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10 Must-Have Contact Center Features

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Contact Center Features

Elevated levels of customer satisfaction result in heightened sales and an enhanced brand image. An extensive study has revealed that as many as 81% of purchasers are inclined to make supplementary purchases as a result of a favorable customer experience.

To guarantee that your team promptly and effectively addresses customer issues while maintaining a superior Customer Experience (CX), it is essential to leverage cutting-edge contact center features. Explore these indispensable contact center features that your organization should adopt to provide an unparalleled customer experience.

Key Points:

  • Crucial contact center technologies encompass efficiency-enhancing elements like ACD, IVR, and CTI.
  • Verify that your contact center possesses omnichannel capabilities and seamlessly integrates with a unified communications system.
  • Enhance your productivity and business acumen by incorporating app integrations and cutting-edge artificial intelligence.
  • Simplify the management of your contact center technologies with an intuitive dashboard.

Streamlined Automatic Call Distribution

Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) stands as a fundamental component within contact center technologies. This functionality efficiently directs incoming calls to the most suitable department or agent. Customized rules are configured within your ACD to route callers based on predefined criteria. For instance, you can direct callers to agents possessing specific skills tailored to address their issues. Additionally, prioritizing VIP clients ensures they receive top-tier service, reinforcing their status as highly valuable and profitable customers.

Streamlined Automatic Call Distribution

A considerable number of customers prefer self-service options, especially for routine inquiries or when dealing with sensitive information. IVR enables callers to use either a touch-tone keypad or voice commands to navigate through an automated menu of choices, allowing them to connect with the appropriate personnel or conduct basic transactions.

When IVR and ACD collaborate, they contribute to an exceptional customer experience. These contact center technologies effectively diminish call waiting times and alleviate the burden on agents, resulting in an improved service delivery.

Omnichannel Capabilities

You may have observed a shift away from the term “call center” and the growing use of “contact center” when referring to sales and support hubs. This change is driven by the evolving role of your agents, which now extends beyond merely making phone calls.

Cutting-edge contact center technologies empower your workforce to engage with customers, prospects, and colleagues through various channels like video, chat, text messaging, and email.

Previously, you required separate applications for each communication channel. Today, contact center as a service software consolidates these functionalities into a single, user-friendly platform, enhancing overall efficiency.

Even more advantageous is the ability to seamlessly integrate your internal unified communications system with your contact center. Companies that unite these services under a single provider often experience substantial revenue growth and increased productivity.

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Integrating Computer Telephony 

Contact center features can also streamline your hardware requirements. Computer telephony integration (CTI) facilitates seamless cooperation between your computer and telephone systems.

CTI empowers you to employ softphone applications. Through these software solutions, your team gains the ability to initiate and receive calls on their desktops, laptops, or smartphones. Agents can handle calls from anywhere they have an internet connection, swiftly transferring conversations between devices as needed.

Call Monitoring and Recording

Supervisors have the capability to discreetly monitor calls for observation and employee training purposes. The “whisper” feature allows them to provide coaching to agents without the customer being aware of the intervention. Additionally, the “barge” function enables trainers to step in and assist instantly when needed.

Moreover, you are not dependent on supervisor availability to access comprehensive call details. Automatic call recording provides a robust record of agent interactions, serving both quality assurance and compliance needs in accordance with industry regulations.

Workforce Management Integrations

Enhance your company’s efficiency by implementing workforce management software that seamlessly integrates with your contact center technologies. This solution empowers you to efficiently handle schedules, adapt workloads, and automate routine communications, ultimately saving time and ensuring your team remains well-informed about workflows.

Furthermore, the system supports predictive workforce trends by analyzing behavior and harnessing artificial intelligence to forecast workloads. Leveraging advanced data insights, you can make well-informed decisions to meet both customer and employee requirements effectively.

Queue Callbacks

Your customers seek proactive and readily available customer service, even if your contact center doesn’t currently operate 24/7 with a surplus of staff. In cases where a caller cannot immediately connect with the right agent, the queue callback feature will automatically reestablish contact with the caller as soon as an agent becomes available.

This means your callers no longer need to wait on hold for service. Instead, you can enable a client to continue with other tasks, and they will receive a call at a more convenient time.

Call Transcription With Advanced AI

Your management team lacks the time to manually review the multitude of call recordings your system accumulates. Transcription archives simplify the process of searching for and analyzing specific conversations.

Advanced AI-driven contact center technologies can assess the tone of interactions and provide you with concise summaries of vital insights. Additionally, transcription redaction ensures customer privacy and adherence to compliance regulations by automatically obscuring sensitive information within documents.

Call Center Feature Plans

CRM Integrations

Utilizing customer relationship management (CRM) software streamlines your capacity to provide tailored service to individual customers and effectively manage their experiences. Equipped with current records, your agents can swiftly address customer inquiries.

Moreover, the inclusion of developer tools enables seamless integration of your chosen CRM into your Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS). This functionality not only grants managers enhanced insight into customer interactions but also bolsters training efforts, ultimately improving the overall customer experience.

A User-Friendly Administrative Console

You don’t require a programming degree to implement and oversee your advanced contact center technologies. Your Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) software includes a user-friendly executive dashboard that simplifies the setup and monitoring processes.

Moreover, a top-tier contact center provider offers comprehensive onboarding and ongoing support to assist you throughout your journey. Whenever you require assistance, a responsive agent is readily available to help.

Partner with Towner – Your Source for Leading Contact Center Features

Ready to leverage these contact center features? Towner can assist you in our swift implementation. Call us to explore how Towner’s Contact Center with Spark AI can enable you to provide cost-effective, dependable, and intelligent customer engagement..

