Best Call Center Software for Small Businesses
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PRODUCTS
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BUYER'S GUIDE
Buyer's Guide
By Kriti Sahay, Technical Writer at SelectHub
Many people dream of quitting their day jobs and starting their own business. With entrepreneurship on the rise, it seems like more and more people are actually taking the plunge and going into business for themselves.
But running a business isn’t easy. Things like supply chain issues, inflation and unprecedented events like the pandemic can throw a business off-course, especially in its early days. While you can’t prepare for every possibility, it’s important to ensure you have your daily operations covered – and that’s where call center software for small business comes in.
Small business call center software allows you to manage and expand your customer support easily, making it possible for even a small operation to handle a high volume of calls. Because it’s designed for small businesses, it also comes with a variety of features to help with other business needs, like an auto attendant and call routing to streamline customer interactions.
Ready to upgrade your customer support system? Read on to find out how call center software for small business can help you run your business better!
Executive Summary
- Call center software for small business helps you manage all inbound and outbound calls efficiently.
- Key features include an auto attendant, call routing, reporting and analytics, and agent collaboration tools.
- Before you commit to a solution, don’t forget to ask your vendor any questions you might have about the software.
What Is Call Center Software For Small Business?
Call center software is a software program specialized for small businesses, allowing them to easily manage both inbound and outbound communications. The software is equipped to handle all the day to day operations of a call center, and is easily scalable for when your small business becomes a large one.
For a small business, call center software can be a cost-effective sales and customer service solution. It’s usually based in the cloud, working through technologies like VoIP, making it easy for a small business with limited resources to set up a comprehensive call center at an affordable cost.
Primary Benefits
Here are some of the ways the right call center software can help your small business.
Reduce Your Overhead
- Auto Attendant Systems
- Auto Dialer
- Automatic Call Distribution
- Business Phone Service Providers
- Business Phone Systems
- Call Center Scripting
- Call Center
- Call Monitoring
- Call Recording
- Call Tracking
- Cloud PBX
- Cloud Phone Systems
- Computer Telephony Integration
- Conference Call Services
- Conference Calling
- IVR Systems
- PBX Phone Systems
- Predictive Dialer
- Screen Sharing
- SIP Clients
- SIP Trunk Providers
- Small Business Phone Systems
- UCAAS Providers
- Video Conferencing Platforms
- Virtual Phone Systems
- VoIP Phone Service Providers
- VoIP Phone Systems
- VoIP Softphones
- VoIP
Most modern call center software programs can make your customer support totally virtual, helping to reduce overhead costs like physical phone lines and on-premise infrastructure. With cloud computing and VoIP technology, all you need is a computer with a reliable internet connection to make and receive calls.
Improve Customer Experience
According to Salesforce, 83% of customers expect to engage with someone immediately when contacting a company. Call center software for small business helps make that possible, with features like automated call routing that routes your customers to the most appropriate agents for their queries, and auto attendant, an AI that answers even when your agents aren’t available.
Empower Your Small Business
Small businesses can struggle to compete with larger players. Having a well-run call center to back sales and provide excellent customer support can help give you a competitive edge.
Features like built-in analytics and reporting tools can also set your business apart from the pack, giving you actionable insights that help you create better strategies for growth.
