Points to Consider Before Purchasing a Call Center Software

Before talking to vendors about call cener softwares, it’s important to identify the objectives you want to achieve with the new system. This includes quantifiable objectives, such as new revenue potential, cost savings, increased number of calls handled per representative, etc. This will enable you to have a more productive conversation with vendors so you can make the best decision for your needs and budget.

The first thing to check is your usage pattern. Consider the types of calls your business makes on the average business day, as well as slow and busy days. Do you have mostly inbound calls, outbound, or mixed? Also, try to consider what times will you need the system, when will the biggest usage periods be, and what volume of calls you expect.

Also think about how many agents will use your system today and in the future, and where they will be located. You’ll want a system that can scale both in number of users as well as geographically as your business grows, without incurring unplanned costs.

Second, check your budget. The question is, how much are you willing to spend for the return of investment you expect to get? Call center software can be expensive. It can range in price from $1,000 to get started, for smaller call centers with about five reps, to $20,000 for bigger organizations with 100 or more representatives. When considering your budget for the project, take into account scalability. How will the new system scale with your business and what will the associated costs be?

Third, check what will be needed to install the system. In addition to set-up and installation times and costs, you’ll also need to take into account ongoing maintenance. For example, all vendors perform software upgrades. Be sure to ask your sales representative how upgrades are handled, how often they make them, and also – how often and for how long their systems are down as they perform maintenance. You want to ensure that your business does not come to a grinding halt when your vendor is performing maintenance on their system.

Lastly, try to check what kind of customer support do you need. You’ll want to get specifics from your vendor on their level of customer support if you run into issues or need additional training. For example, is their support available 24/7, and are they available by phone, live chat, or just email? What are average response times and hold times to talk to an agent during peak hours? Will you have one account manager to talk to or will you be calling into a call center? How does the vendor handle system failures and emergencies?

With all those checked, you are now confident to procure your own call center software. But be always wary that there are no perfect system for your business, you just need to pick all the vital features that your business needs.