5 questions to ask yourself about contact centre software

These days most customers expect to be able to contact businesses through a variety of communication channels. Many companies are currently looking into selecting a suitable contact centre software that will bring all these platforms together to meet this need.

For the uninitiated, the contact centre differs from the call centre in that it goes beyond just offering telephone communication. It enables efficient and effective customer assistance in technical help, customer service, or sales assistance through any number of methods such as email, webchat, social media platform interactions and telephone.

Although it may seem like a formidable task to sift through the various choices and options available with contact centre software, you can simplify the selection process. Start with focusing on how well the platform will fit your business's goals and how well it will integrate with the software investments you have already made.

Here are five key questions to ask when looking at which contact centre software may suit your business's needs. These should simplify your journey through the evaluation process.

---

What will be the total cost of ownership of the contact centre software?

There are several factors to be explored by finding answers to this question. For example, look at the following elements:

• Cost of purchasing the software
• Cost of deployment of the software
• IT requirements – will you need to purchase hardware?
• Agent productivity, once the system is installed

Two primary options can affect pricing. These are whether to install the software on your premises or the Cloud. The Cloud will generally be a more cost-effective option to consider. The Cloud's benefit is that it can easily be reached when working from home without requiring the installation of VPNs for security purposes.

---

How easy is interoperability/integration of the contact centre software with other systems?

Although there may be many different platforms that need to be considered regarding interoperability and integration, it can be simplified with the right solution. For example, it's possible to move your phone system onto the computer and integrate your CRM system with the contact centre software to keep records on any communication and customer interests.

---

What is the cost and ease of maintaining the contact centre software?

How much investment does the system need to ensure availability, uptime and security? The downside of not investing will be complaints about your call centre being inaccessible, dropped calls etc.

In addition to ensuring that any supporting hardware and software are kept version current, there could be hardware requirements. The business should also be able to scale the software to match any business expansion.

---

How easy is it to use the contact centre software?

There are a few factors to consider when looking at how easy the contact centre software is to use by your agents. Considerations such as integrating your CRM software, help desk software and ticketing technology to save time and prevent your agents from inputting data into multiple systems. Agents also need to find the platform easy to use as it will need to be used successfully daily.

---

How well will the contact centre software meet the needs of your customers?

What benefits will you be bringing to your customers with this new contact centre software? Will your customers gain better customer service, which will trickle down into greater loyalty and better commercial results? Is the investment worth the outcome?

If you've been recording data from customer surveys, you'll be aware of where the strengths and weaknesses lie in your current customer service offering. Identify which areas you can strengthen through implementing a cost-effective and efficient contact centre solution.

If you'd like to discuss your company goals in a no-obligation chat with our team, get in touch today. We've had extensive experience working with businesses of all sizes looking to transition to a contact centre software. We will even be able to advise you on change management considerations.