Key Features & Functionality
Calling Capabilities | Offer your customers superior phone support with features like calling merging, flipping and transfers that help agents work collaboratively. Features like barge or call takeover allow supervisors to step in and take over a call when needed. |
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Auto-dialers | Automatically dial the next number on a contact list once a call is finished, saving your agents time they would have spent manually dialing and allowing them to run through their contact lists faster. |
Softphones | These software programs provide all the functionality of traditional telephones without the need for hardware, allowing your staff to make and receive calls using the internet. |
Auto Attendant | An automated attendant helps answer, escalate and route incoming calls. Callers respond to pre-recorded options with their voice or phone keypad based on their needs and are directed to the appropriate person or department. |
Call Routing | Automatically route each call your call center receives to an available agent. You can also set up your routing to distribute calls to agents based on criteria like expertise and call type. For example, a customer calling for information on billing would be routed to an agent who handles billing queries. |
Call Recording | Record all inbound and outbound calls. These recordings can further be accessed and used for quality coaching in the future. |
Analytics and Reporting | Generate reports about crucial KPIs like agent wrap time, abandonment rate and customer interaction in a comprehensive visual format and make more informed decisions depending on the data. |
Collaboration Tools | Allow your teams to easily communicate and work together so that individual agents are less likely to run into queries they can’t resolve. Tools like audio conferencing enable multiple agents or departments to work collaboratively, both in internal calls as well as on live calls with customers. Screen recording and screen sharing aid collaboration, quality monitoring and review. |
Voicemail System | Allow customers to contact you the moment they need to, and make sure that agents can easily respond once they’re back online. Speech recognition and voicemail transcription ensure that messages are received clearly no matter the quality of your customer’s call. |
Encryption and Security | A recent report by Cisco found that 86% of consumers describe privacy as a major concern. Features like role-based access control and two-factor authentication help keep your company’s data and your customers’ private information safe. |
Software Comparison Strategy
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of call center software, let’s dig into the process of finding the best fit for your small business.
Kickstart the process with a needs analysis. What’s your budget? Which features do you need most? Discuss these questions with key stakeholders and other business owners to help narrow down your requirements.
Comparing features is a great way to evaluate software. You might also want to consider the pros and cons of each solution, and go through online reviews from active users to get a clear picture of how well they could suit your needs.
Sound overwhelming? We can help! Our software comparison report takes some of the hard work out of the equation, giving you information on the leading industry software options in one easy-to-read report.
No matter how you arrive at your choice of software, be sure to ask the vendor any questions you have about it before you commit. You might also want to request a free demo to see how the software functions in your business.
Cost & Pricing Considerations
The cost of call center software depends on several factors, including implementation and method of deployment, the number of users and data storage. If the vendor doesn’t offer implementation as part of the package, you might need to pay extra to hire an external IT team or use your in-house IT resources to get the software up and running.
Most small business call center software is cloud-based and available on a subscription basis, though some software programs might come with the option to be installed on-premise for a one-time, upfront payment.
Each model comes with its own costs in terms of add-ons, updates and maintenance, so it’s important to keep in mind what works best for your business. A small business with more limited resources, for example, might benefit from having the vendor handle maintaining the system.
The Most Popular Call Center Software for Small Business
Picking the perfect solution for your business can be daunting. But don’t worry — we’ve curated a list of the three most popular call center for small business software options to get you started.
RingCentral
RingCentral is one of the most popular call center solutions, trusted by businesses worldwide. It’s cloud-based, which makes it easy to deploy anywhere in the world. It offers both inbound and outbound calling facilities, as well as omni-channel communications support, allowing you to communicate with your customers through any channel of their choice.
Call management with RingCentral. Source
Avaya
Avaya is a cloud-based contact center solution that can help you improve communications, both within and outside your organization, by offering a unified platform for communication and collaboration. It also offers self-service tools, helping free up resources within your small business while empowering customers to find solutions for their queries without having to contact customer support.
Avaya’s contact history and call management dashboard. Source
Vonage
Vonage is a cloud-based phone system. It offers a reliable, easy-to-use and unified communications platform for call center management. It is suitable for both small and large businesses and can provide a 99.9% uptime with SD-WAN and SmartWAN offerings. Its virtual assistant and receptionist console features can help you avoid dropped calls which can be an issue for small businesses with smaller teams.
Vonage’s agent dashboard. Source
Questions To Ask
To get a better sense of what your business needs, ask yourself questions like:
- What’s our overall budget?
- What are our primary objectives?
- Is scalability a priority?
- Do we only need the basics or are advanced features necessary?
- Do we have the IT resources to aid deployment?
Use these questions to learn more about the vendor and software:
- Do you offer customer support and training resources?
- Is the software suitable/customizable to the needs of a small business?
- What are the core strengths of the software?
- Does the software require extra plug-ins and integrations for full functionality?
- What kind of data security and privacy measures do you offer?
Next Steps
The right call center software can streamline your support operations, improving productivity and customer satisfaction. A small business needs all the support it can get, especially when it’s first getting off the ground. Finding the right call center software for your small business might just be what sets you apart from the competition.
