Small Business Success with Call Center Software for E-commerce Industry

“Zappos.” What comes to your mind when you hear the brand name? It's impeccable customer service, of course! Without it, the multibillion-dollar company would have been just yet another online company.

If you are an owner or a senior executive of an e-commerce company, and you manage customer service in-house like a majority of companies, then you must take all possible steps to provide awesome customer service. That’s the key to the success of your business.

To ensure that you must use sophisticated communication tools such as call center software and VoIP-based telephone systems. It will not only enable you to provide exceptional customer service but will also benefit your business in a lot of ways.

This blog post discusses six benefits of using advanced call center software in the e-commerce sector and four steps that will help you choose the right call center software for your online business.

Benefits of call center software for e-commerce businesses

The right call center software can be a great asset for e-commerce businesses. Here are six benefits that sophisticated call center software provides to the e-commerce industry.

1. Better customer service

In the e-commerce sector, customer service matters a lot. That’s because a majority of online shoppers need help while:

●       Making purchases

●       Scheduling deliveries

●       Inquiring order status

●       Requesting after-sale services and more.

As per a stat, four out of five e-commerce stores don’t outsource their customer service. If you handle customer service in-house, then you need to ensure that you achieve as high a customer satisfaction rate as possible. In the e-commerce sector, the customer satisfaction rate is in the range of 75 to 80 percent. Using sophisticated call center software can enable you to respond to customers’ calls more quickly and accurately and it will help you achieve a higher customer satisfaction rate.

2. Faster call routing and higher FCR

Advanced call center software comes with various cutting-edge features such as interactive voice response (IVR), skill-based routing, least-cost routing, call transfer, and call queue just to name a few. All the features work in tandem to enhance first-call resolution (FCR).

For instance, when the call center software is equipped with a sophisticated IVR it gives several self-service options to customers. Customers get to choose the language they want to interact in as well as the department. If they choose to speak with a customer service representative, the call is routed to a relevant agent with the right skills and expertise to resolve the issue.

3. Higher customer loyalty

Loyalty is the by-product of excellent customer service and experience. The more satisfied customers are with your customer service, the more loyal they will be to your brand. We have already discussed how sophisticated call center software can enable small businesses and e-commerce companies to provide exceptional customer service. But the right software does much more than that.

It helps businesses track customer feedback, record customer interactions, and constantly monitor customer satisfaction levels. Businesses can use the information to identify areas of improvement and manage customer relationships in a much better way.

4. Generate high-quality leads

Lead generation is one of the most important business goals and is critical for the success of small and medium businesses and e-tailers. As per a study by APSIS, three out of every five businesses consider generating quality leads as their biggest challenge. That’s where the right call center software can help small businesses and e-commerce companies generate high-quality leads.

Sophisticated call center software can enable small businesses and e-commerce to interact with their prospects directly, which plays an instrumental role in lead generation. By leveraging the right call center software, small and medium online retailers can create targeted marketing campaigns and send pre-recorded messages to maximize lead generation.

5. Boost sales and revenue

Advanced and sophisticated call center software can enable small and medium e-commerce businesses to easily and quickly respond to customer queries as well as enhance sales conversions. Businesses can leverage call center software to analyze customer feedback, identify trends, and create targeted marketing campaigns, which will result in more sales.

6. Higher productivity of agents

It’s no secret that automating different tasks can enhance productivity. When the process of handling incoming calls and dialing outgoing calls is automated, it has a direct impact on agents’ productivity. Several studies have established a direct connection between employees’ productivity and customer satisfaction.

How to choose the right call center software for an e-commerce business?

After deciding to invest in sophisticated call center software, the next question arises “How to find the right call center software in a highly competitive market?” After all, for every reputable software provider, many won’t deliver on their promise. A little mistake in the selection process can prove to be extremely costly over a period. To avoid making a wrong choice and investment, make sure you follow these steps in your quest to find the right call center software for your e-commerce business.

1. Determine your objectives, list the features you want from the call center software, and set a budget

First of all, determine what you want to accomplish with the call center software. Do you want to use it to handle all incoming calls efficiently and provide prompt customer service? Do you want to use it to make outgoing calls for lead generation and marketing purposes? Or do you want a mix of both?

Finding answers to these questions will help you decide if you want to invest in inbound call center software, outbound call center software, or omnichannel call center software.

It will also help you zero in on the features you want in your call center software. Should you choose inbound call center software, some must-have features are:

●       IVR

●       skill-based routing

●       automatic call distribution

●       call queuing

If you want outbound call center software, it must have features such as:

●       auto dialer

●       predictive dialer

●       automatic call

●       scheduled call back

●       auto messaging

●       CRM integration

After listing the features you want, set a reasonable budget for the software.

2. Look for reliable and reputable call center software providers on the internet

Now that you know why you’re buying call center software, what features you want, and the amount you’re willing to invest for the software, it’s time to look for the best possible options and service providers available in the market. For that, you can use the internet to speed up your quest and find the best possible software and software provider out there.

Search terms such as “best call center software for e-commerce businesses,” “top call center software for small and medium online retailers,” and “e-commerce call center software for small businesses,” among others. If you want to narrow down the search for a specific location, then use terms such as “best call center software for e-commerce companies in (Country Name)” or “top e-commerce call center software in (City Name).”

3. Visit websites and compare features, ratings, prices, as well as pros and cons

After pressing the enter key, you will get about a dozen of results on the first search engine results page. Click on the top five to six links and visit the websites. If you visit the official websites of call center software brands, then you can take a look at various products, features, brand stories, pricing plans, customer testimonials, and contact information.

If you click on listicles such as “10 best call center software in 2023,” then you can get a bird’s-eye-view of some of the leading service providers and a quick and easy comparison of their products, prices, and benefits.

3. Shortlist a few call center software providers and contact them

After comparing the software, prices, and benefits, you can know which software providers can meet your needs. You must shortlist them and contact their sales team. At the very outset, ask each of them if they can provide a free demo.

A lot of reputable call center software providers provide free demos even though they don’t mention them on their websites. If a service provider says that they don’t provide a free demo, quickly move on to the next.

4. Use the software and seek your customer service team’s feedback

After a software provider agrees to provide a free demo, introduce the software to your customer service department and ask your agents to use it and observe how it works.

Seek your team’s feedback at regular intervals and if the feedback is positive, buy the software.

Taking everything into account

The right call center software can help e-commerce companies provide exceptional customer service, enhance their customer satisfaction rate, resolve customer queries and issues in a fast and effective manner, and generate high-quality leads and convert those efficiently.

By using sophisticated call center software, e-commerce companies can streamline their incoming and outgoing calls, provide their customers with self-service options, and ensure that their issues and queries are resolved at the earliest.