Starting a call center business is no easy task. It takes time, effort, and a well-thought-out strategy. However, it’s not impossible either.
To set up a call center (in any industry), it’s necessary to understand the what and why of such endeavor.
What Are Call Centers?
Call centers are businesses that specialize in making and receiving calls to answer the questions and resolve the problems of a company’s customer base by means of a PBX phone system and a series of agents.
They were introduced in response to customers’ need for immediate phone-based assistance. Nowadays, they’ve branched out into multiple sectors different from customer service.
How Do They Operate?
Call centers offer services via phone calls. These services are related to business transactions, account receivables management, help desk, customer support, etc.
Call centers are classified into two categories:
- In-house
- Outsourced
What Are the Best Sectors for Call Centers?
Call centers can specialize in different sectors, including:
- Customer service
- Sales
- Emergency services
- Technical support
- Debt collection
- Market research
- Marketing
In the last few years, call centers around the world have experienced significant growth. That’s why they prove to be a profitable venture.
How to Start Up a Call Center
Setting up a call center with efficient and budget-friendly resources gives you a head start and allows you to deliver a high-quality service.
To run a call center successfully, it’s important to consider some essential factors.
- Premises. The space and equipment of agents’ workstations must be appropriate so they feel at ease, and consequently, improve their performance.
- Computers. Make sure to acquire hardware that supports the software you need.
- Telephony. Legacy telephone systems are not enough to meet the communication needs of today’s call centers, hence it is advisable to transition to IP telephony.
- Staff training. Your representatives must be professional and knowledgeable. They must display a strong sense of teamwork and commitment, as well as a willingness to learn.
- Software. Choose technology that guarantees success for your call center.
What Is the Key to an Effective Call Center Operation?
As mentioned before, software is a crucial factor in the success of call centers.
There are many software options in the market. Some of them (licensed platforms) require upfront payment, while others (open-source platforms) are available “for free” –or so it seems.
Whether you’re new to the call center world or not, you must understand that difference between proprietary and open-source software lies beyond the price. Here’s why.
On the one hand, you need to buy user licenses and, on the other, you don’t. It looks simple, right? Well… it’s not.
When you choose to use an open-source platform, you don’t invest money to get it, but you incur expenses related to installation, training, and support because you need to hire a specialized team. Therefore, if you do the math, you are very likely to spend more when deciding on this alternative.
So What’s Best?
Licensed software comes with a fee, but also with considerable benefits that outweigh its price.
If you want to learn more about the distinctive characteristics of open-source and licensed software, take a look at this article.
Now that you know that licensed platforms are the best option for your call center. The next step is making the perfect software choice.
The answer is really easy
We explained above that the implementation of open-source platforms entails “additional” costs. However, installation is billed separately by a large number of licensed software providers too. What are the options then?
NUXIBA covers these costs
Nuxiba developed CenterWare, a feature-rich platform that provides for multichannel customer interactions and first-class service.
Some of its benefits are:
- Increased service level
- Improved agent productivity
- Call blending (inbound and outbound)
- Real-time monitoring
- Automatic call distribution
- And many more…
Why CenterWare?
Regardless of the industry, you work in, CenterWare enables you to manage multiple types of campaigns (debt collection, sales, customer service, etc.).
Another advantage of CenterWare is that it includes installation, training, and 24/7 support completely free of charge.
As you can see, CenterWare by NUXIBA is the best option in the market in terms of price, benefits, and features.
Nuxiba believes in you and your business. We want to see you grow.
No matter if you have a handful of seats, we have the right solution for you!