Ready to get started? Try our requirements template to take the next step towards giving your small business a competitive edge.
Product Comparisons
Additional Resources
Products found for Call Center Software for Small Businesses
Aspect
Aspect is a contact management solution that supports global inbound and outbound communications across voice, email, SMS and other methods. It improves operational efficiency, ensures compliance and delivers satisfactory customer experiences. Other offerings include inbound and outbound voice support, omnichannel agent, digital self-service and more.
Nextiva
Nextiva allows users to combine customer service and internal business with VoIP phones, analytics and AI all located in a single platform creating a user-friendly, simplified experience. Accessible from anywhere, at any time, it includes video chat, email and message modules for communicating within the business and with customers. It’s equally suitable for small, medium and large companies.Analytics track sales pipelines, allowing for in-depth insights on how customers interact with the business and what they want and need. Keep customers satisfied with automated switching to direct them to the correct person to help with any questions they may have.
LiveOps
LiveOps is a promising platform that ranks 3 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 3 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $95, LiveOps is priced more economically and is most applicable for medium-to-large-sized corporations. LiveOps can be deployed online.
CallRail
CallRail is an intuitive call tracking platform that monitors and manages leads. It offers call recording, call tracking, text messaging, form tracking and conversation intelligence. It allows users to identify which keywords, campaigns and advertisements get the most leads. It also helps improve customer service and employee training. It connects online and offline insights to reveal campaign trends.
Five9
Five9 is a cloud contact center solution to facilitate customer engagement globally. It helps enhance agent and supervisor productivity, increase revenue, and improve the customer experience. Along with simplifying the complexities of a contact center, it also reduces the cost of on-premises maintenance. Other offerings include historical dashboards, agent scripting, web callback, speech-enabled IVR, pre-built CRM integrations and more.
Sideline
Sideline is a well-known software system that ranks 21 among all Business Phone Systems according to our research analysts and 55 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $9.99, Sideline is priced at a low cost, offers a free trial on occasion and is most advisable for companies large and small. Sideline can be deployed online.
Bitrix24
Bitrix24 facilitates the execution of the customer journey. It supplies organizations with tools for marketing, sales and customer service activities such as lead generation, marketing automation, campaign management and call center support.It comes with a free edition for companies with less advanced needs or a smaller budget. Deployment is available in the cloud and on-premise. It’s suitable for smaller businesses as well as enterprises with up to 50,000 employees.
Gong
Gong is a revenue intelligence solution that helps capture customer interactions across web, calls, emails and other communication methods. It facilitates better decision-making for revenue strategy by offering real-time insights and analytics based on sales conversions. Its other major attributes include deal intelligence, integrations, people intelligence, field sales and market intelligence.
Lifesize
Lifesize is a popular software application that ranks 26 among all Business Phone Systems according to our research analysts and 170 crowd-sourced reviews from 2 sources. Starting from $14.95, Lifesize is priced more economically, offers a free trial on occasion and is most advisable for companies large and small. Lifesize can be deployed online and on-premise and is accessible from a handful of platforms including Windows devices.
Avaya
Avaya is a cloud-based business communication solution to digitize business interactions and enable better team collaboration. Users can access it across channels on the go and ensure an improved customer experience. It offers unified communications, anticipates inquiries and enables self-service to answer frequent questions. Its other major offerings include omnichannel connectivity with a single desktop, meetings and conferencing, AI support and more.
Kustomer
Kustomer is a distinguished software application that ranks 10 among all Help Desk Software according to our research analysts and 38 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $89, Kustomer is priced a notch under most others, commonly offers a free trial and is most fitting for business of all sizes. Kustomer can be deployed in the cloud.
Tenfold
Tenfold improves customer interactions for contact centers by providing sales reps with real-time data in a centralized location. This improvement increases conversion rates and streamlines workflows. It offers seamless integration with CRM and other technology, manages agent status and availability and provides natural language processing.
TalkDesk
Talkdesk is an AI and cloud-based call center software that helps businesses build stronger customer relationships. Empower agents with a 360-degree customer view, more personalized conversations and improved conversion and first-contact resolution rates. Its capabilities include integration with over 20 business tools such as Zendesk, Salseforce, Desk.com, Slack and more. Other capabilities include automated workflows, skill-based routing and live reporting.
