Call center technology is perpetually moving into the future, which is the same forward momentum that most business owners are looking to achieve. If you’re currently working with a center to help manage the flow of traffic, you may be evaluating what features your provider offers, and whether they are poised to suit the needs of your expanding enterprise. The fact is that some call centers are behind the times simply because they don’t need to be ahead of them. They have a small client base, and those clients don’t require the value-added benefits that a larger service boasts. You may be outgrowing your service for that very reason.

Will leveraging advanced technology with another provider give you a competitive edge? Or is it better to stay where you are and make a few internal improvements instead? For business owners that have already started call center shopping, you may not be sure what your current provider lacks or what add-ons to look for that will increase lead conversion. For those that understand the value of progressive tech in today’s marketplace but are not in a position to switch service providers, there may be workarounds in the form of apps or third-party sites that can help you shore up procedures without the need to start from scratch. Knowing what you need is the hard part. So, we’ve put together a few guideposts to point you in the right direction.

Let’s walk through 8 reasons why you need to upgrade your call center, along with alternative software solutions for business owners who aren’t sold on the idea of switching providers. Whichever path you choose, taking the initiative to elevate day-to-day operations will secure future successes and eventually lead to an elevated bottom line.

Reason #1: Your on-call process is clunky, and you can’t keep tabs on your crew

Solution: Utilize advanced on-call technology

How does your current center handle on-call schedules?

• Are you able to build out your rotation in advance?
• Do they track which staff members are answering calls, and how many attempts are made before a response?
• Is it easy to address last-minute changes?

If you answered NO to any of these questions, then your center’s on-call process is probably not user-friendly and may be impeding the speedy management of customers’ issues. Ideally, what on-call features should you look for at a new center?

• Ability to create schedules in advance for Warm Transfers, Cold Transfers, and Reach On-Call
• One-click scheduling, enabling you to copy the same rotation across specific days or hours sets
• Quick updates online or via a mobile app for last-minute changes
• Option to choose which Reach method is best for your team: SMS, TTS (text-to-speech), or the full call recording
• Option to SMS or email message details to all on-call contacts, or to the contact who responds first to a TTS or call recording Reach
• Ability to stop an active Reach from your secure online portal or mobile app if the message has been picked up elsewhere
• Ability to scale or customize the number of outbound attempts to your team for certain on-call types
• At-a-glance metrics showing which staff members are responding, as well as average response times

If you are scheduling via a third-party on-call system and you decide to switch call centers, be sure to ask if the new provider can integrate with or access your existing on-call schedule, or if they have their own proprietary software built into their web portal.

Reason #2: You’re wasting time entering data into a CRM

Solution: Integrate with platforms that do the work for you

Managing lead data is the first step to growing your customer base. So if you don’t have a flawless system in place, call details may get lost in the shuffle. How does your current service provider send you leads after each call? By email, SMS, fax, or a combination of these? And what do you do with that data once it’s received?

• Are you typing each new lead into your CRM?
• Are you transferring data from your cell phone to a spreadsheet?
• Are you using your cell phone to keep track of everything and everyone?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then it’s time to find a better way to organize your leads and customer inquiries. Customer Relationship Management software, or CRMs, are readily available for all different types of businesses. While you’re researching which CRM platform would be best for your needs, look for one that can also populate lead data from an email, such as Salesforce, or utilize an email parser to get the job done. That will save you time and allow you to place your primary focus where it belongs: on the customer.

Reason #3: You’re using your cell phone to text callers

Solution: Communicate via chat-to-text features

When you’re rushing from job site to job site, responding to prospective customers from your cell phone and keeping them all straight is a hassle. And if you’ve ever accidentally texted the wrong thing to the wrong person, then you know that using your cell phone to communicate with customers is an eventual recipe for disaster. So how can your call center help?

The best case scenario is to find a call center with a secure user interface that enables you to call and text customers right from their lead page, without the need to involve your personal cell number. Taking that a step further, you want something that your entire team can access to easily assess lead stages and communication notes, ensuring that work is being distributed equally. The second best solution is to check out business text messaging services that incorporate omni-channel communication via a website or mobile app, leaving your personal information out of the picture. There are options that also double as a CRM, so you can keep all communications in one place.

Reason #4: You’re manually sending new customer emails

Solution: Send automated emails through a secure app

Being busy is ubiquitous. Between families, kids, pets, and your business, it isn’t often that any of us have downtime. Whatever your specific situation, every minute counts. So as a business owner who is trying to manage tasks more efficiently and achieve that illusory concept of work-life balance, why spend extra time manually creating welcome emails when you can have an automated system manage this task for you?

If sitting at a computer and processing a bunch of intake forms after-hours is your m.o., then let’s talk about what communication features to look for at a new center.

• Customizable email app, enabling you to instantly send messages based on callers’ requests, including web links and attachments>
• Customizable SMS app, enabling you to instantly SMS callers with web links and information, as well as trigger SMS messages to callers to confirm contact details while they are still on the line with the agent
• Customizable scripting, enabling you to integrate multiple apps within the same script path, enabling simultaneous communication across several channels

If it seems like a lot to switch call centers for this type of capability, then third-party email marketing apps are the next best thing. Many of them offer a free trial, so you can try before you buy to make sure you’re getting everything you need. Look for services that combine a CRM with personalizable marketing emails, like this one. Don’t underestimate the power of analytics, which will help you track which content is resulting in the most lead conversions.

