Mobile communication became a real breakthrough for businesses many decades ago. However, it soon became apparent that its functionality was insufficient for effective operations. Instead, virtual telephony provided entrepreneurs with all the necessary tools: voice menus, intelligent call forwarding, communication analytics, and more. Yet, today, even this has become commonplace. So, what should modern business communication look like? Let’s consider the latest trends and requirements for telephony if you want to build an efficient call center.
Multichannel and Integration
Today’s consumers have high expectations for the quality and speed of service. These cannot be ignored if a business wants to remain competitive.
In particular, users value contacting company representatives through various channels: phone, email, messengers, and website chats. According to Salesforce research, 78% of consumers prefer to use different channels depending on the context, and 71% use multiple channels to start and complete a single transaction. This means, for example, that the first way to contact the company was a Viber message, but the sale took place during a phone call.
Even when contacting through different channels, consumers expect company representatives to “remember” and “recognize” them — 72% of consumers expect that even different sales reps will have the same data about them. And they won’t have to describe the situation again to a new employee if they have to start a new chat or call after communicating in a messenger.
Outdated telephony solutions cannot meet these requirements. After all, this requires creating a unified system that combines various tools, programs, and services and automatically transfers data between them. Such multichannel and integration is a hallmark of modern business telephony.
This not only increases customer satisfaction but also allows call center employees to interact with each other effectively.
The main advantages of effective multichannel support include:
- data transfer between different channels and programs;
- providing personalized service;
- centralized storage and use of information for effective team interaction.
On the other hand, the lack of such a solution makes work disorganized and resource-intensive. For example, according to statistics, employees spend approximately 32 days a year performing routine tasks:
- switching between different interfaces;
- manually filling in program fields;
- dialing phone numbers;
- searching for information about the interlocutor in the CRM, etc.
Let’s consider this using the example of the Ringostat application, which has over 30 ready-made integrations with various services, including CRM. The benefits of such integration:
- data about each call is automatically transferred to the CRM system, creating a contact;
- the next time the same person calls, the operator will see the name and surname on the screen and will be able to greet the person by name;
- the employee can also go to the customer’s card in the CRM with one click and recall the details of the deal to conduct the current conversation substantively;
- in the “Insider” section of the calling application, you can view other important information about the interlocutor: location, number of previous phone calls, the page of the site from which the current call was made, etc.
In any case, the customer will be satisfied.
Or let’s take a look at how convenient it is to work with requests when they all come into a single Ringostat app. The sales rep doesn’t need to keep all the interfaces of chats, social networks, and messengers open to avoid missing a single request. The Ringostat app will notify them when a call or message arrives, even if the window is minimized. The history of all correspondence is also always at hand. Even if the person contacted you through a different channel each time, for example, they wrote to Messenger first and then to chat, you can easily see what they were talking about.
Cross-platform compatibility
The old analog telephony literally tied employees to their desks in the office with cables and wires. With the advent of virtual telephony, businesses are now able to work from anywhere in the world. All you need is a laptop and a stable Internet connection to communicate.
Modern virtual telephony platforms offer an even more convenient cross-platform format. Access to the full functionality — from calls to communication analytics — is available not only on work computers but also on smartphones. This is especially convenient for those businesses whose employees often work outside the office and need to stay in touch with colleagues, clients, and contractors.
In particular, Ringostat has recently presented the cross-platform call application that works on macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS devices. The application allows you to:
- receive and make calls, the data on which is stored in reports, and the conversations themselves are recorded;
- during a call, see the name of the interlocutor if it is saved in CRM;
- view valuable customer insights that help you better understand their needs;
- correspond with users of different messengers and chat rooms on the website in a single interface.
For example, a manager can start the day at the office, making calls to clients and contractors from his or her work computer. And in the afternoon, they can go to a meeting, continuing to communicate on business issues, but from their smartphone. At the same time, data on all calls, including call recordings, will be stored in a single system.
Also, an app does not “drain” the phone’s battery, which is especially important during long power outages. It also helps to maintain communication when there is a power outage, as access to the mobile Internet is enough to make calls.
So, when choosing virtual telephony for your sales or service department, pay attention to the availability of cross-platform solutions from the service provider. You may need to work outside the office — on the road, during a meeting, or in other circumstances. And when you return to your workplace, you can continue working at your computer, which is very convenient.
Power Dialer
Call center and sales employees make dozens or even hundreds of calls every day. If each phone number has to be dialed or copy-pasted manually, it takes at least a few minutes a day.
Users of modern business telephony have an advantage. They don’t have to dial numbers manually, but can call with one click on the number stored in a CRM card or database.
However, there is an even more powerful solution that saves employees time and effort by eliminating the need for manual dialing. This is Power Dialer, an auto-dialer tool. It automatically calls contacts from a preloaded list. It also pauses between calls for a specified length of time so that the call center employee has time to take the necessary notes and prepare for the next call. If the number is busy or disconnected, Power Dialer dials the next number in the list.
This is how the solution helps:
- automate routines and get rid of unnecessary manual work;
- optimize the entire process of making outgoing calls by creating a database of numbers to call in advance and control the result;
- reduce time costs;
- increase team efficiency.