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Revolutionizing Business Communication: Unveiling Intermedia’s Spark AI Feature

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Spark AI Header

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires not only efficiency but also innovation. Imagine a communication tool that not only connects your team seamlessly but also empowers them with smart, AI-driven capabilities. Look no further – Intermedia’s Spark AI feature is here to transform the way you collaborate and communicate.

The Power of AI Unleashed

Introducing Spark AI, a groundbreaking feature within the Intermedia communication suite that leverages the power of artificial intelligence to elevate your business interactions. Gone are the days of manual tasks and fragmented communication; Spark AI takes communication to a whole new level by intelligently anticipating your needs and streamlining your workflows.

Key Benefits

1. Smart Scheduling and Reminders

Spark AI becomes your personal assistant, making scheduling a breeze. It analyzes your calendar, identifies optimal meeting times, and suggests slots that work for all participants. No more back-and-forth emails trying to coordinate schedules. Additionally, it sends timely reminders to ensure you never miss an important meeting again.

2. Effortless Document Management

Say goodbye to the hassle of searching for documents across various platforms. Spark AI understands context and retrieves files based on your conversation topics. Whether it’s the latest presentation or a crucial report, you’ll have what you need at your fingertips, without the headache of manual searching.

3. Real-time Transcription and Summaries

Meetings are more productive when everyone is on the same page. Spark AI’s real-time transcription feature captures meeting discussions, creating accurate and detailed transcripts. But it doesn’t stop there – it also generates concise summaries, highlighting action items and key takeaways so you can focus on execution instead of note-taking.

4. Instant Language Translation

In today’s globalized world, communication knows no bounds. Spark AI eliminates language barriers by providing instant translation during chats and video calls. Collaborate seamlessly with colleagues, clients, and partners from around the world without the need for external translation tools.

5. Enhanced Security and Compliance

Intermedia understands the importance of data security and compliance. Spark AI features robust security protocols to ensure that your sensitive conversations and information are safeguarded. Rest easy knowing that your communications are protected at all times.

Embrace the Future of Communication

Spark AI is not just a feature; it’s a game-changer. It empowers your team to communicate more efficiently, make better-informed decisions, and drive productivity to new heights. Say hello to streamlined collaboration and bid farewell to communication barriers.

Ready to experience the future of business communication? Unlock the potential of Spark AI today with Intermedia’s comprehensive communication suite. Elevate your team’s capabilities, enhance your workflows, and embrace the era of intelligent communication.

Don’t get left behind – embrace the AI revolution with Intermedia’s Spark AI feature. Your journey to smarter, more effective communication starts now.

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Contact Center CRM Integrations

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Contact Center CRM

Contact Center CRM Integrations:

What you need to know

The foremost method of gathering and structuring customer-related data is through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. Notably, recent research reveals a substantial surge in the adoption of CRM systems, as businesses increasingly emphasize service and relationships in their competitive strategies.

If you have yet to fully harness the potential of this technology within your contact center, how can you unlock the utmost advantages of a CRM? Uncover a comprehensive guide to effectively utilizing a CRM system for your contact center operations.

Key Points:

  • A high-quality CRM system is a vital asset for enhancing productivity and delivering exceptional customer service within a contact center environment. Beyond this, your CRM facilitates seamless team collaboration and efficient data aggregation.
  • Furthermore, the utilization of a CRM can significantly enhance employee tracking and evaluation processes, contributing to improved performance assessment.
  • When seeking a suitable CRM solution, prioritize features such as cloud connectivity and seamless integration with third-party tools, as these aspects play a pivotal role in maximizing your CRM’s capabilities.
  • Ultimately, the selection of a CRM should be guided by its compatibility with your specific contact center needs, ensuring a harmonious fit, and by evaluating its potential return on investment as a critical decision-making factor.

The Crucial Role of a Contact Center CRM in Achieving Your Success

Contact center CRM software efficiently gathers and arranges information concerning your leads and customers within a unified, user-friendly platform. This tool empowers your agents to effectively handle interactions spanning various communication channels.

Given the rapid rise in popularity of contact center CRM solutions, it’s safe to assume that your competitors are utilizing this software to enhance customer relationships and present themselves favorably. Embracing the same approach is highly recommended.

Notably, small and medium-sized enterprises stand to benefit significantly from this technology. The software enables these businesses to deliver the personalized attention that buyers frequently anticipate from more modest operations.

Exploring the Benefits of Utilizing a Contact Center CRM

When implemented correctly, a contact center CRM provides a range of advantages that can significantly enhance your operational efficiency.

 

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Enhanced Agent Insights and Improved Team Collaboration

Your contact center CRM equips your agents with real-time information about a caller’s situation 24/7. This empowers your agents to deliver personalized service and enhance first-call resolution rates effectively.

Furthermore, a CRM fosters improved teamwork within your team to swiftly address customer issues. Access to relevant information is streamlined, eliminating the need for file exchanges and time wastage.

By providing convenient access to essential tools and resulting in satisfied customers, agents experience a sense of achievement and heightened engagement.

Enhanced Customer Journey

The main objective of contact centers is to enhance customer satisfaction and increase revenue. By utilizing a CRM, you gain access to more comprehensive information and improved collaboration, leading to a smoother customer experience and the cultivation of brand loyalty.

It’s essential to remember that people perceive your brand as a unified entity, anticipating prompt and personalized interactions with each interaction. When customers are required to reiterate information to agents during subsequent communications, your company’s responsiveness appears diminished, and there’s a risk of seeming inept.

With the aid of a contact center CRM, all interaction details are consolidated in one location. Any agent engaging with a caller can seamlessly continue from where the previous agent left off, ensuring a seamless customer journey.

Improved Data

Data has evolved into the paramount asset for enterprises. Your contact center CRM offers enhanced accessibility to insights regarding your clients and operations, facilitating improvement. Consequently, you can make more informed choices that culminate in heightened revenue.

