Partner Highlight
Hatch Partners with Thumbtack
Hatch and Thumbtack have partnered up to provide home improvement companies that best opportunity to close sales.
Running any business is difficult. Running a business that includes a call center can be even more of a challenge. Fortunately, there are virtual call center software programs available to make life a little bit easier for you. The right software will improve the efficiency of your business while boosting the productivity of your staff. A win-win!
Call center software for small businesses is especially important. You might not naturally equate “small business” with “call center” but the truth is that many are both! If you have any staff, even just a handful of employees, dedicated to answering phone calls, you technically are running a call center. If these employees spend any time working at home, you also have a virtual call center. From your CRM to your lead management software, technology is a critical tool in your business management arsenal. To help you out on your quest to run the best home improvement contact or call center possible, we’ve compiled a list of the top virtual call center software that every business should have.
- CRM. When potential customers call you, they assume that they’re going to have the best experience possible. The fastest and easiest way to do this is by ensuring your reps have as much information about the person reaching out as possible. This is where call center or cloud contact center CRM systems are important.
A foundational piece of inbound call center software, a CRM helps home improvement businesses store and manage all of that information your reps need. It's the first step to providing the type of experience today’s consumers have come to expect. Call center agents can use a CRM system to instantly see all the relevant information about a particular caller, like project history, last contact, and location. One very important thing to watch out for when selecting a CRM is its integrations. You will want to ensure that your CRM integrates well with all of your other necessary software. For a list of our favorite CRMs for contractors with features, reviews, and pricing, check out this blog post. - Lead management software. One of the most important, but often overlooked, options when it comes to virtual call center software is lead management technology. While your CRM will gather important data and monitoring/recording and analytics software help you track how well your team is doing, lead management software really helps elevate every communication with a potential customer.
A good lead management software will turn your call center into a contact center. It will allow you to connect via an omnichannel approach - reaching out to leads by text message, phone, or email. It will automate your speed to lead processes, so you can be sure to reach out immediately to every person who contacts you. It also allows for automated follow-up when a deal hasn’t closed. In fact, the right lead management software will help you set 20% more appointments and close 8% more deals. To learn more about how Hatch’s lead management software can elevate your home improvement business, click here. - Call recording/monitoring. Technology that allows for monitoring/recording is another important call center software for small businesses. This type of software allows others in your company to listen in on a rep’s call in order to track performance, train new employees, or learn about potential customer hesitations.
Many virtual call center recording platforms also provide real-time listening and joining options, which allow you to sit in on a call OR even join the call without removing the rep. This is great for those situations where someone wants to speak with a manager or where you need some extra “juice” to close a deal. - Analytics software. It’s important that you closely monitor the analytics and KPIs of your call center. How many deals closed? How much revenue was made? Do you need more reps? Fewer? Call center analytics software lets you have these numbers at your fingertips.
The best software does this by gathering together all of the relevant data and presenting it in clean, easy-to-understand dashboards. While there are stand-alone software options that you can purchase, the good news is that many of the previously mentioned types of software come with their own analytics and reporting features. Just be sure to take advantage of them!
Whether you’re an old pro at managing a call center or you just now realized you even HAVE a call center, using the right inbound call center software is central to your success. Technology has the power to take an average performing business and elevate it to a top-of-class business.
For more tips on running a first-class call center, download our free ebook, “How To Build A Call Center Messaging Machine” now.
