If you’re looking for a new business communications and contact center solution, the sheer number of options on the market can be overwhelming.

Which business phone systems have the features you need? Which ones are within your budget? Which ones can scale with your growing business?

We can make this difficult decision easier for you by comparing two unified communications platforms.

So, if you’re still searching for the perfect communications solution for your business, take a look at the key differences between Aircall and Dialpad so you can determine which one does a better job of meeting your telephony needs.

Aircall vs. Dialpad: The Pros

Let’s begin our journey by looking at the best features and benefits of each platform. What does each platform bring to the table to improve your business communications?

Aircall: the pros

Aircall’s business phone and communications platform is a popular choice among small and mid-sized companies, thanks in part to its array of features.

Notable features include:

• Click-to-call
• Call tagging
• Call conferencing
• Call recording
• Integrated video calls
• An extensive integrations library, including Zapier, Shopify, Slack, and Zoho
• SMS and MMS messaging

Aircall offers advanced call management features, such as interactive voice response capabilities, call routing, and advanced analytics. These features allow callers to reach the right person or department easily and give users deeper insights into their calls and customers.

Aircall is also known for its fast connection speeds, user-friendly interfaces, and high-quality audio. Additionally, it can integrate with helpdesk and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, further improving productivity for organizations and contact centers. These features make Aircall a good choice for organizations looking for fast, efficient communications.

Aircall customers can purchase an Essentials plan at $30/user/month, a Professional plan at $50/user/month, or a Custom plan with pricing that varies depending on their needs.

Each plan is also available as a yearly subscription, which is 25% less expensive than a monthly one.

Dialpad: the pros

Dialpad is a scalable, flexible communications and contact center platform that offers AI-driven insights and real-time transcription services. These services help provide detailed call analytics and insights, which can increase an organization’s understanding of its customer interactions and improve agent productivity.

Dialpad’s UCaaS platform supports voice, video, messaging (including topic-based team messaging and message threads), and meetings. These can all be accessed from a single user-friendly interface across devices and platforms.

Dialpad is also known for its mobile functionality, as employees and contact center agents can work seamlessly from their phones (on iOS and Android mobile apps) or computers (via Windows and Mac desktop apps or web browsers). This allows for meetings and calls from just about anywhere, which makes Dialpad a popular choice for remote workforces.

Other Dialpad features include:

• Visual voicemail
• Local presence
• Call park and call transfer
• Virtual phone numbers
• Power dialer
• Call monitoring

Additionally, Dialpad has been praised for its ease of use and seamless integrations with other business tools, including Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, and CRM platforms like Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot.

Dialpad has invested heavily in artificial intelligence (AI), which it uses for features like real-time agent assist, transcriptions, and sentiment analysis. Dialpad’s AI features appeal to organizations looking for a communications and contact center platform with a focus on new and growing technologies.

Dialpad offers three pricing plans: a Standard plan starting at $15/user/month, a Pro plan at $25/user/month, and a Enterprise plan with undisclosed pricing.

Aircall vs. Dialpad: The Cons

No platform is perfect, and for all the benefits that Aircall and Dialpad offer, there are also downsides to each. Now that we’ve looked at their benefits, let’s see where they may fall short.

Aircall: the cons

Aircall has its limitations and issues. Some users have reported encountering issues like frequent connectivity problems and have said the admin controls for calls are lacking.

Aircall has also been reported to fall short when merging missed calls from the same number. Contact center customers have reported difficulty with finding detailed stats about individual agents, which can make workforce management a challenge.

For businesses looking to use AI-powered tools and capabilities, Aircall requires additional modules to access advanced features. Overall, its AI functionality falls short of Dialpad’s.

At $30/user/month for its base plan, Aircall isn’t the cheapest option. Organizations that are budget-conscious or scaling may want to weigh their options carefully.

Dialpad: the cons

While Dialpad’s basic plan may be more affordable than Aircall’s, this could be a case of getting what you pay for. Dialpad’s basic plan offers fewer integrations than Aircall’s, and Dialpad’s users will need a higher-tier plan if they want to integrate specific tools. Additionally, customers have reported having issues with the integrations Dialpad offers. They have also raised issues with call quality, so potential customers are advised to test it before signing on.