CXone
CXone (formerly called inContact) provides contact center and workforce optimization solutions to enterprises. Customers can connect to call agents through more than 30 interaction options including chat, messaging, email, voice calling and social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Whatsapp. Businesses can monitor contact center and employee performance through a live dashboard that provides basic reporting. Customers are connected to the best skilled resources through automatic call distribution (ACD) based on analytics and artificial intelligence. IVR call flows integrate with analytics to ensure efficient data-directed routing for quicker resolution of customer queries. Workforce intelligence automatically triggers alerts and actions based on historical interactions and scheduling patterns to free up resources. Its no-pause predictive dialer helps call agents get through call lists faster.Call center analytics include metrics on agent-customer interaction, productivity data, reports and performance management aids. Businesses can get feedback on customer experience through surveys, identify discrepancies and boost productivity. It provides out-of-the-box integrations with Salesforce, Microsoft 365, GSuite, Microsoft Teams, Oracle, Zendesk and RingCentral.
CallShaper
CallShaper is a premier platform that ranks 15 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 34 crowd-sourced reviews from 2 sources. Starting from $70, CallShaper is priced a notch under most others and is most suitable for all business sizes. CallShaper can be deployed online and is accessible from a limited set of platforms including Windows and Apple devices.
Amazon Connect
Amazon Connect is a cloud contact center platform that offers customer service over voice, tasks and chat at a comparatively lower cost. The product uses the Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to record and store exported reports and conversations. From there, it creates default buckets for storage requirements. Its self-service graphical interface helps non-technical users to manage agents, design contact flows and track performance metrics easily without specialized skills. Sales representatives build natural language contact flows with the Amazon Lex with a natural language understanding (NLU) and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology powering Amazon Alexa.
Aircall
Aircall is a cloud-based professional phone system that streamlines customer support and sales engagement. It integrates with CRM and helpdesks. It offers a power dialer, call routing, ring groups, call queuing and live feeds. The software is best suited for modern small and medium-sized businesses, especially those that have call centers.e dashboard to control team activity, coach agents and listen to live calls. Create inbound and outbound call centers. It can integrate with Zendesk, Salesforce and Hubspot.
PhoneBurner
PhoneBurner is a sales dialer solution that helps improve profitability with enhanced outreach through calls, live connections, closed deals and appointments. Its customizability allows users to reach customers right after deployment and include new users with minimal extra setup. It reduces VoIP related audio issues and simplifies the remote sales process. It also offers workflow automation, lead distribution, remote dialing, collaborative onboarding and more.
Cisco Finesse
Cisco Finesse is a well-known software product that ranks 18 among all Customer Service Software according to our research analysts and 2 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $0, Cisco Finesse is priced at no cost when starting and is most fitting for all company sizes. Cisco Finesse can be deployed online.
Qualfon
Qualfon provides comprehensive contact center, BPO (business process outsourcing) and back-office processing solutions. Its offerings include customer service, integrated marketing, big data analytics and back-office processing. It provides outsourcing services through offices in India, Philippines, United States, Mexico, Guyana and other areasQualfon supports multi-channel customer service through phone, email, live chat, text and social media. Integrated marketing and campaign management tools are geared towards optimizing campaigns and improving lead generation. Advanced data mining, customer segmentation, data analytics and predictive modeling tools help forecast customer behavior to provide superior customer experiences.
CallTools
CallTools, a cloud-based contact center solution, helps increase conversion rates and sales revenue by delivering satisfactory customer interactions. Users can monitor teams on the fly, connect with customers and access real-time analytics based on call records. Its main offerings are CallTools Predictive and CallTools Preview, each with its own set of attributes.
Replicant
Replicant is a reputable application that ranks 22 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 20 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Replicant is most applicable for mid-to-large-sized corporations. Replicant can be deployed in the cloud.
Sharpen
Sharpen is a cloud-based contact center platform allowing agents to interact with customers more efficiently and deliver better user experiences. The resources ensure agents are effectively trained and well-prepared to handle customer interactions. Other offerings include platform architecture, inbound routing, reporting and analytics, remote work support and more. .
