Did you know that 47% of consumers will take their business to the competitor because of poor customer service? This little number is enough to convince anyone of the importance of using a call center CRM for their business. Enhanced customer service, prompt responses and the aspect of human interaction make implementing a call center necessary.
But, is just a call center software enough?
What is Call center CRM?
Many confuse call center CRM and a contact center software. This is not surprising considering that the functions can overlap. But there is a difference, and this can help you make the most of your call center team.
A call center software is basically an enabler, that helps you to make the calls, receive calls, track the number of calls being made along with other call center KPIs, and generate IVR responses. And that’s where it ends.
And now a call center CRM steps in. In addition to doing everything that a call center software does, it also allows them to get a 360 degree view of the lead/customers interests. Additionally, before you pick up the phone, you know exactly what your lead wants which lets your team deliver personalized service.
Instead of purchasing a separate call center suite and another CRM suite, implementing a CRM which comes with a call center integration would make the best sense for your business and its needs.
10 features that your call center CRM should have:
1. Integrate with other business tools:
When you run a business, you will use a lot of tools for your business. This could be platforms for running ads like AdWords or Facebook, chat tools, or integrations with your customer support tools. Your call center CRM should be able to integrate with these multiple systems to enable all your business tools to work together as one system.
2. Connected desktop application:
For many businesses, the tele calling team works out of an office. In some cases, they alternate between the field and the floor. Which means your call center should work both on the mobile and desktop. Additionally, both the versions of the tool should be in sync with each other, allowing the agent to stay up to date of what is going on with his customers.
3. Automated call capture:
Whenever a new incoming call is coming into the system, there should be no need of entering it manually. By automating call capture, you ensure that none of the calls are missed out. This way you rule out manual errors where the agent may forget to log in the incoming calls that he gets in a day.
4. Transparent telephonic processes:
When a manager wants to take a look at the performance of his sales team, he should be able to attribute revenue to his call center team accurately. Your call center CRM should be able to show how many calls an agent makes in a day, how many calls have resulted in a demo or a positive sales action, the content of these calls that he makes and the size of the deal that his calls have brought the business. This way you can map results accurately and also weed out poor performers.
5. Detailed customer history:
Making calls without knowing about the customer is equivalent to stabbing in the dark. Which is why your CRM should be able to show you what your lead actually wants and what his previous purchases have been like (in the case of an existing customer). With this information, you will only improve your customer satisfaction by offering them a more customized experience.
6. IVR integration:
One of the functions of a call center that eats up a lot of your cost is routine queries. This could be inquiries regarding investments plans or available courses. Not only will they cost more manpower but could also eat away the time of your agents. Instead, by using an IVR integration, you solve this problem.
7. Availability and Quality based distribution:
A good call center CRM will automatically distribute calls to the agents. But, would just a random assignment of calls make sense? There may be times when some of the users may not be available or when the caller requires an agent with some expertise in his requirement.
Your CRM should be able to check which users are online and assign leads to them. It should also be able to check the requirements of the lead and assign it to the relevant call center agent. For example, if you get an inquiry asking for a car loan, then you send it to the agent handling car loans.
8. Activity-based call prioritization:
A typical call agent may have hundreds of calls coming his way on an average day. Prioritizing these leads is what will make them smart workers. Your CRM should help your agents to classify them based on the activities they perform. For example, a lead visits the pricing page and submitted a form, then he’d be priority one. But, a lead just browsed on a product page and didn’t perform any action, then he’d be priority three.
Your agents can also set tasks and reminders or auto-dialing the leads so that they don’t miss out on any of the leads that come in.
9. Missed call and voicemail tracking:
Not just incoming and outgoing calls, your CRM should also be able to capture your missed calls and voicemails. It can then automatically assign the leads to the relevant tele-calling agent.
[Also read: 25 super-effective voicemail greetings for your business]
10. Real-time and historical reporting:
Your CRM should provide real-time data such as the average call time, average wait time and the average response time of their agents. This real-time data helps managers keep a check on the performance of the team.
Additionally, it should also give you historical information such as the number of calls an agent has made in a given time period, the number of deals he has closed or the number of tickets he has solved. It can also give information such as the best performing lead source, geography or agent. This will give the management an idea of the ongoing trends. They can then make strategic decisions for the growth of the company.
Benefits of implementing a call center CRM:
As John Russell says, “The more you engage your customers, the clearer things become and the easier it is to determine what you should be doing.”
This is exactly what a call center CRM does. If you still doubt what I say, then here are some tangible benefits that you will realize from using a call center CRM.
- A complete view of the customer: Know every interaction that your customer has had with your business. With this data, you can deliver a much better solution to their issue or you can sell them a product/service better suited to their needs.
- Increased accountability: A CRM helps you distribute, manage and prioritize your leads and calls effectively. Which gives your team no room for excuses anymore! :)
- Reduced turnaround time: By automating the process and setting constant reminders, you can reduce the time it takes to call a lead/customer back.
- Better efficiency: As a CRM reduces the need for manual work, you can now improve your efficiency. Your team can focus more on selling the product/service or solving the problem of the lead instead of routine tasks.
- Lower costs: Automating your tele calling team will ultimately reduce the amount of labor required and save money in the long run. Since you are using two tools in one, you will be able to cut costs there as well.
- Better customer experience: With so much going on, your customer is bound to notice, and you will see their satisfaction levels rise by leaps and bounds.
Have I convinced you about the merits of using a call center CRM? If yes, then you should check out LeadSquared which comes with every single feature that I have mentioned. They have also recently released a universal telephony connector which allows you to integrate multiple contact center solutions. Head on down and take a demo!