Even customer support is limited on most plans, as only Dialpad’s Pro plan offers 24/7 customer support. Everyone else has to wait for a weekday to get help. Some reviews have raised issues concerning the company’s responsiveness. Dialpad’s support compares unfavorably with Aircall’s, which offers 24/7 support for all its plans.

Aircall vs. Dialpad vs. Nextiva Contact Center

What if neither of these options sounds appealing? Aircall and Dialpad are just two of the solutions on the market, and there are some great alternatives out there.

Nextiva, for example, is an excellent unified communications platform with many advantages over Aircall and Dialpad.

	Aircall	Dialpad	Nextiva
Plan	Pro	Advanced	Professional
Monthly price	$50/user	$115/user	$119/user
Restrictions	Three-seat minimum Annual billing required	Annual billing required	Available only for U.S.-based organizations
Key features	Power dialer Call monitoring Salesforce integration	Digital customer support AI assistant Call transcription	Full omnichannel capabilities Plug-and-play advanced AI Quality management
Customer rating (G2)	4.3 out of 5 (1,020 reviews)	4.3 out of 5 (224 reviews)	4.5 out of 5  (3,100 reviews)
Best for	Sales teams	Sales and support teams	Sales, service, and support teams

Note: The nearest pricing plan for functionality was selected for comparison purposes. Providers may require annual billing to reflect the prices shown.  

A comprehensive communications platform

Nextiva offers voice, video, SMS, and team messaging within a single platform if you’re looking for a truly unified communications solution. Employees and agents can communicate across their channels of choice from a single account without switching between tabs or apps.

Compare that to Aircall and Dialpad, which focus primarily on voice and SMS. While they have UCaaS functionality, such as video meetings on Dialpad, neither offering is as comprehensive as Nextiva’s.

Nextiva’s features include:

• Voice over Internet Protocol calling
• Video conferencing
• Team collaboration tools, including team messaging and file sharing
• Workforce optimization tools
• Automatic transcriptions and call summaries
• AI-powered customer support and task automation
• Real-time conversation insights
• Advanced call routing
• Integrations with a wide array of apps and CRM platforms

Omnichannel support capabilities

In addition to enabling communications across channels, Nextiva excels at seamlessly managing customer interactions regardless of which channel they use. This is essential in a contact center environment, where customers may use multiple channels to get help and seek answers to their questions.

With Nextiva, you can see the entire customer journey across each touchpoint, including information from previous calls, emails, and messages. With this information, agents can provide better, more personalized assistance for more efficient and successful calls.

Scalability and customization

Not every communications solution is one size fits all. As your business grows, it will need a solution that can scale and grow with it.

Nextiva’s solution is tailored to fit businesses of every size, as it offers greater scalability than Aircall or Dialpad. It’s also ready to go right out of the box, so you can migrate your communications to Nextiva and keep working without missing a beat.

Reliability and support

Downtime can really harm your business by costing it valuable time and money. You need a reliable communications platform. Nextiva has a 99.999% uptime guarantee, so you can rest easy that your communications will work uninterrupted.

Customer support is also important, and Nextiva’s 24/7 support team has received high praise from customers. If you have a question or need a bit of troubleshooting, Nextiva’s call center team can help you quickly and effectively.

Cost-effectiveness

A communications system is an investment, so you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of the one you choose. You need a platform that provides great value so that you’ll get the features and tools you need at a fair price.

Nextiva’s feature-rich plans offer more value at each price point than Dialpad or Aircall. Plus, with Nextiva’s transparent pricing, you won’t have to worry about hidden fees or additional monthly payments to get the features you need.

Nextiva’s rates start at $18.95/user/month for the Essential plan and cap at $32.29/user/month for the Enterprise plan. This makes Nextiva an affordable alternative to Aircall and Dialpad that provides more features and value for what you’ll pay.

🏀 Case Study: How Nextiva Brings Cloud Communications to the San Antonio Spurs

Nextiva: There’s Something for Every Business

It’s hard to deny that Aircall and Dialpad are solid solutions for small businesses and growing teams, especially those with a focus on AI. However, when you compare the platforms with Nextiva’s, it’s clear that Nextiva offers a more comprehensive solution that provides great value.

