What is call center technology?

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Contents

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Contents

Customers often contact a call center when they are frustrated or experiencing an issue with a product or service. In the background, entire systems run behind the scenes to manage their call and put them in touch with a representative as efficiently as possible. Call center technology refers to these different software and hardware tools used to run a call center. Management systems keep track of call volume, route incoming calls, and perform data analytics in real-time. The software may use a call recording that informs callers of hold times or an interactive voice response (IVR) system, reducing the workload for call center agents. Predictive dialers use algorithms to reduce wait times for agents and customers on the line. 

There are different types of call centers. Some call centers handle inbound calls where the customer contacts the center. In contrast, others make outbound calls to customers, and some even do both. Regardless, similar technology is critical to the proper functioning of the call center. No matter the kind of call center, ensuring a positive call center experience is crucial to a customer’s experience with a company. So what exactly do call centers do?  

1. What does a call center do?

Customer satisfaction is a crucial metric and the priority of every call center employee. At the core of each call center or contact center is the customer interaction. Still, the software running behind the scenes plays a crucial role in ensuring optimum customer service. Call centers are run for different reasons, whether for communicating with prospective clients, or providing after-sales services or technical support. ViiBE’s technology has recently expanded the scope of a call center to remote visual inspection following travel and social distancing restrictions.  

Ultimately, the call center’s job is to take care of the customer-company relationship. After all, just one negative experience can cost you many customers. Even worse, a bad experience can spread through word of mouth or social media and tarnish your brand image. Call centers must prepare for disruptions in this relationship by training their employees for service recovery. Successful service recovery can improve the customer’s impression of a company beyond their satisfaction level had they never encountered a problem. So, in a nutshell, a call center connects the customer with the company and ensures an ongoing positive relationship.   

2. Which software is used in call centers?

Different solutions exist for different kinds of call centers. Traditional call center software differs from omnichannel contact center software. Some solutions are cloud-based, while others may require a software download. ViiBE is an installation-free web app, which works effortlessly with any device. ViiBE’s expertise call routing saves time for both you and your customer by putting them in touch with an expert from the beginning. Here is an overview of the many different types of call center technology.  

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Call center technology

3. An overview of call center technology

With the wide variety of use cases for call centers, there are many different solutions for call centers. Here are some of the most common solutions: 

3.1. Traditional call center

Traditional call centers have existed for decades. These centers communicate with customers exclusively by making and receiving telephone calls. The software running these centers can vary, but important metrics are Average Handling TimeFirst Call Resolution Rate, and Net Promoter Score. These key performance indicators are essential to the performance of call centers and contact centers alike. 

3.2. Contact Center

A contact center augments the capabilities of a call center by adding more lines of communication. Text and video chat functionality gives customers the option to pick the mode of communication that is best suited to their needs. Some contact centers integrate co-browsing as a pre-sales support function. Other contact centers are now implementing AI chatbots to handle initial contact with customers, passing the conversation to a human customer agent when necessary.  

3.3. Virtual Call Center

ViiBE integrates easily into your pre-existing call center technology. ViiBE’s system is easily configurable to each call center’s individual hierarchy and expertise structure. If you don’t already have a center set up, ViiBE can create a virtual call center. Even if your agents are scattered around the world, ViiBE’s virtual call center makes workforce management easy. ViiBE’s virtual call center is focused on video interaction. This focus on video empowers your call agents to communicate with empathy and understand customers’ emotions more accurately. 

3.4. Customer Service Management Tools

Popular customer services management (CRM) platforms like ZendeskSalesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics are becoming essential to providing an excellent customer experience. ViiBE integrates easily into the ticketing platform and creates a seamless customer support experience for any of these CRMs. The support agent invites the customer to a video chat by a simple web link. The pictures or documents shared during the call are connected back to and archived in the ticket in your CRM software. 

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4. How to use call center technology effectively?

With so many options, how do you choose the right technology for your call center? No matter your use case, ViiBE is a flexible solution that will work well no matter what software you choose. Its knowledge management tool distributes knowledge evenly among agents and keeps them up to date with the latest information. ViiBE makes it easy to organize your call center and to track improvements. The ticketing solution can integrate past customer interactions into the knowledge base for training purposes. It can store multiple calls under one ticket and uses tags to track ongoing issues. ViiBE asks customers for quick feedback after each call and uses this to update an employee’s KPIs in real-time. ViiBE is designed from the ground up to enhance your call center’s performance.  Indeed, using new technology to automate your call center’s tasks is a great way to save cost, time and increase customer satisfaction.

5. Conclusion

Call centers have long played an essential role in customer service. Traditional call centers have been the intermediary between the customer and the company in resolving customer issues. While phone calls are still important, adding omnichannel support is improving communication. ViiBE empowers you with the tools to better respond to your customer’s needs in our increasingly digital world. Its suite of solutions can be tailored to your company’s specific use case and adapts to your existing systems.

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