Moreover, the surplus data aids in refining employee training. By comprehending optimal practices during caller interactions, you can guide agents on more efficient communication strategies. Teams gain insights into the data that holds greater significance for your overall financial performance.

Essential Attributes for Your Contact Center CRM: What Should You Look For?

Unlocking the Advantages of Your Contact Center CRM Hinges on Appropriate Features. Verify the Inclusion of the Following Attributes in Your Software.

Cloud Integration

Your CRM should transcend mere local software and align with your contact center system by seeking a cloud-based solution accessible from anywhere. This enables efficient management of remote and hybrid teams.

Exceptional Customer Service

Assess the customer service track record of a contact center CRM provider. Technology is inherently imperfect, and potential challenges might arise concerning integrations or specific functions. Ensure the vendor’s reliability in providing the necessary assistance should any issues arise.

Automated Customer Reporting and Analysis

Discover a contact center CRM that streamlines the bulk of data gathering and analysis. When faced with decisions regarding marketing, products, services, and operations, the data becomes a dependable resource for informed choices.

By incorporating automation, you alleviate your team from laborious manual data entry. Research indicates that manual processes remain a significant hurdle for CRM users, making automation a pivotal solution.

 

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Selecting the Optimal CRM for Your Contact Center: How to Decide

A multitude of choices exist when it comes to CRM software. To pinpoint the ideal solution, seek out software that aligns with your industry. For instance, healthcare firms might seek an application akin to MEDITECH, tailored for electronic health record management.

Moreover, your business expenditures should perpetually contribute to revenue growth. Compute the potential return on investment stemming from a contact center CRM. Utilize these calculations to determine the suitable budget and discern which supplementary features warrant the additional expenditure.

 

Which Communication Software Aligns Perfectly with Your Contact Center CRM?

The efficiency of your contact center CRM hinges on a range of elements, with the caliber of your communication software playing a pivotal role. Partner with a trustworthy provider like Towner. Reach out to us for insights into our Contact Center solutions, seamlessly integrated with your CRM.

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Mastering Video Conferencing: Your Ultimate Guide

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Video conferencing apps are being utilized by businesses and individuals at an unparalleled level. Presently valued at over $10 billion, the market is projected to reach a staggering $20 billion in just five years.

Undoubtedly, your clients and professional counterparts now demand the ease and efficiency that video conferencing offers. Has your organization embraced a platform that meets the criteria for security, functionality, and user-friendliness?

Refer to this video conferencing guide to determine the features and advantages that best suit your needs from the technology.

Key Learnings:

  • Video conferencing has become an integral part of the new normal in the business landscape.
  • Smooth video calls require essential elements such as good equipment, high-speed internet, and a reliable service provider.
  • For professional video conferencing, it is crucial to prioritize features like easy setup, robust security, and unified communications.
  • To ensure productive video meetings, companies should promote good etiquette and collaboration among team members.

 

 

Video Conferencing

What makes video conferencing indispensable in today’s business landscape?

Numerous studies indicate that a substantial portion of offices will persist in adopting a hybrid work model, reflecting the evolving norm in conjunction with the ongoing prevalence of remote work. As a result, video communication has solidified its place as an indispensable tool in the modern business landscape.

Even within office premises, the utilization of video conferencing is expected to endure due to the considerable cost savings it offers organizations. By opting for virtual meetings facilitated by high-quality software, businesses can bypass expenses associated with travel, including transportation, accommodation, and employee meals.

Furthermore, the habitual nature of video conferencing has firmly taken root among people. Its comfort and convenience have become ingrained in various aspects of professional life, spanning from sales calls and corporate events to telehealth services and legal consultations. As a result, the demand for video conferencing as a viable option remains significant.

Essential equipment and services you need for smooth calls 

Contemporary devices have become so accustomed to having cameras, microphones, and speakers that it’s easy to overlook whether your equipment meets the necessary standards. Even if you’ve subscribed to an excellent video conferencing service, inadequate gear can still lead to issues.

To illustrate, it’s crucial to ensure that your team’s devices are relatively recent and running operating systems that receive regular security updates. Outdated systems can cause lag and signal disruptions. Additionally, a strong and reliable internet connection is essential for effective voice and video transmission.

Moreover, it’s essential to make sure that HD cameras are utilized, providing crisp and professional-looking images. Equipping microphones with noise cancellation is also crucial to minimize ambient noise during conversations.

When conducting conferences with your team gathered in a single office, special attention should be given to the microphone and speaker setup. It’s vital to guarantee that audio is well-projected, and the microphone captures all voices effectively. Otherwise, meetings can quickly become frustrating and counterproductive.

How to identify the key features of a video conferencing solution that promotes productivity and collaboration?

While free video calling software may serve personal needs adequately, businesses demand a more comprehensive platform that fosters productivity and collaboration.

Fortunately, professional solutions need not come with exorbitant costs. Cloud-based unified communications, combined with video conferencing, offer affordable options suitable for businesses of all sizes. This means even small and medium-sized organizations can access the same powerful features as their larger counterparts.

Opting for a business-class online meeting service equips your company with a high-quality tool, streamlining virtual work environments effortlessly. The following tools and features play a pivotal role in helping your teams thrive:

  • Seamless screen sharing and screen annotation for enhanced interactivity.
  • High-definition video quality that replicates real-life interactions.
  • A convenient notes feature for effortlessly sending action items to participants after the meeting.
  • Remote control functionality, granting all participants the ability to manage certain aspects of the meeting.
  • Meeting transcription and unlimited recording storage, benefiting those unable to attend a session.

Significance of Seamless Integration and Swift Setup

Cloud-based video conferencing solutions offer a hassle-free setup process. Users simply need to download the app on their laptop or mobile device, granting them the ability to connect from any location.