Aircall has a user-friendly interface, advanced call management features, and strong CRM integrations. However, it has connectivity issues and limitations, as well as minimal built-in AI functionality.

Dialpad, on the other hand, has powerful AI features and supports voice, video, messages, and meetings, with a focus on mobility. However, users must pay for a higher-tier plan to access most of its integrations. In addition, problems with customer support have been reported.

With Nextiva, you get top-tier customer support, reliability, advanced AI-powered functionality, and omnichannel communications. Additionally, Nextiva’s massive integrations library means you can use it with the tools and solutions you’re familiar with.

There are many great communications and contact center solutions available today, but when you compare the options, it’s clear that Nextiva is a great choice for businesses of all sizes.

Avaya and Genesys are two of the most popular contact center platforms on the market. 

Contact center software is integrated heavily into various business processes and teams. It would be very painful to rip it out to replace it with a different solution, so it’s important to get it right the first time. 

We’ll compare these two solutions’ pros, cons, and pricing to help you make the right choice. We’ll also pit them against Nextiva to see which UCaaS provider comes out on top. 

Avaya vs. Genesys: The Pros 

Let’s dive right into the pros and cons of both Avaya and Genesys. First, the pros.

Pros of Avaya 

Avaya is popular among users for its flexibility, suite of integrations, and ease of use.

Flexibility

Avaya is fully optimized for a distributed workforce. Unlike traditional phone systems, which are limited to one location, Avaya office phones can be used anywhere as long as you have the VoIP application and Internet access. This is a core benefit for hybrid teams coordinating communication across in-person and offsite employees. 

Team members can easily transfer calls to different destinations without long wait times or a negative impact on the caller’s experience. Avaya is easy to set up, too. You can do it yourself or request deployment from the technical team.

Integrations and customization

Avaya also has robust integration capabilities. It integrates with on-premises voice PBX and third-party software like Salesforce CRM, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Office 365. These integrations help you build a more robust contact center. 

It also provides several customization options to set up your contact center workflow according to your organization’s needs. For example, you can create custom dashboards to monitor call center data and activities in real time.

Innovative features

Avaya offers advanced capabilities for powering a modern contact center for your organization. These include AI noise cancellation, personalization features, and a dashboard for agents with detailed information about the call center status​​.

Let’s dig into its AI noise cancellation feature further. It eliminates background noise for the caller and the agent during customer interactions. Whether your agents are taking calls at home or in a workstation, they’ll always deliver crystal-clear communication.

Workforce engagement

You need to boost workforce engagement to improve your contact center’s productivity. Avaya offers a suite of features that are really useful in this regard.

For example, its quality management system enables omnichannel customer engagement by tracking customer interactions across multiple channels in a single platform. It also offers workforce management features like gamification and text analytics to drive employee compliance and performance. 

Full-spectrum management

Avaya is an all-in-one contact center solution that offers almost everything you need to deliver omnichannel customer experiences. It includes more than 120 real-time and historical reports, seamless business integration, and simple deployment​​.

Full spectrum management in a contact center improves efficiency, productivity, customer experience, and tracking/reporting. It enables agents to quickly identify recurring issues, provide personalized support, and track key metrics.

Related: Avaya Contact Center Pricing: Is It Worth It?

Pros of Genesys

Genesys is known for its self-service support tools, automation features, and ease of use.

Self-service tools

More than 80% of respondents in the 2022 Digital-First Consumer Report said they want more self-service options from organizations.

Genesys provides interactive voice response for automated call routing, voicebots, and chatbots which help you provide 24/7 customer support across multiple channels​​.

Agent support tools

Genesys empowers you with the necessary tools for supporting your agents and streamlining workflow to deliver high-quality customer conversations. 

For example, its agent scoring feature lets you rate agents based on how well they handle specific cases, which is important for skill-based call routing. It also supports multichannel ticket management for coordinating customer conversations across multiple touchpoints.

Ease of use and configuration

Genesys users have praised its easily configurable views, streamlined agent activation/deactivation process, and the simplicity of creating dashboards​​.

Automated outbound campaigns

Genesys offers tools for creating multichannel marketing campaigns, including proactive and progressive notifications and advanced list management​​.

Progressive notifications send automatic alerts to agents when a campaign goes live. Then, they can join the campaign, accept calls, and view call details simultaneously. They can also reject a call and pass it on to the next available agent. 

