Setting Up Virtual Call Center for Your Small Business: Steps to Follow

Do you want to future-proof your organization? Or further, professionalize your services? You can easily set up a virtual PBX these days! Does setting up a telephone exchange seem like an impossible task? Your next step will be setting up virtual call center.

Nowadays, there are easy solutions for setting up a telephone service quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Now, you no longer need to hire an expensive external call center agency to offer good telephone service.

Wondering how this works and what it means for your organization? In this article, you will learn what a virtual call center is, the benefits, what your customers will notice, and how you can easily set up a virtual call center yourself in three steps.

To learn more, read on to the end of the article.

What Is a Virtual Call Center?

With a virtual call center, you can set up an operational telephone exchange within a day. Moreover, while maintaining full flexibility, you have numerous options for the virtual call center to grow with the business.

A virtual call center is nothing more than a phone system that runs entirely online. Basically, it is a cloud-based phone system. Here, you can customize your solutions to fit the needs of your business.

As a business administrator, you do not want to concern yourself with the whole system behind making and receiving calls. You just want to serve your customers as well as possible. Primarily, by using a virtual call center, you can make this task easier. You no longer need cumbersome equipment or software.

With a plug-and-play option, your business number can be operational within a day. Employees only need a (mobile) device, an internet connection, and a user-friendly call center app. This then allows them to connect directly to the online PBX.

How Does a Virtual Call Center Work?

You will mainly find virtual call centers in smaller and dispersed locations. Apart from that, it can also be an employee who is working from home. Hence, in comparison to a traditional call center, you also do not need a lot of IT resources to manage a virtual call center.

A virtual call center software mainly consists of a voice-over IP (VoIP) system. Moreover, they are based on the cloud. Hence, you can achieve better communication between your teams with the help of video conferencing software.

Basically, with the help of virtual call centers, you can handle both inbound and outbound calls easily. Also, you can allow the calling agent to receive calls and make calls whenever it is necessary.

Generally, inbound calls come from potential as well as current customers who have queries and need assistance on a product/service. On the other hand, outbound calls are the ones that you make to potential as well as current customers for the business.

Advantages of a Virtual Call Center

The virtual call center is a tailor-made solution to serve your customers as efficiently as possible. Basically, you do not need to compromise on customer friendliness and service. In addition, a virtual call center offers a high level of information security thanks to regular security updates.

Curious about all the advantages of a VoIP call center? With a virtual call center, you can:

– Easily scale up or down when needed. When your organization grows or has fixed peak moments, the virtual call center grows flexibly along with it.

– View key statistics in real-time in a handy dashboard. If you want to know more, you can download all the data to your computer. Measuring is knowing!

– Simple and automatic call forwarding. Preset routing and menus automatically direct customers to the right department.

– Have your address book automatically synchronized with all connected employees. If you change, add or delete a contact, it will be updated immediately by everyone.

– Fixed number on mobile: a business phone number on the smartphone to combine the best of both worlds: professional and flexible.

– Set a pre-announcement tone or separate ringtone. This allows employees to easily distinguish who is calling and answer the phone appropriately.

– Easily block or prioritize certain callers.

– Set up an SMS tool to send short messages to customers.

– Deploy employees flexibly. At home or in the office, at home or abroad, employees can connect themselves to the virtual call center.- Set up an accessibility schedule. Thanks to the smart system, employees can indicate when they are available, and callers are evenly distributed among the available employees.

– Easily record calls to listen back later, e.g., for training purposes or to include in the appraisal cycle.

Cons of a Virtual Call Center

The following are a few cons of a virtual call center that you need to be aware of:

• It can be difficult to train remote employees.
• In case of a need for repair of the laptop or any other device, employees have to do it themselves. Otherwise, they need to come to the office.
• It gets hard for the organization to oversee their employees. This is because they are working remotely and are present in different locations.
• For the employees, connecting to peers gets harder. Moreover, in certain cases, employees feel out of place. Furthermore, in other cases, it also gets harder for employees to communicate important information with others.

Set Up Virtual Call Center: Steps to Follow

Want to set up a virtual call center but don’t know where to start? With a few simple decisions, you can be up and running within one working day:

Step 1. Decide Which Phone Number You Want to Use

It is possible for your virtual call center to set up almost any business phone number, and combinations are even possible! You can choose from free-to-call toll-free numbers, national phone numbers, and local extensions such as London 204, and you can even set up an international number, for example, a virtual phone number italy.

Step 2. Build a Virtual Team of Employees

With a virtual call center, you basically no longer need physical office space. You can set up a full hybrid system that allows you to have employees record calls at any location.

For example, employees can connect to the online call center and make business calls from home, on the road, in the office, or even abroad. Wherever your employees are, they all become part of the virtual call center.

Step 3. Choose Whether to Work With Desk Phones, Mobile Devices, or a Softphone Device

You can set up the virtual call center in three ways. You can transfer incoming calls to mobile devices, to a softphone device, or use headphone devices. Also, you can opt for a hybrid form where you combine two or three of these options!

You decide which employee works with which type of device. The softphone application is suitable for iOS and Android devices. Moreover, you can download it 24/7 and start using it immediately. For the headphone devices, you get a plug-and-play experience.

What Do Customers Notice about the Virtual Call Center?

Compared to a traditional call center, customers will be positively surprised because:

– They will hear a welcome message you choose.

– You can minimize waiting time. Thanks to smart menus and routing systems, callers are immediately transferred to an available employee in the right department.

– Outside opening hours, callers hear a pre-programmed message or can leave a digital answering machine.

Final Thoughts

With a virtual call center, you have the opportunity to further professionalize business telephony and future-proof your organization. You get all the benefits of a landline phone number without sacrificing your image or professional appearance.

With the transition from the old-fashioned telephone exchange to online call centers, you are able to meet the growing demand for good telephone accessibility and excellent service.

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