What’s more, numerous leading business-grade services allow users to start right away without the need for training or onboarding. However, a dedicated vendor will remain available round-the-clock, ensuring a worry-free experience and providing assistance whenever needed.

Ensuring Security and Compliance: Best Practices

Security stands as another critical factor to consider. To safeguard data and ensure the security of your video calls, it’s essential to verify that your vendor provides sufficient encryption and robust security controls.

Here are some standard security features that a business-oriented online meeting solution should offer:

  • Robust implementation of Secure Real-time Transport Protocol (SRTP) providing encryption and message authentication.
  • Meeting lock feature to restrict unauthorized access.
  • Muting controls to manage audio participation.
  • Meeting passwords for an added layer of security.
  • Host control granting the ability to manage security settings during the meeting.

Security becomes even more paramount if your organization operates within a highly regulated industry, such as healthcare, law, or finance. It is crucial to ensure that your chosen platform is fully capable of meeting your specific compliance requirements.

Video conferencing plays a significant role as part of unified communications.

The good news is that your video conferencing doesn’t need a separate vendor from your phone service. Instead, combining both communications into one platform yields better results. By doing so, you simplify your accounts payable and reduce costs by working with a single provider.

Moreover, integrating all communications enhances your efficiency significantly. Having records of video, voice, and text messages in one app streamlines operations. Unified communications seamlessly integrate with your business software, facilitating easy updates of client and employee data.

Furthermore, you gain additional protection in case any actions during a meeting become a legal or human resources matter. Through archiving, you can swiftly access records of past events without navigating through multiple apps.

Here are some tips for effectively using video conferencing software:

During online meetings through video conferencing, remember to adhere to these basic etiquette tips and best practices:

  1. Remind participants not to share passwords or meeting IDs.
  2. Inform participants if the meeting will be recorded.
  3. Encourage muting when not speaking to minimize distractions.

By following these guidelines, your meetings can be more productive and collaborative.

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Intermedia: Your Go-To Video Conferencing Provider

Incorporating video conferencing as a foundational business communications tool is crucial for your organization. To ensure you maximize its benefits, you need a platform that excels in compliance, integration, ease of use, and affordability.

Intermedia AnyMeeting is the ideal solution, offering a powerful platform for conducting engaging meetings. With its HD audio and video quality, extensive range of productivity features, and industry-leading security measures, your organization can stay effortlessly connected and stress-free.

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Expert Advice: Choosing the Best Contact Center Software Company in Kansas City

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Contact Center Software Companies

Ensuring your customers can reach you whenever needed, whether through phone, web chat, or email, is crucial. Collaborating with a top contact center software provider enhances the likelihood of seamless interactions during these transactions.

This prompts us to ask: Which key attributes define a top-performing contact center solution? And which company can you trust to deliver an exceptional experience?

Examine the qualities of advanced contact center software that empower your support team to effectively serve your clients.

 

Unveiling the Key Takeaways:

  1. Embrace the freedom of a web-based contact center software that empowers you to run a fully functional and remote contact center from any corner of the world.

  2. Seek out contact center software that boasts exceptional reliability, regulatory compliance, and outstanding customer support to ensure a seamless experience.

  3. Say goodbye to traditional call centers! Discover the superior features and cost-effectiveness offered by contact center software companies, revolutionizing the way businesses operate.

  4. Unlock the power of automatic call distribution, advanced training features, and unified communications, crucial elements that elevate the performance of your contact center.

  5. Unveiling the champion! Intermedia reigns as the leading contact center company, ready to elevate your customer service game to new heights.

Understanding Contact Center Software Companies: Exploring Their Role and Function

Cloud-based platforms offered by contact center software companies enable businesses of all sizes to establish and manage customer contact centers efficiently. With these platforms, you can seamlessly handle all operational aspects virtually.

In addition, contact center as a service (CCaaS) software empowers you to swiftly harness cutting-edge functionalities. Among the advantages of CCaaS are omnichannel communications, advanced call analytics, and seamless software integrations.

By leveraging these features, companies can significantly elevate the performance of their help desks. As a result, the contact center software market is experiencing rapid growth, as more businesses adopt these capabilities to enhance their customer service and gain a competitive edge.

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What advantages does contact center software offer over traditional call centers?

Using contact center software instead of a traditional call center comes with several benefits:

  1. Enhanced Efficiency: Contact center software automates and streamlines various processes, such as call routing, ticket management, and customer data organization. This automation increases efficiency, allowing agents to handle more inquiries in less time.

  2. Improved Scalability: Contact center software operates on cloud-based platforms, providing flexible scalability options. Businesses can easily adjust the number of agents and resources based on call volumes, seasonal demands, or business growth, without the need for physical infrastructure changes.

  3. Omnichannel Support: Unlike traditional call centers that primarily focus on voice calls, contact center software facilitates omnichannel communications. It enables businesses to engage with customers through various channels, including phone calls, emails, web chats, social media, and messaging apps. This versatility enhances customer experience and satisfaction.

  4. Advanced Analytics: Contact center software offers robust analytics capabilities, providing deep insights into customer interactions, agent performance, and operational metrics. These analytics help businesses identify trends, optimize processes, and make data-driven decisions to enhance customer service and drive business growth.

  5. Seamless Integrations: Contact center software integrates with other business systems, such as customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, help desk software, and ticketing systems. This integration allows for seamless data exchange, enabling agents to access customer information and provide personalized assistance.

  6. Remote Work Capabilities: Contact center software enables remote work arrangements, allowing agents to work from anywhere with an internet connection. This flexibility increases agent satisfaction, reduces overhead costs, and enables businesses to tap into a global talent pool.

Overall, the adoption of contact center software offers businesses greater efficiency, scalability, omnichannel support, advanced analytics, seamless integrations, and remote work capabilities compared to traditional call centers.

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What factors should you consider when selecting a contact center software company?