Seamless migration and usability

Genesys is noted for its seamless migration from other platforms and overall ease of use​​. Customers recognize how easy it is to integrate the platform into existing business workflows without investing in high migration costs.

Avaya vs. Genesys: The Cons

Despite their top-notch capabilities, Avaya and Genesys have several shortcomings that impact user experience negatively. 

Cons of Avaya

The most common complaints with Avaya are frequent delays and downtime. 

Latency issues

It’s common to experience app delays due to high latency. This can be a huge setback for a virtual call center where every second counts. 

Imagine you’re trying to transfer a customer’s call to another agent, but you can’t do so because the app isn’t responding. This causes long call wait times, which negatively impacts the overall customer experience.

Service interference

Occasional downtime and service issues can interfere with call quality and connection. For example, one user complained that Avaya’s system sometimes experiences errors that abruptly disconnect calls:

High operating costs

Avaya’s published pricing is questionable at best because you still need to talk to sales to get a realistic figure on the cost of its contact center.

Its pricing page states: “Pricing shown is based on 200-399 named users over a three-year term.” These steep requirements are hard for most small businesses to entertain. 

Cons of Genesys

The biggest cons of Genesys are the complex interface and the lack of advanced reporting. 

Complexity for some users

While Genesys Cloud CX is praised for its features, some users find it complex​​. For example, this user said that one needs expert knowledge to deploy and use this platform. And this customer felt frustrated by the lack of advanced features and the unnecessarily complex deployment process:

Administration and reporting

G2 user reviews suggest that Genesys customers are dissatisfied with the platform’s reporting and dashboard capabilities. Reports have few customization options, and certain metrics are unaccounted for, such as longest wait time. 

Many users have had to build out unsupported functions by themselves using the Genesys API. Creating these walkarounds might be straightforward for tech-savvy teams, but it costs a lot of time and financial resources for non-technical teams, who likely need to hire external developer support to achieve this. 

Occasional issues with calls

Some Genesys users also struggle with poor call connectivity and general performance issues. 

Sometimes, the platform gets very slow, especially when there is an update. In extreme cases, it gets stuck or pauses for a few minutes. This is quite frustrating when it happens during a call, as this person experienced: 

Comparing Avaya and Genesys vs. Nextiva 

Given both tools’ shortcomings, it’s no surprise that businesses look for alternatives. 

Here are a few areas where Nextiva’s contact center solutions outshine Genesys and Avaya.

1. Ease of use and implementation

Nextiva has an impressive 4.6 out of 5 ease of deployment user rating on Gartner Peer Insights:

Something that stands out for our customers is how easy Nextiva is to set up. You can implement it yourself in minutes, even if you’re not a tech whiz. We provide detailed implementation guidelines, plus our team is always on deck to answer your questions and walk you through the process. 

The user experience is great, too. Unlike Genesys, where customization gets in the way of usability, Nextiva’s interface is clean and organized, making it easy to find the features and tools you need. Hear from our users:

2. Pricing transparency and value

There’s no hide-and-seek for Nextiva’s pricing plans. You don’t have to “talk to sales” to know how much each plan costs or compare their features. You’ll find all this information on our website to help you make an informed decision quickly. 

Compared to Avaya and Genesys, Nextiva’s plans are more flexible. Take Genesys, for example. It charges a usage-based fee that quickly racks up for businesses with variable call volumes. This is on top of significant upfront costs for implementation. 

Nextiva, on the other hand, only charges a monthly subscription fee. You can also opt for a contract term to save more on plans. 

3. Customer support and reliability

Reliable service and customer support are two of the most important things to consider when choosing a contact center solution — and Nextiva checks both boxes. 

With 99.999% uptime and continuous network monitoring, a Nextiva-powered contact center experiences virtually no service disruptions. That can’t be said for Avaya, whose users experience frequent service and call quality disruptions. 

Nextiva also provides reliable customer support across all plans and multiple channels. Our support team is available via email, in-app chat, and phone calls. You can also troubleshoot issues using information from our extensive knowledge base. Here’s how one customer describes their experience with our support team: 

Avaya and Genesys offer strong support, but it’s not as consultative and white glove as Nextiva’s.