The Power Dialer solution is part of the Ringostat calling application. This means that you can work on the number database not only on your office computer but also in other circumstances using your smartphone. For example, in a hotel during a business trip. This increases employee mobility and productivity.
Artificial intelligence
Leading global companies are already implementing artificial intelligence in their products. In a few years, it will be impossible to imagine any interaction, process, or report without this powerful tool.
According to experts, these are the AI capabilities that will soon become the most widespread and indispensable:
- chatbots with artificial intelligence that will “work” on the first line of service for incoming call center requests, while operators will be able to focus on processing more complex or problematic issues;
- “assistants” to the sales rep, who will provide advice and tips on how to conduct a conversation and close a deal;
- accurate analysis of phone calls and generation of reports on communication results — this will help save time and effort for operators, who currently have to listen to all phone call recordings and make reports on them manually.
Our customers already have access to functionality that simplifies and speeds up their work, strengthens their team, and helps them achieve better results.
Let’s take a look at a few examples of why AI-enhanced telephony has advantages for call centers compared to conventional communication that doesn’t have AI implemented.
Instant mood analysis
Fortunately, when calling a modern company, it is rare to come across a rude or impolite consultant. Businesses realize that only impeccable service can win the trust and favor of a customer. Therefore, communication must leave the interlocutors satisfied. Does every phone call in your business have this result?
In the past, you had to make an effort to understand what kind of impression customers get from communication with employees. Managers were forced to conduct surveys, analyze reviews on social media, and selectively listen to phone conversations. Now, it’s enough to look at an AI report to notice conversations where something went wrong. Or, on the contrary, exemplary successful communication.
Analysis of service quality
This solution can instantly transcribe and translate conversations, converting audio to text, and then analyze phone calls according to various predefined metrics. Do sales reps follow scripts? Do they know the product well? Do they answer all the questions of the interlocutors in full and in detail?
Recommendations
Some phone conversations end in nothing: the customer is left full of doubts, the employee is left confused, and the deal is disrupted. Artificial intelligence helps employees solve the problem by providing recommendations for further steps based on the content of the conversation. This helps to close the sale and avoid losing leads due to uncertainty and lack of initiative.
Summarize and control the conversation
Based on each phone call, AI creates a brief summary, eliminating the need for your employees to take notes manually. It also makes it easy to monitor team performance. After all, you no longer need to listen to dozens or hundreds of conversations to draw conclusions about the quality of service or product knowledge. It’s enough to look at a short AI report.
Moreover, AI brings benefits in the long run. The solution helps to better understand the behavior, preferences, needs, satisfaction points, and frustrations of potential customers. This makes it possible to strengthen marketing, improve sales strategy, focus on team training, and prevent customer churn due to repeated team mistakes.
Real-time analytics
Even mobile telephony stores the history of incoming and outgoing calls, as well as missed calls — such simple reports are not surprising. Virtual telephony reports, of course, are much more detailed and complete. For example, they also contain data about the waiting time and call time, the operator who answered the call, and so on.
Ringostat also offers additional analytical reports. For example, a report on missed unprocessed calls will be very useful in the work of a call center. It records not all missed calls, but only those that operators have not yet called back. Thanks to this report, employees won’t forget to contact all potential customers or partners. And if it’s empty in the evening, the work can be considered done perfectly. However, the manager can check every second to see if employees are missing calls, and if so, whether they are catching up quickly.
Speaking of management. Modern virtual telephony provides managers with convenient real-time reports on team performance. This is especially useful for remote work that cannot be monitored directly, or in case of frequent absence of the employee from the office.
You can also see the daily performance of each employee individually:
Receiving valuable information in real time is useful not only for management but also for employees. For example, during a phone call, a sales rep can view analytical data about the person on the other end.
Below is an example of the data that a user of the Ringostat call app receives right during a call.
Here you can learn about:
- how many phone calls were made earlier;
- how many times the person has visited the site before;
- from which ads, from the source to the keyword, the transition to your website took place;
- which pages of the site were viewed.
This analytical data can help an employee communicate more effectively: better understand a person’s needs, offer the right product or service, provide detailed and relevant advice, and offer a related or complementary product when appropriate.
Thus, thanks to modern virtual telephony technologies, you can track everything that matters to your company in real time. From how long customers wait for a response to how satisfied they are with the service. You can also set and track key performance indicators (KPIs) for your employees online. And quickly solve problems if they arise.
Conclusions
- Cloud telephony has many business benefits. However, not every solution on the market meets modern global requirements. When choosing a communication provider for your company, you should give preference to communication platforms that constantly follow trends in the tech world and create new products. This way, you will always have access to advanced solutions that will move your business forward.
- Pay attention to the ability to integrate all the tools you use to communicate with customers into a single system. Give preference to a solution that works equally well on different devices. This will ensure mobility and freedom of communication without being tied to a workplace.
- Outbound call centers handle dozens or hundreds of calls every day. Save your employees’ time and effort by automating even the dialing process with Power Dialer.
- Get instant insights about your callers. Leverage the power of artificial intelligence embedded in telephony to deliver truly effective communication and save time, effort, and resources on manual labor. Empower your team with modern tools.