Call Box
Call Box is a noteworthy software product that ranks 36 among all Call Tracking Software according to our research analysts and 6 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Call Box is most suitable for any sized business. Call Box can be deployed online.
ReadyMode
ReadyMode (formerly branded as Xencall) is a browser-based contact center solution with a predictive dialer for CRM and VoIP. It enables users to close more deals and maximize sales. Built-in CRM and third-party integrations as well as analytical performance reports help automate and streamline administrative tasks, improving productivity. Its other major offerings include conference calling, custom agent statuses, do-not-call lists, firewall security and more.
Mango Voice
Mango Voice is a distinguished software tool that ranks 26 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 101 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $32.95, Mango Voice is priced a notch under most others, has offered a free trial in the past and is most fitting for companies of all sizes. Mango Voice can be deployed online and on-premise and is accessible from a limited amount of platforms including Windows devices.
CallTrackingMetrics
CallTrackingMetrics is a popular software platform that ranks 44 among all Business Phone Systems according to our research analysts and 93 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $39, CallTrackingMetrics is priced more competitively, has offered a free trial in the past and is most applicable for all company sizes. CallTrackingMetrics can be deployed in the cloud.
Salesforce Service Cloud
Salesforce Service Cloud offers omnichannel customer support ranging from emails and live chat to voice complaints. It automates procedures and keeps a check on the budget for customer support. With a 360-degree view of customers, it helps improve efficiency. Integrations with MailChimp, Dropbox, GetFeedback and others are available. Its other offerings include drag-and-drop customization of workflows, creation of a public Q A, chatbots and more.
JustCall
JustCall is a distinguished software tool that ranks 29 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 100 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $30, JustCall is priced more economically, offers a free trial on occasion and is most applicable for businesses large and small. JustCall can be deployed online and on-premise and is accessible from a limited number of platforms including Windows devices.
Plivo
Plivo is a cloud-based communication platform to digitize and modernize business communications. It allows users to automatically interact using text messages in over 190 countries. It’s possible to manage communication workflows visually using PHLO. Other attributes include number lookup, call tracking, appointment reminders, SMS reminders, call forwarding and more.
VanillaSoft
VanillaSoft is a cloud-based sales engagement solution that helps businesses improve their sales processes and increase revenue-per-rep by securing more leads, driving higher interaction rates and utilizing sales cadence automation to close deals faster. Combining features for lead management, telemarketing and contact management, it streamlines sales operations to manage, route, market and sell efficiently.
Playvox
Playvox is a leading software product that ranks 32 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 85 crowd-sourced reviews from 1 source. Starting from $15, Playvox is priced below average, has offered a free trial in the past and is most suitable for any sized company. Playvox can be deployed in the cloud.
Convoso
Convoso is a cloud-based all-in-one call center that facilitates faster lead generation and conversion using different communication channels. It provides dynamic scripting, local caller ID, robust lead management and answering machine detection. It has an AI-driven multi-channel platform that helps generate more leads and results in lesser agent burnout. It’s highly customizable, and users can personalize conversation content.
Stella Connect
Stella Connect is a high-profile software platform that ranks 34 among all Call Center Software according to our research analysts and 24 crowd-sourced reviews from 2 sources. Starting from $39, Stella Connect is priced more competitively and is most suitable for companies large and small. Stella Connect can be deployed in the cloud and is accessible from a limited set of platforms including Windows and Linux devices.
Kixie
Kixie is a cloud-based voice call solution that automates sales processes and helps increase productivity. It connects agents with prospects and gives valuable insights into conversations. Enables sales teams to close deals at a faster rate.It offers call history, call coaching, voicemail drop, reporting, call recording, a sales leaderboard and call queues. It’s easy to set up, reliable and integrates with third-party modules. Users can start making calls within three minutes of setting up without any hardware. It also provides a free trial.
UniTel Voice
UniTel Voice is a popular application that ranks 51 among all Business Phone Systems according to our research analysts and 48 crowd-sourced reviews from 2 sources. Starting from $9.99, UniTel Voice is priced at a low cost and is most applicable for businesses on the small side. UniTel Voice can be deployed online and is accessible from a handful of platforms including Windows devices.
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