You Get It all With Nextiva

Avaya and Genesys are solid contact center solutions. But if you’re looking for a reputable UCaaS + CCaaS service provider with transparent pricing and reliable customer support, Nextiva is the best choice. 

Nextiva’s unified communications solutions offer multiple integrations with advanced CRM, like Salesforce and Hubspot, a mobile application that keeps your team connected on the go, and voice and video call recording. 

Starting a call center can be a rewarding venture, but it’s important to have a clear plan before diving in. While it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated, you need to consider several key factors to deliver an excellent customer experience and run a successful call center business.

• Identifying your niche
• Understanding the technology
• Staying compliant with regulations
• Prioritizing customer experience

With this guide, we’ll walk you through these steps and more, providing all the information and business ideas you need to set up productive and profitable call center operations.

8 Steps To Starting a Successful Call Center

Here’s a breakdown of the key steps to ensure a smooth launch and a successful operation. Let’s start with identifying the type of call center (or contact center) you want to start.

1. Choose your call center type

The first thing to figure out is where your team will be calling from. There are three main options, each with its own perks and challenges:

• On-premise call center: It’s an on-site call center, traditionally set up, which offers control over the environment but comes with high upfront costs for office space, equipment, and ongoing maintenance.
• Virtual call center: A modern call center with remote work capabilities, reducing costs and offering a wider talent pool. However, you’ll need to trust agents to have a reliable and high-speed internet connection and a professional work environment.
• Omnichannel contact center: This takes things a step further by integrating various communication channels like email, chat, and social media. An omnichannel contact center provides a better customer experience but can be complex to manage.

So, which one’s right for you? It all boils down to your priorities.

👉 If you want more physical control and have the budget, an on-premise center might work.

👉 A virtual setup is ideal for budget-conscious small businesses and startups seeking flexibility, including the ability to have agents across different time zones.

👉 And if you want to provide an omnichannel customer experience across multiple channels, then an omnichannel contact center could be the way to go — whether you build an in-house team or outsource to a call center company.

Related: What Is a Call Center and How Do They Work?

2. Define your call purpose and goals

Before diving headfirst, take a moment to define your call center’s purpose and set some clear goals. This will be your business plan to success.

First things first, decide what kind of calls your center will handle.

Inbound call centers are those where customers reach out to you for help (think troubleshooting or order inquiries). Outbound call centers involve your team reaching out to others (like for sales, telemarketing, or market research). A blended center tackles both inbound and outbound operations.

Next, determine the services you’ll offer. Will your call center focus on customer support, sales, technical support/help desk, or a combination of these? Knowing your service focus will help you decide who to hire and how to structure your operations.

Vague goals like “be awesome” won’t cut it. Set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals (SMART goals for short). This could involve aiming for high customer satisfaction rates, faster call resolution times, or exceeding sales targets.

💡Tip: Do your research. See other call center companies and industry benchmarks for metrics like average handle time (how long a call typically lasts) and first call resolution rate (how often an issue is solved on the first call). This will help you set realistic goals for your own call center.

3. Plan your budget

Building a sustainable call center requires careful budgeting so be smart with your money. Here’s a breakdown of the key costs to consider:

• Technology: You’ll need reliable phone lines, phone numbers, and business phone systems to keep both outgoing and incoming calls flowing smoothly. Call center software with features like automatic call distribution (ACD for smart call routing) and interactive voice response (IVR for letting customers solve simple issues themselves) are also essential. Add dedicated computers and laptops for your call center agents.
• Physical space: If you’re setting up a physical call center, factor in renting or buying office space, furniture, and equipment. Even virtual setups require comfortable workstations and headsets for your agents.
• People: Employee salaries, benefits, and training for your staff all need to be budgeted for. It’s all your team’s effort to provide exceptional customer service, so invest in them.
• Ongoing costs: Budget for ongoing operational costs like internet, utilities, and software subscriptions, which can add up quickly.

💡Tip: Get quotes from different vendors for everything from phone systems to call center software and headsets. Consider cloud-based solutions — they can be more scalable and potentially save you money in the long run.

4. Choose the right technology

You’ve got your strategy figured out, now it’s time to deck out your call center with the right technology. The right tech keeps your agents happy and productive and enhances your customer experience.