Reason #5: You’re not following up with web form submissions in a timely manner

Solution: Have agents instantly call prospects that have submitted forms on your site

You have a dynamic website and a quick contact form that gets a lot of hits, but there are simply not enough hours in the day for you to call prospective customers or address service concerns. By the time you finish with all the jobs on your schedule, it’s too late to get in touch with anyone except Mr. TV Dinner, swiftly followed by Mr. Sandman. You’re left with the option of calling them early in the morning, before your first appointment. And they may still be sleeping. This is where your call center comes in.

While all call centers generally manage inbound calls, many can also make outbound calls to generate leads. This can get tricky due to government regulations regarding cold calling, but you don’t have time to follow up on every lead. So what other options are there?

Some call centers can instantly dial out to people who have submitted a request for information or assistance on your website. Here’s how it works. An online visitor fills out your contact form. Their information is delivered to your call center via code that the center provides and your web developer integrates into your site. The caller’s information is instantly received, and abracadabra, an outbound call is initiated!

The benefit of immediately calling back everyone who takes the time to complete your online form is a no-brainer. The longer you wait to get in touch with a potential customer, the less likely you’ll actually get them on the phone. In fact, studies have shown that conversion rates are eight times higher if you reach out to a prospect within the first five minutes of their webform submission.

Reason #6: You’re waiting for an operations team to update your recorded greeting, script, or message delivery setup

Solution: Have the capability to make your own updates on the fly

When setting up a free trial with any new call center, you’ll first collaborate with their sales and operations teams to create a script that will accommodate the types of calls you receive. You may be 100% certain about who is going to be calling, what questions they’ll ask, what information agents should gather, and whom to send it to. But what if you forgot to include an important detail that agents will need to document? What if you missed a number or an email address, and the correct staff member isn’t going to receive the message? Can you update these items yourself, or do you need to wait for the ops team to take care of it for you?

One of the best features that a call center can offer is a comprehensive user interface that puts their capabilities front and center, right in the palm of your hands. Sure, you’ll be primarily accessing the UI for call details, but the convenience of making updates whenever and wherever you want is a huge selling point. Here are some of the UI functions that you’ll want to ask about when call center shopping:

• Adding or removing mobile numbers and email addresses to update message delivery
• Customizing the information received via SMS or email
• On-call schedule and staff adjustments
• Adding or removing script questions to ensure that calls flow properly
• Adding or removing FAQs to help agents answer straightforward questions
• Connecting with various integrations, such as CRMs, and adding them to your script
• Adjusting your upfront greeting, call recording and callback options

You’ll also want to become familiar with the center’s knowledge base, which should be an in-depth set of instructions and videos for all of the tools available to you. As a good rule of thumb, if you aren’t exactly clear on how to make certain updates, it is best to wait for your call center account manager to walk you through it.

Reason #7: You’re getting too many spam calls

Solution: Filter out spam calls with an IVR

Try to imagine a world without robocalls. It’s tough, right? If you have a phone number, then just like everyone else in this galaxy, you are the unlucky recipient of spam calls and texts. Even with the National Do Not Call Registry and increased FCC regulations on the subject, spammers continue to ignore rules and try to sell you something, or worse, scam you. The odds of stopping them seem about as astronomical as winning a jackpot lottery.

Spam calls can present a real problem when you’re forwarding your phones over to a call center. Because calls are automatically answered, agents must field every call that hits your line. It is not until they answer that they will be able to determine which calls are spam, and which are legitimate. There are also some spam recordings that are so convincing, agents believe they are speaking with a person. All this does is rack up minutes on your account,  increase your monthly billing, and ultimately waste your time trying to decide which calls are legit and need a response.

What options are there to address robocall concerns at the call center level? The solution is simple. An IVR, or interactive voice response system, is the most effective way to send robo dialers on a one-way trip to Pluto. A “press 1 IVR” will ask callers to press 1 to connect with an agent. While humans can press the digits that transmit DTMF signals so that the system knows an option has been selected, robo dialers cannot. Instead, the IVR will be programmed to disconnect any caller that has not entered something, thus saving you precious time and money.

If you don’t plan to switch call centers anytime soon, check with your phone provider. They may be able to set up a paid add-on so that you can screen calls before forwarding, ensuring that agents only receive the real deal.

Reason #8: Your call recordings are not available

Solution: Work with third-party recording software

Having the ability to listen to every call handled on your account is an important feature for those businesses where call recording is permissible. It typically serves two primary purposes. First, recordings are valuable for instances when you need clarification about a message received. It can be a challenge for agents to capture every detail a caller provides, especially in complex matters, or occasions when the caller is verbose and almost impossible to derail. Second, call recordings are an integral part of the quality assurance process of any call center.

If your center does not provide you with access to your recordings, the lack of transparency may mean you are missing a key indicator that agents are not performing with the professionalism your callers deserve. On the flip side, call recordings provide an avenue for recognizing agents who are performing above and beyond to leave a great impression with your callers.

When changing service providers is not an option, third-party recording software can help. Look for platforms that offer a multitude of services, all rolled into one. For example – a provider that bundles call routing, call recording, and call tracking metrics. If you do opt to record calls on your own, be aware that federal and state laws regulations regarding recording are different depending on where you and your callers are located. Several states and countries require two-party consent, meaning that both parties must agree to being recorded.

Whether or not you are able to move beyond your existing provider, it doesn’t hurt to investigate the ever-evolving world of call center capabilities. Learn about everything you can, and have those little gems tucked away in the back of your mind for future reference. And if we can offer one final piece of advice to light your path, it is this: never underestimate the power of feedback. If your current call center doesn’t know what upgrades you need to prevent you from shopping around, then what incentive do they have to make any changes? Speaking out is mutually beneficial and worthy of consideration!