When evaluating contact center software companies, extensive research can consume a significant amount of time. It becomes apparent that the leading players in the industry offer similar features and assurances. So, how can you determine which one is the best fit for your requirements?

One crucial aspect that often distinguishes a superior provider is the quality of their customer support. It’s important to find a reliable partner who can offer expert onboarding and migration assistance, along with round-the-clock responsiveness to address any challenges that may arise.

Reliability is another key consideration. Settling for anything less than 99.999% uptime would be unwise. While the distinction between 99.999% and 99.9% may appear insignificant, it can translate into hours of lost connectivity over the course of a year.

Lastly, it is essential to ensure that the contact center as a service (CCaaS) solution you choose fully complies with regulatory requirements. Especially for organizations in the financial, legal, and medical sectors, having a fully compliant contact center helps alleviate concerns about data breaches or compromised confidentiality.

What functionalities should be present in contact center software?

Make sure that the contact center software you select incorporates the following features to enhance productivity and improve customer support.

Automatic Call Distribution

Automatic call distribution (ACD) is a critical element offered by leading contact center software companies. This automated functionality efficiently manages high volumes of incoming calls by swiftly routing them to appropriate agents.

A superior ACD system operates with greater speed and efficiency compared to human operators. It allows you to configure the system to allocate callers to agents based on their specific skills and expertise, ensuring that queries are handled by the most suitable personnel.

Furthermore, the software enables you to prioritize callers based on the nature of their issues or their importance as customers. With rule-based queuing, you can ensure that high-value clients receive prompt attention, enhancing their satisfaction with your service.

 

Enhanced Call Monitoring Features: Whispering and Barging

The monitoring and whispering functionalities enable supervisors to provide coaching to remote team members as if they were physically present in the same room. In urgent situations, supervisors can swiftly join the call using the barge function to lend support to a team member who may be facing challenges.

 

Analyzing Call Interactions

Interaction analytics streamline the process of reviewing conversations for quality, saving you valuable time. By leveraging artificial intelligence, the calls are transcribed and the language is analyzed to provide insights on the sentiment expressed, categorizing it as positive, negative, or neutral.

 

Unified Communications (UC)

Top-notch contact center solutions seamlessly integrate with unified communications systems, enabling smooth transitions between external and internal communications. This valuable feature ensures a seamless experience as users can effortlessly switch between different modes of communication within the system.

Which Company Offers the Best Contact Center Software?

Business review sites estimate that there are approximately 200 contact center software companies available in the market. Instead of spending extensive time sifting through numerous options, you can find all your requirements fulfilled with Towner Contact Center.

Towner has developed this solution with the aim of helping your team achieve more with less. You won’t have to strain your budget or overwhelm your team with complex tools. This solution is specifically tailored for small and medium-sized businesses, offering an ideal solution.

Towner provides its renowned Worry-Free Experience, ensuring clients benefit from top-notch security, exceptional reliability, and outstanding support. Additionally, a unified portal empowers your management team to efficiently monitor and train agents.

An added advantage is the seamless integration capability with Unite & Intermedia, Towner’s unified communications system. This enables teams to effortlessly handle customer calls and collaborate with colleagues, maximizing productivity and streamlining workflows.

 

Partnering with the Leading Contact Center Software Company

Towner is prepared to offer you the perfect solution if you’re in need of a contact center. Get in touch with our team to explore how you can implement the leading solution among contact center software companies.

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Towner and Microsoft Teams: Collaboration and Customer Experience Without Compromise

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As the workforce continues to become location-agnostic, and employees are working from home,
the office and anywhere in between, delivering the right customer experience and maximizing
employee productivity from any location should be critical objectives for any business. Businesses
using Microsoft Teams typically assume they have this covered, but does it?
Businesses using Teams for employee collaboration also need to ensure they have the essential
business phone functionality to compete and win in today’s business environment. The trouble is
not all business phone services are created equal. Outdated platforms—like on-premises systems—
lack mobile phone support and other critical phone features like business texting. And basic cloud
voice providers often don’t integrate with Teams often leading to inefficiencies and security risks
as users switch between applications. To eliminate these business technology trade-offs and
arm employees with the tools they need, you need a cloud-based communications platform that
integrates with Teams.

MEET TOWNER UNITE, THE PERFECT COMPLEMENT TO MICROSOFT TEAMS

Towner Unite is an easy-to-use, cloud-based phone system that’s fully integrated with Microsoft
Teams and provides over 90+ business essential phone features. Whether you’re in the office or
remote—Unite provides the highest levels of reliability and features your business deserves to ensure
employees stay connected to each other and to your customers—without compromise.

Intermedia Unite provides Teams users with essential phone
functionality they need:

CALL ROUTING TO THE RIGHT PERSON
Today’s customers are becoming less tolerant of lengthy hold times, frustrating
transfers between people or being dropped into a voicemail box. Call routing
eliminates this issue by directing inbound customer calls to the right person, at the
right time based on availability, skills, or history with the caller—no matter where
they are located.

BUSINESS TEXTING
Each Unite business phone number includes the ability to receive phone calls and
text messaging allowing your customers to communicate with your employees in
the right way at the right time.

MOBILE FLEXIBILITY
Eliminate the need for employees to give out their personal phone number.
With Unite, employees answer and place phone calls from their business phone
number, on any device.

CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE INSIGHTS
Employees have access to automated reports about customer service performance
(average hold time, number of transfers, number of dropped calls) to continuously
provide service improvements.

SELF-HELP WHEN CUSTOMERS NEED IT
For customers looking for common information who don’t necessarily want to talk
to someone, get them answers quickly and easily while freeing up employees for
higher value engagements.

