For Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) providing high-speed internet connectivity is just not enough. In today’s time, with the rapid digital revolution, massive adoption of 5G technology, and massive progress on 6G research, fast internet connection is not a novelty.
Truth be told, when it comes to core offerings, many ITSPs are extremely similar to each other. Be it the internet speed, bandwidth, pricing plans, and validity, many of them provide similar packages. It’s hard to differentiate one from the other.
If there’s one aspect that can be a huge differentiator, it’s customer service. ITSPs that want to stay ahead of the competition must make sure that their customer service is impeccable. And for that, they need to invest in high-quality communication systems, such as sophisticated call center software, which would enable them to leverage cutting-edge features.
This blog post lists seven sophisticated features that your ITSP call center software must have so that you can provide high-quality customer service. So, without further ado, let’s dive right in and know what the seven must-have features are.
1. Automatic Call Distribution
When your ITSP gets multiple calls from customers, you can’t afford to keep them waiting. It must route all incoming calls to the right agents. That’s where this feature can be immensely helpful. The technology routes all incoming calls to specific departments or agents. ACD works on a set of rules on how incoming calls should be routed and handled.
The popularity of the ACD feature makes it one of the fastest-growing markets globally. As per data from GII Research, the international ACD market size is expected to grow from USD 512 million in 2021 to USD 776.7 million by 2028, a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7 percent during the period.
2. Interactive Voice Response
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated call center feature that enables callers to interact with a computer program instead of a human voice agent. The feature is extremely beneficial at a time when three out of every five customers prefer automated self-service for simple tasks, revealed a study by American Express. As per a study by the Aberdeen Group, the IVR feature can reduce customer service costs by up to 30 percent.
Your ITSP’s call center software must have an IVR feature so that it doesn’t just provide self-service support to your customers but enables them to connect to the right department and customer service agent.
3. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Integration
As per recent stats, CRM software can enhance forecast accuracy by 42 percent, productivity by 34 percent, and sales by 29 percent. According to one data revealed by Gartner, 91 percent of businesses with over 11 employees now use CRM systems, compared to 50 percent of those with 10 or fewer employees. So, if you are in the majority, you would want to ensure CRM integration.
Are you wondering why you must? Well, when customers call your call center and they are connected to a live agent, your agents must know with whom they’re speaking as well as their previous interactions. If that doesn’t happen, then it would lead to a lot of complications and customer dissatisfaction. CRM integration would help you to know everything about the customer starting from their name to the previous transactions and interactions they’ve had with your ITSP.
4. Omnichannel Support
As discussed in the second point, more and more people prefer to use self-service options. Also, a majority of people don’t want to call customer service numbers to get their issues resolved. Many of them would like to use web chat, instant messages, social media messages, and other communication channels for customer support services. As per a recent study, businesses with robust omnichannel customer support strategies retain on average 89 percent of their customers.
When customers want to connect with your ITSP’s customer support department, most of them won’t call. Instead, many of them would send text messages, and emails, chat on the website, and connect via social media direct messages. In such a scenario, you must help them connect through multiple channels of communication. Having robust omnichannel support in place is an extremely practicable way to do so.
5. Advanced Security Features
Did you know that a lot of ITSPs have become popular targets for cyberattacks? After the COVID-19 pandemic, many small and mid-sized ITSPs faced unprecedented cyberattacks. That’s probably because their systems can be used to launch supply chain attacks. So, at a time when cybercrime is projected to cost up to USD six trillion per year globally, how can ITSPs not be particular about security features in their communication system?
Having sophisticated security features is extremely important for your ITSP business. Make sure your call center software comes loaded with cutting-edge security features such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), robust encryption, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and Transport Layer Security (TLS), voice biometrics, secure APIs, data masking and tokenization, and more.
6. Call Whispering and Barging
When ITSPs hire customer service representatives, they need to be aware that the new agents can make mistakes. While some mistakes can be embarrassing, a few can be highly dangerous to the company. To prevent that, ITSPs need to do whatever it takes to guide their employees in the right manner.
Intervening at the right juncture not only prevents customer service agents from making any serious mistake but also equips them with the right knowledge for a long time to come. Call whispering and barging is an important feature in call center software. It enables team leaders and management to listen to call center representatives in real time and intervene whenever it’s necessary.
8. Real-Time Reporting and Analytics
As the saying goes, “Data is the language of business.” When ITSPs collect all available data about their business, they can think systematically and analytically about their business problems and find the right solutions. Leveraging relevant data is not a luxury in today’s time, it’s the need.
Some highly sophisticated call center software comes equipped with real-time data monitoring features that can enable you to get key analytics and insights immediately. That can help you to assess your agents’ performance, track key performance indicators, and make informed decisions.
All in All,
In an age when ITSPs find it hard to compete on the services they provide, pricing plans, and validity of service, customer service is the frontier where they can differentiate themselves from the competition. Providing excellent customer service becomes a high priority.
That’s where leveraging reliable and high-quality call center software becomes extremely crucial. ITSPs should not only handpick the right software provider but make sure that the software comes loaded with the above-mentioned seven key features.
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