How do you compare call center vendors effectively to determine the best fit for your environment? As with any software purchase, you have to fit the solution according to your needs. This can be a challenge in the call center space simply because the available features and services can be extensive. You also need to decide if you want to leverage a hosted call center platform, or implement the solution in-house. Do you want to support home-based agents through a virtual call center platform, or implement software within your own brick and mortar call center?

Compare Call Center Features before Making Your Choice

The features of any call center solution are a critical consideration as you compare call center options. If you need to automate your forecasting and scheduling, you may want to consider workforce management as a necessary feature. If your calls vary according to product or service, you may need skills-based routing to ensure the caller gets to the right agent the first time. If you need to integrate your customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP) or any other business data with your call center software, computer telephony integration should be a must-have on your needs list. Identify those things you need your call center to do before you compare call center vendors for the right fit.

What Services Should You Look for as You Compare Call Center Options?

When examining call center services, there are a couple of different things you need to consider. If you leverage a hosted call center solution, you need clearly defined Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that ensure you can stay online and connected with customers 99.99 percent of the time. Be sure your SLAs also define how long you can afford to be down before your situation becomes critical. You may also need to consider the potential of call center outsourcing when you compare call center options. It may make more sense financially and organizationally to hire another company to handle your customer service campaigns. Regardless of your final selection, you need to compare call center solutions to ensure they all fit within your culture and your current network infrastructure.

Compare Call Center Solutions with Industry-Specific Results

Some call center solutions providers will have expertise in specific industries that could benefit you more than others. If you focus on telephony solutions, Zeacom has demonstrated its strength in offering call center solutions that address key challenges within this industry. Specifically targeting a provider based on working in your industry is not enough to demonstrate the solution can meet your needs, however. You still have to do the leg work and compare call center solutions against your needs to determine the best fit.

User Reviews Valuable as You Compare Call Center Solutions

Examine user reviews as you compare call center solutions to get an honest account of how a particular vendor performs within any given environment. Look for reviews that are posted on third-party sites and signed by the user. Read both positive and negative reviews, objectively assessing the outcomes in all situations. If a particular vendor has too many negative reviews to ignore, this is a good indication it’s time to eliminate them from your compare call center list. As you compare call center solutions to make the right choice for your environment, don’t forget the free trial. Most call center providers can offer their cloud version for trial within your environment by simply accessing the application through your browser, and on-premise solutions can be tested the same way to see if the offering effectively matches your needs.