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Why People HATE Video Conferencing

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5 Surprising Reasons For Low Video Conferencing Adaptation

video conferencing

You probably already know that businesses are adopting video conferencing technology at rapid pace. MarketsandMarkets recently projected that the enterprise video market, which includes video conferencing systems, will reach $36.8 billion by 2020.

In fact, more than 54 percent of employees regularly take part in work-related video conferences, but not all of them are eager participants, according to a recent report.

So why are roughly half of employees hesitant to turn on their cameras for work meetings? There are plenty of causes, but here are five of the most common reasons keeping employees from using videoconferencing software.

1. Multi-tasking

While meeting holders would prefer to think everyone on their call is giving the meeting their full attention, the reality is usually much different.

Meeting attendees are replying to emails, preparing presentations, eating lunch, and doing other work while (hopefully) muted on conference calls.

If the same people joined a video call or video conference, they would have to give the call their full attention. They wouldn’t be able to multi-task. And while plenty of research has shown that multi-tasking actually hurts productivity, many workers still operate under the illusion that they can get more done by multi-tasking.

Sometimes, these kinds of behaviors can happen in in-person meetings, too, but being on video makes multi-tasking much more obvious, hence a big reason many workers avoid video conferencing.

Want to try and cut down on this objection? Help people understand the real cost of multi-tasking and the productivity benefits of giving a task their attention.

People feel like they have to multi-task because they’re in too many meetings? Have workers take a hard look at whether all of their meeting attendees are critical to their call.

2. Making eye contact

Video calls are great, but a few of the details mean that they’re are not quite the same as in-person communications. One thing some people dislike about video calls is the disconnect in eye contact.

With most videoconferencing systems, you have to choose whether to look at the other participant on your screen or look at your camera.

If you look at the other participant on your screen, it doesn’t look like you’re making eye contact to them. And if you look at your camera to appear to make eye contact on their side, you can’t focus on the other participant’s face on your screen. Either way, someone gets left out with the way most videoconferencing cameras are set up.

For some, the difference is imperceptible, but to others, that slight disconnect in making eye contact – or trying to figure out to look at their screen or their camera – is enough to make them ditch video altogether.

3. Platform and network issues

Whenever I get a meeting invite, it’s always an adventure to see what I’ll have to do to get everything to work properly. Sometimes a video conference works perfectly, but in the real world, things rarely go off without a hitch.

For starters, with so many different videoconferencing software choice, I often have to download a new client onto my computer before I can join the meeting (though you can simplify this a little by standardizing on one videoconferencing software throughout your company).

Maybe my sound works and my video won’t come on. Maybe it’s the reverse. Maybe the presenter is having trouble sharing their screen. Whatever, the case, you can quickly lose five minutes or more just getting everyone’s settings correct. And that’s before you get to highly technical issues.

If your network does not have quality of service (QoS) rules in place, then you’re highly unlikely to have a good video collaboration experience.

More importantly, if your network does not have packet prioritization rules in place, then your video calls might get choppy or completely interrupted when other network users are doing something as simple as sending emails.

4. Worrying about personal appearance

On a typical phone call, it doesn’t matter if an employee calls in from a messy living room in their pajamas. But if meeting participants find out the same call is a videoconference, all of a sudden they have to scramble to get presentable.

Video calls add a whole new dimension to the meetings. Something about being on camera – even if it’s just for employees who see them in person every day – makes people more self-conscious.

And it goes beyond simply being bathed, clothed and offering a background that doesn’t look like a disaster area. People often feel they’re being put on the spot, as if they’re being filmed for a video.

Is my hair messed up? Is there food on my face from lunch? How does my makeup look? Is my collar crooked? These are things that people worry about during video calls that make many people abandon videoconferencing altogether.

One of the biggest culprits may be the little window where video conference participants can see themselves. While this is probably intended to help participants line up their camera or make sure they have decent lighting, it often acts like a mirror, and people can end up fixating on it, distracted by their appearances. There’s nothing like staring at yourself in a slight fisheye lens under fluorescent lighting to ruin a worker’s focus and keep them from turning on the camera at their next meeting.

5. Office interruptions

If you work in an open-plan office, jumping on a video call from your desk can be a risky proposition. People near you may be on other calls. There could be an impromptu standup nearby. Etiquette challenged coworkers may interrupt with no regard for what you’re doing. Or your coworkers may just enjoy making faces in the background. Whatever your coworkers are like, modern office arrangements can make it challenging to conduct video calls without interruption.

Conclusion

Why aren’t people using your company’s chosen videoconferencing software? Now you know. And knowing is the first step in how to raise videoconferencing adoption at your company—which is good because meeting via video has some great benefits. Making closer personal connections, reducing travel costs, having more productive online collaboration, and improved team cohesion are just a few.

Learn more about Towner Communications videoconferencing software >

by Preston Miller

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Nine Office Trends Redefining Online Collaboration

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Nine Office Trends Redefining Online Collaboration

 

Busy collaboration space with multiple laptops, snacks, phones, and drinksTechnology helps us all adapt our lives, and businesses are no exception. But the way people use technology continues to shift at a quickening pace and consumer behaviors and expectations are bleeding into business environments, creating new requirements and new ways of doing business. To adapt, you have to understand the factors at play, which is why we’re going to look at several important office trends that are redefining the way people online collaboration.

1. Using more outsourced resources

Freelancers and consultants fill a wide assortment of roles depending on a company’s size, priorities and policies. Whether enterprise or SMB, some companies use the expertise of outside resources to provide a necessary perspective, service, or advice to help business. Other companies use outsourced workers as a way to quickly scale up and down—improving their agility and flexibility.

In fact, according to the SMB Group in its 2016 communications survey, 28 percent of SMBs outsource IT management to third parties, contractors, or consultants. And a large portion of that outsourced help works outside of a company’s offices. That means businesses using freelancers, consultants or other types of help need robust online collaboration tools to connect these outsourced workers with each other and with the company’s own staff to work effectively and efficiently.