• A reliable business phone system: Invest in a dependable Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system. This will ensure your agents and customers can hear each other loud and clear, no matter where they are.
• Call center software: It’s your call center’s brain. Choose a cloud call center to minimize the hassle of maintaining costly infrastructure. Look for features like automatic call distribution, IVR, call recording for training and quality control, and even performance management tools to track agent progress. Software that integrates with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is also a plus for seamlessly managing customer data.
• Workforce management tools: Consider using workforce management tools to streamline scheduling and optimize staffing levels in real time based on call volume.
• Agent essentials: Provide your agents with high-quality computers, automated tech like predictive dialers, noise-canceling headsets for clear audio, and comfortable workstations to energize them throughout their shift.

💡Tip: Don’t go overboard with complicated software. Choose something scalable to fit your needs and easy for your agents to learn. Many vendors like Nextiva offer demos, so take advantage of those to test-drive the software before you commit.

5. Build your team

Your call center is only as good as the people working in it. That’s why building a fantastic team is crucial. Here’s how to make it happen:

When recruiting call center agents, target those with exceptional communication skills — they should be able to explain complex things clearly and listen attentively to customer needs.

Problem-solving skills are a must too, and a natural knack for providing friendly and helpful customer service is the cherry on top. Look for candidates with experience in similar roles like cold calling or those who seem to have a natural ability to connect with people.

Once you’ve assembled your dream team, equip them with the knowledge they need to perform better. Develop a comprehensive training program that covers everything from in-depth product knowledge to call center best practices.

Agents should also understand your call center’s workflows and protocols inside and out. Have a knowledge base handy and easily accessible for them.

Employees should feel valued and supported when working in your call center. To keep your team motivated and improve agent retention, create a positive work environment with opportunities for growth and development.

💡Tip: Don’t stop learning once the initial training is done. Invest in ongoing coaching and development programs to sharpen your agents’ skills. Consider using gamification techniques (think points and contests!) to make learning fun and motivate your team.

6. Design efficient workflows

Streamlined workflows are key to consistent, high-quality service. Here’s how to create a system that keeps your call center running smoothly:

• Clear call scripts and protocols: Develop standardized customer service scripts and protocols that act as a roadmap for your agents during customer interactions. This ensures a consistent approach and equips your team to confidently handle any situation.
• Performance metrics and KPIs: Keep your finger on the pulse of your call center’s performance by tracking key call center metrics. This could include average handle time (how long a call typically lasts), first call resolution rate (how often an issue is solved on the first call), and customer satisfaction scores. By analyzing this data, you can identify areas for improvement and ensure your agents exceed customer expectations.
• Quality monitoring and coaching: Call recording is a powerful tool. Use it to monitor call quality and provide constructive feedback to your agents during coaching sessions. This will help them identify areas for improvement and continuously hone their skills.
• Continuous Learning: Ongoing learning is essential for a thriving call center. Develop training programs to keep your agents’ skills sharp and encourage knowledge-sharing initiatives amongst your team.

💡Tip: When designing your workflows, remember your customers. Gather their feedback and, based on their suggestions, find ways to streamline processes and reduce wait times. After all, a happy customer is a loyal customer.

7. Promote your call center services

Alright, your call center is up and running smoothly. Now it’s time to get the word out there and attract potential customers who need your services. Let’s look at a few ideas:

• Target the right clients: Identify your target clients. Once you have a clear picture, focus your marketing efforts on reaching those businesses. They’ll be the ones who truly appreciate the value you bring.
• Craft a compelling message: What makes your call center special? Do you have a knack for resolving customer issues quickly? Do your agents go the extra mile to provide exceptional service? Highlight your unique strengths and value proposition in your marketing materials.
• Get online and get active: The internet is a goldmine for reaching new customers. Consider online advertising, targeted email campaigns, or even creating informative content (like blog posts or videos) that showcases your expertise. Don’t forget social media — join relevant industry groups and participate in conversations to build brand awareness.
• Events and partnerships: Industry events are a fantastic way to network with potential clients and partners. Showcase your services at trade shows or attend conferences where your target audience gathers. Partnering with complementary businesses in your industry can also expand your reach and generate leads through referrals.

