An inbound call center software is a tool that helps you manage all aspects of customer relations. Also called CRM, or customer relationship management, it centralizes all your customers’ requests and information about them, such as purpose of the contact, date, contact details, history, etc.

An inbound call center software can be linked to various external channels such as a phone number, an email address, a form, a chat channel or your social media accounts. When a person contacts you using one of these channels, the information is sent in real time to your customer support software. Your teams have access to the requests and are able to process them more efficiently.

From their inbound call center software, your customer relations agents can generally process requests in five steps.

- Create the ticket: when a customer submits a request via one of the channels (phone, email, form, etc.), a ticket is automatically created in the customer support software which can then if necessary be filed in a specific folder according to the type of contact.

- Notify the customer service team: an agent takes the ticket or is automatically assigned the ticket by the inbound call center software, based on the purpose of the request (claim, product information, etc.) or the type of channel used.

- Answer the request: the agent will attempt to answer the customer’s request. For that purpose, the inbound call center software may propose a set of standard questions which the agent asks the customer in order to help solve the issue. An agent needing support with the most complicated requests can tag a colleague or transfer the request to them.

- Update customer records: the inbound call center software can automatically update the customer record, or create one for a new customer, provided that the system offers CRM features. The agent can use this information to answer the request.

- Close the ticket: the ticket is closed once the request has been answered. However, the information about the contact is saved in the customer service software so that the history of the conversation with that person can be updated.

By centralizing all requests, claims and other questions, inbound call center software can optimize several aspects of your business.

- More efficient processing: the customer service software dispatches the requests based on their purpose and the channel used. As a result, you can assign contacts to an agent qualified to handle this type of request. As well as providing a better answer, you will reduce both the risk of missing a request and the processing time.

- Better customer relations follow-up: all the information about your customers and prospects is centralized in your software. You can use it to improve the quality of your response while better identifying callers.

- Optimization of performance analytics: customer support software generally has performance indicators (customer satisfaction, response time, etc.) that you can use to assess how well your agents handle requests and to optimize your customer service activity.

- Valuable data: the information collected can also be used for sales purposes. In addition to the customer service department, the sales or marketing department can use this information for an advertising campaign or a promotional event, for instance.

You should carefully choose your inbound call center software as it can have a real impact on your business. Here are a number of tips to follow:

• Identify your requirements: first, determine how you will use the software, how experienced your agents are and your budget in order to choose the solution that best fits your requirements.

• Assess the features: identify the features required for your business based on your expectations (customized interface, managing cascading calls, automated reporting, online knowledge platform, chatbot, etc.).

• Check compatibility: your inbound call center software must be compatible with your other digital solutions. Tools such as your phone service, ERP, database, e-commerce site, etc. all need to synchronize with your software to ensure that your business runs smoothly.

An inbound call is when someone reaches out to a company, for whatever reason: product information, a claim, a booking, etc. Your customer service software can handle your inbound calls.

The best way to improve the handling of inbound calls is to connect your customer support software to a phone service that uses VoIP technology. This technology allows you to harness the potential of broadband and benefit from many additional features.

If you choose Aircall CTI software (computer telephony integration), your calls are directly connected to your customer service software. As well as enabling you to process tickets and store customer information more efficiently, it means you can also benefit from many additional features to improve the handling of inbound calls with:

• Cascading call routing to dispatch calls between agents

• Interactive voice response to direct each call to the appropriate agent

• A hotline to establish available time slots

• A warm transfer feature so that you can talk to a colleague before transferring a call to them.

Ask for a demo to find out how Aircall can help you to optimize your handling of inbound calls.

The main advantage of Aircall’s solution is its compatibility with most customer service and CRM software, such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zendesk, Freshdesk, Front and Microsoft Dynamics. While the process of integration with CTI Aircall may vary depending on the software you use, it’s very simple:

• log in to Aircall’s dashboard

• click on “Integrations” then “Add an integration” and select your customer - support software from the list

• select the numbers you wish to pair

• fill in the address of your sub-domain, if any

• provide the information about your company and paste it in the Aircall form

• configure the app according to your requirements.

Start your free seven-day trial of Aircall and optimize the use of your customer service management software.