basis and don't require much maintenance.
• Virtual call centers: These call centers are made of distributed teams working from remote locations. Because the hardware is disconnected and far away from a central location, these teams rely on hosted call center software.
• Inbound call centers: Software for these call centers manages and routes calls that come in from customers. Any of the above types of call centers can be inbound. This software must prioritize and distribute the calls and power features such as IVR systems, callbacks, and queues.
• Outbound call centers: This software handles calls made from agents to customers. On-premises, hosted, and virtual call centers may all be outbound. This software must pull lead and customer information for agents, dial leads, and integrate with a CRM.

To find the best call center software for your service team, make sure it has the following features.

Interactive voice response (IVR)

IVR systems are key to modern call center software. They can handle important but uncomplicated and repetitive tasks such as taking customer payments, providing account info, tracking orders, and setting up callbacks.

Skill-based call routing

Most systems have automatic call distribution (ACD) to handle routing to the next available agent or other department. But the best contact center software takes it a step further. Skill-based routing directs customers to the right agent from the start, matching their skills and expertise to the caller's known needs. This saves a lot of time when transferring and helps prevent customer frustration.

Voicemail and external routing

Strong voicemail management helps call centers provide a positive experience after hours. The best systems can distribute and queue up calls for agents the next day. They can also enable callback scheduling with added context from the voicemail in the customer's file.

Cloud-hosted calling

The flexibility and scalability of cloud calling supports remote, hybrid, and on-site service teams. Users typically experience improved call quality — with HD voice capabilities — elevating the customer experience. Cloud calling may also include advanced features such as call forwarding, virtual voicemail, and call recording.

Call recording and automatic note-taking

Understand exactly what you need to learn from a call by revisiting it with call recording. And with machine learning-powered note taking, agents and supervisors can review call highlights without having to rewatch or listen to an entire interaction.

Omnichannel routing

Omnichannel routing uses pre-defined rules to determine the priority and topic of incoming calls to direct them to the best available agent. If no agents are available, customers will be placed in a queue. Tip: provide customers with an estimated wait time and the option to receive a callback. This results in a better customer experience and better use of agent time and skills.

CRM integration

Simple call center software makes and receives calls, but modern service teams need to keep files on all known customers. If the calling system and CRM aren't connected, the extra step of manually recording interactions and inputting data creates more room for error. Make sure your call center software integrates with your CRM, or better yet, has one built in, like Salesforce.

Outbound campaign automation

If you need to make outbound calls, your call center software should be easy to use. A click-to-call feature saves your agents the step of manually dialing numbers. Automatic dialing starts the next call in a list as soon as an agent finishes a conversation, so they can make the most of their time.

Supervisor tools

Agents aren't the only ones who benefit from call center software features — supervisors and managers need tools, too. Key features are key performance indicator (KPI) monitoring (including some of the metrics from the reporting section above), team messaging, work optimization reports, and flag and whisper features. These tools help supervisors interact with agents during calls when needed, provide consistent feedback, measure success, and identify areas for improvement.

Reporting and analytics

The real superpower of a centralized platform is its analytics. With numbers measured automatically and consistently, you can create scorecards, train agents, and deliver continuous improvement to your callers. You should track customer service metrics such as:

• First call resolution (FCR): The rate of cases that get solved during a customer's first call.
• Average handle time (AHT): How long it takes a team or agent to solve a customer's case.
• Call abandonment rate (CAR): How often callers hang up before speaking to an agent.
• Transfer rate: How many calls an agent can handle without transferring to a colleague.
• Agent idle time: How long agents are not actively in a call during their shifts.
• Average customer queue time: How long callers wait before reaching an agent.
• Hit rate: How many contacts closed by an agent result in a sale.

Once you've decided on all the features you need, there are a few more things to consider before landing on the best solution. Research a product's:

Reputation

Check case studies, reviews, and online discussions from other customers to see how people feel about the call center software and its provider. This is important because it can reveal the level of satisfaction you're likely to have. It can also help you key in on questions to ask during the sales process to make sure the product is a good fit.

Service quality

Review the software's service-level agreement, guaranteed up-times for servers, and what types of customer service you can expect to receive with your license. Some solutions only offer email support, for example. Others might provide you with a dedicated account manager available every business day.

Pricing

Typically, call center software is offered on a per-user, per-month basis, with discounts for longer contracts or large enterprise transactions. More expensive products don't always mean higher quality, but low-cost options may not provide you with everything you need. You should consider must-have features with customer support features, integration capabilities, scalability, and ROI when choosing the best option.

Scalability

Any choice you make should be scalable. Look for a solution that lets you add and remove users as you go and upgrade and downgrade feature sets as needed. With scalability comes flexibility — so you aren't locked into products you aren't using, but you're also not stuck or unable to support your team as you grow.

User experience

Consider your agents' and supervisors' experience when choosing a product. You want to ensure it runs smoothly, is intuitive, and customizable, with readily available support. The more user friendly it is, the more likely your agents can be effective with a minimal learning curve.

Integrations

Unless you're starting a business from scratch, you'll have legacy software and systems in place. Your call center software should work well with them to ensure operations continue to run smoothly and important data is captured. Understand your choice's access to application programming interfaces (APIs) to see what custom integrations your IT team can build. And be sure to note what software it already supports.

Salesforce Service Cloud's contact center software is an omnichannel call center solution that can help your team stay competitive and provide excellent customer experiences. Some of its standout features include:

• Built-in cloud calling: Make and take calls right from the app and enable distributed teams with no need for additional software.
• Agent productivity tools: Agents get AI-powered recommendations based on the context of customer calls, and supervisors can quickly see who is available.
• Real-time metrics: Supervisors can watch key metrics to see where they need to help with onboarding, productivity, and employee engagement.
• Live chat: Agents can connect with customers anywhere using your apps, website, SMS, and other third-party messaging apps.
• Help center: Build a library of hosted articles and videos to provide resources to help agents during calls.
• Omnichannel routing: Automatically transfer calls to agents based on their skill set, availability, and preferred customer channel.
• Conversational insights: Find keywords, action items, and more during calls and conversations with AI-powered summaries.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Service Cloud software connects with other Salesforce tools, so teams who use more than one get the benefit of that data and functionality connecting and helping cross-departmental teams succeed.

It also has wide developer support, add-ons for just about anything you need in your contact center, and pre-built integrations for many of the major types of software you use. This makes it flexible for unique use cases and helps IT teams save time on custom integrations.

A lot goes into choosing the best call center software for your needs. It should help your service team serve more customers more efficiently and provide the best experience possible. It can be a big investment, but when implemented correctly, your operations will run much smoother, leading to happier agents and customers. Remember that your call center agents are on the front line, representing your brand. Help them do their best and it will pay off.