2. The rise of solopreneurs

The trend of companies using more outsourced workers and the rise of solopreneurs go hand-in-hand. Solopreneurs run their own single-person businesses, often relying on contracting or consulting work for employment. They’re often experts in certain areas. As more workers become solopreneurs, especially those with skilled niche expertise, companies will increasingly have to look outside of their walls to fill needs in those specialties.

Like any type of outsourced worker, solopreneurs need to collaborate with the businesses they’re working for, so the ability to scale and quickly provision new users is crucial for a company’s online collaboration tool.

Furthermore, online collaboration tools should be user-friendly so solopreneurs don’t need to be experts in obscure software to get on board—they can stick to where they add the most value.

3. Cloud enablement and the rise of mobility

With increased connectivity, the proliferation of smart phones and tablets, and a global economy, mobility changed the game for many companies. With today’s cloud-based technology, work is an activity, not a location. Files and other resources once chained to the office are now available from anywhere with a decent Internet connection.

Because of this, online collaboration tools are more important than ever to connect those in the office, those traveling, those working from home, or outsourced resources to keep work moving productively. Makers of online collaboration tools are adapting to think beyond the office to facilitate all of these new modes of working and cloud-based tools are a natural match for this new go-anywhere mentality.

4. Work hour flexibility

Given today’s global economy – and for many workers, a renewed focus on quality of life – work hour flexibility is a trend that’s influenced the need for changes in online collaboration tools.

Workers in different time zones, different cities, and different countries still need to connect with each other to get tasks done: this might mean taking calls at 6 in the morning or 10 at night to connect with someone on the other side of the world—something’s that much more comfortable and convenient to do from home.

With work hour flexibility, connected workers can also handle important or inconvenient personal errands—like, doctor’s appointments, caring for sick children, home maintenance appointments, and more—if they have the kind of online collaboration software that lets them work remotely. It also gives them the flexibility to finish up outside of normal office hours to avoid losing productivity.

5. Real estate consolidation and savings

Real estate can be pricey for businesses, with some urban areas commanding $100 or more per square foot of office space—making a 10×10 office a staggering $10,000 per year in some places.

The cost of office space can make a serious dent in a company’s bottom line. But enabling remote workers can help keep real estate costs under control by reducing your need for space, avoiding relocation, and more.

But remote workers need to be kept in the loop and to work with others to be effective. Without a good online collaboration tool designed with the remote worker in mind, it’s tough for workers to connect with each other and their in-office counterparts to get work done.

6. Hyper specialization

When you need an expert in a particular field, the field may be quite small and there’s a good chance they won’t live near the office you’d like them to. Some are willing to relocate. But many are not. If your much-needed expert feels like staying put, you may need to make concessions to bring them on board. Or you might have to offer them work-hour flexibility as a perk to seal the deal. Either way, it makes hyper specialization another factor putting pressure on companies to use solid online collaboration tools to stay competitive.

7. Wanderlust and the rise of ex pats

Have you seen House Hunters International? It’s not just showcasing ex pat retirees settling into another country to spend their golden years with an exotic sea breeze tickling their noses.

More people on the show are working professionals who want to travel or live abroad while continuing to work. This trend is growing and smart companies are leaning on online collaboration to help enable staff to work where they want in order to keep key talent on board.

8. First-contact resolution

Customer service expectations have dramatically impacted the need for online collaboration tools. Customers prefer multiple channels to interact with companies and it’s imperative businesses enable and effectively manage as many channels of communication as possible.

Think of the last time you contacted a business to schedule a service, report a problem, or have a question answered. Many of the call agents and chat representatives will place you on a brief hold to collaborate with coworkers to find the expert who can effectively answer your question. This kind of cross-departmental connected collaboration results in increased customer satisfaction, shorter times to get answers, improved first-contact resolution and better agent productivity.

Happy agents. Happy companies. Happy customers.

9. BYOD

BYOD shouldn’t be a big surprise when it comes to identifying trends that are redefining online collaboration. Bottom line: companies who enable BYOD must find an online collaboration tool that works across a wide range of platforms, smartphones, tablets, and computers.

BYOD has also driven the need for collaboration tools to be mobile-first, or at the very least, mobile-enabled. This trend points to the need for a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and easy to use. Because if it’s not easy to use, workers will be quick to abandon it, hurting productivity or spawning pockets of shadow IT.

The modern workplace is changing fast and it’s leading to a revolution in the way we collaborate online. Smart companies and savvy tech providers are adapting to stay competitive and make sure work gets done. Whether you’re affected by one of these trends or all of them, it pays to know the forces reshaping the landscape. Because the more you know, the better you can respond.

by Jordan Nadler

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Avoid a Customer Experience Horror Story

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10 Ways to Avoid a Customer Experience Horror Story

Black woman with square earrings using headset at a call centerDo you always deliver a great customer experience?

Looking for new insights into effective practices?

How can you solve customer experience challenges?

Improving customer experience is a top priority for today’s executive because of the impact it can have on the bottom line. With the variety of communication methods now available, managing the customer experience is more complex than ever before. For today’s contact centers, it’s vital to study customer service best practices from a variety of verticals to learn and adapt your strategy for success — which is why we’re looking to help out.

Download the article for some harrowing tales of terror from prominent customer service experts, and find out how they were resolved — or how they could have been avoided in the first place.

Check out these excerpts from the experts:

“Processes and categories only go so far when dealing with human beings.”
Jeannie Walters, CEO, 360 Connect

“Convey the right information from the beginning.”
Roy Atkinson, Senior Writer/Analyst, UBM Tech

“You always have control to deliver amazing customer experiences.”
Shep Hyken, CAO, Shepard Presentations

“Mistakes happen. It’s what happens next that matters.”
Dave Evans, VP Social Strategy, Lithium

11 Lessons for Avoiding Your Own Horror Stories

  1. Invest in measuring, monitoring and incentivizing consumer-centric behaviors.
  2. A single interaction can make or break a customer experience.
  3. Understand the customer’s end-to-end experience to avoid breaks in the chain.
  4. Don’t wait for customers to contact you. They love when you take the initiative.
  5. Don’t make it difficult to do business with you—make it enjoyable.
  6. Constantly monitor interaction quality and be on the look out for “bad seeds.”
  7. Use your data to improve your customer experience—it’s full of hidden gems.
  8. Eliminate issues out of agents’ control so they can put their best feet forward.
  9. Know your customers well and treat them well—loyalty drives revenue.
  10. Your customers are always evolving, so take the opportunity to grow with them.
  11. Give agents tools and scripts to ensure they deliver the right message the first time.

Making the Best of Your Contact Center Experience

You have one chance to make a lasting impression with your customers. A contact center solution can help you enhance the customer experience from the moment calls reach your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to call resolution. They help you to attract and retain customers, and please them for less.

When it comes to customer satisfaction, Swanson Health Products is America’s #1 rated catalog/Internet merchant. So when they needed a solution that would help them track and handle their calls, emails and chat, they turned to Towner Communications MiContact Center.

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What Pokémon Go Teaches Us about Collaboration Tool Strengths and Weaknesses

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person holding pokemon ballPokémon GO is a hot topic. It seems you can’t escape it—in the news, on social media, or in your day-to-day life as you see people of all ages hunched over their phones, walking around outside. This wildly popular application has spurred discussions across a variety of topics—health, social interaction, marketing, gamification, pedestrian safety, and more.

There’s another lesson to learn from Pokémon GO: the value of a single, comprehensive application to enable team and project collaboration.

Observing strangers collaborate through this application can open your eyes to the potential potency (and potential shortcomings) of a business application that can foster teamwork in your business.

Setting the stage: the prologue

For those who aren’t sure how Pokémon GO works, it’s a real-time application in which you can catch Pokémon while walking around. With geo-tracking and real-time updates, players all experience the same interface—provided they’re in similar areas. The same creatures pop up on the screen, at the same time, at the same location. This accounts for many observations of increased social interaction, and also accounts for the parallel in team and project collaboration.

It begins with a quest

Parks are one of the best places to catch Pokémon. My husband and I frequent the park closest to us as a place to walk around and play Pokémon GO. We recently encountered a player who was on a quest for a specific Pokémon. He wasted no time in telling us he drove over 45 minutes to reach this park because he heard it was rich with a Pokémon he desperately wanted to add to his collection and asked us if we’d seen any.

We pointed him to an area where we found the creature he sought and we heard his triumph when he found it and added it to his collection. He proceeded to scour the park. Anytime we found the Pokémon he was looking for, we called out to him to help direct him to the right area to catch it. Strangers collaborating to chase invisible pocket monsters on a smartphone application—who’d have thought?

Teamwork makes the dream work

For this particular Pokémon GO player, he was able to complete his quest for catching Pokémon because all players experience the application in real time. By collaborating with other players, he identified the park as a place he needed to visit and he was able to add the necessary Pokémon to his collection. This story is a testament to the power of a real-time application and online collaboration capabilities accessible by all. If a player can accomplish so much from the application, what implications are there for businesses?

But could teamwork be easier?

The Pokémon GO collaboration experience could be better because it doesn’t offer the in-app ability to message another player or group, or share images of any kind. Although the application revealed the necessary Pokémon for this player, he relied on friends and external websites to provide the best possibility of completing his collection.

Maybe it’s because I’m a millennial but I honestly think the Pokemon Go collaboration experience could be both easier and improved: taking a seamless application operating in real-time and adding the ability to message others, post discussion threads, share images and insights, and work in other applications and links would enable any player to get the information needed to play effectively.

Relying on multiple applications to allow full collaboration creates a disjointed, less effective experience than if all of the capabilities were built-in.

Business collaboration in real time

It’s estimated that the average employee spends up to an hour every day trying to get in contact with people, find meeting rooms, and track projects and emails.

Helping employees easily contact each other can immediately boost productivity.

For a workforce on-the-go, uniting multiple channels of communications in a single mobile-first application—email, chat, phone calls, text, video—can drastically improve both productivity and output for a business. Top team collaboration tools make it a point to prioritize accessibility, visibility, and real-time tracking of various projects, documents, and presentations so workers get more out of every hour they put in.

If it works for Pokémon GO players, it will work for your business

Back to the zealous Pokémon GO player who traveled 45 minutes to get to the park that held the Pokémon he needed.

On the positive side, the synchronized application experience paired with real-time capabilities helped him to complete his. On the negative side, he had to lean on other applications to accomplish his mission, and was ultimately successful.

A comprehensive interface certainly would have helped him accomplish his goal more efficiently, just as a more complete collaboration tool helps workers get more done faster.

Unlike Pokémon Go, there are applications with a complete set of tools to help your employees collaborate. If you give your employees the opportunity to collaborate with a communications system that promotes project collaboration on a platform designed with mobile in mind, your employees will be able to work efficiently and effectively, at any time, in any location.

Many businesses today have one piece of the puzzle—like Pokémon GO—but choosing a truly integrated collaboration experience can really give you a competitive edge.

Team and project collaboration checklist

There are many communications vendors for businesses to choose from. In order to get the most effective solution for your business, make sure it is:

  • Mobile-enabled
  • Real-time
  • Inclusive of all communications channels
  • Ready for project collaboration
  • Able to share documents and track updates
  • Secure
  • CRM-compatible

Our MiCloud Office platform has all these features and more. To get an idea of what a first-class, comprehensive system looks like, watch the MiCloud Office Demo.

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