💡Tip: Speaking the same language as your clients is key. Tailor your marketing messages to their specific needs and challenges. For example, if you’re targeting e-commerce businesses, highlight your experience in handling high volumes of customer inquiries during peak seasons.

8. Continuously monitor and improve

Launching a call center is a big accomplishment, but it grows over time.

Regularly analyze call center metrics to see what’s working well and where there’s room for improvement. Is your average handle time a little high? Are customers dropping off during phone calls? These metrics can point you in the right direction for improvement.

Don’t be afraid to adapt your workflows based on what you learn. Customer feedback is important too – listen to what they’re saying and use it to refine your processes. Industry best practices are constantly evolving, so stay up-to-date and be open to incorporating new strategies.

It’s good to keep an eye on the latest call center technologies and see how they can benefit your business. Maybe it’s a new kind of software that automates repetitive tasks or a tool that uses AI to personalize the customer experience. Embrace new tech that can give you an edge.

Last but not least, create a culture that encourages continuous improvement. Call center managers should hold regular team meetings to discuss performance metrics and get feedback from their agents. They’re on the front lines interacting with customers every day, so their insights are valuable.

New ideas are always welcome — you never know what you might discover.

💡Tip: Schedule regular team huddles to discuss performance metrics and brainstorm improvement ideas. This is a great way to keep everyone engaged and motivated to reach new heights.

Key Call Center Challenges (+ How To Overcome Them)

Even the most meticulously planned call center can face challenges. Consider common roadblocks and navigate them to efficiently set up your call center.

1. Recruiting and retaining top talent

One big challenge is finding and keeping good staff. The call center industry has a high turnover rate.

Offer competitive pay and benefits, along with opportunities for career growth. Create a positive work environment that values employees’ well-being and work-life balance.

You can also use gamification and recognition programs to keep agents motivated. When you advertise for new hires, highlight your company culture and career development opportunities.

2. Maintaining high agent morale

Repetitive tasks, lots of calls, and frustrated customers can lead to burnout.

Empower agents by giving them some control over their work and the ability to solve problems, not just follow scripts. Let them take breaks and offer schedule flexibility.

Celebrate successes and recognize both individual and team achievements. Regularly ask agents for their feedback to see how things are going and what can be improved.

3. Delivering exceptional customer service

It can be tough to meet customer expectations, especially when dealing with complex issues or upset callers.

Provide agents with in-depth training on your products or services, as well as effective communication and de-escalation techniques. Help them resolve issues efficiently by focusing on first-call resolution rates.

Ask customers for feedback regularly and use it to improve your service approach. Empower agents to offer small gestures of goodwill to resolve customer issues and create a positive experience.

4. Keeping up with technology

The call center landscape is constantly changing, with new tools and systems emerging constantly. Staying ahead of the curve can be expensive and time-consuming.

Set aside a budget to regularly evaluate and implement new technologies. Consider cloud-based solutions that are easy to scale and upgrade.

Encourage a culture of innovation and empower agents to suggest new technologies that can improve efficiency or customer experience.

Make sure to partner with a reliable call center technology vendor who can provide smooth onboarding, ongoing support, and guidance.

5. Adapting to changing customer needs

What customers want and how they want to connect with you constantly evolve. If your call center doesn’t adapt, customer satisfaction takes a hit.

For example, millennials are more likely to use text messaging than wait in a call queue. Likewise, if your business serves the elderly, it’s a safe bet that they’re less likely to contact you via social media channels than making a phone call.

Offer omnichannel support so customers can connect with you through their preferred channel, whether it’s phone, email, chat, or social media.

Customer feedback through surveys and social media monitoring helps you understand customers’ evolving needs and preferences. Be prepared to adjust your service offerings and communication strategies accordingly.

Also, train agents to handle inquiries across multiple channels and provide a seamless customer experience regardless of how a customer chooses to connect.

It Starts With the Right Call Center Software

Launching a call center doesn’t have to be hard. Historically, it used to involve weeks — several months — of installation long before the first call arrived. 

Now, with the power of cloud-based communications, you can spin up a new call center in hours. After you plan call flows and team workflows, the rest is a breeze. 

When you start a call center, top features include softphones, IVR, automatic call distribution, skill-based call routing, and call recording.

Align shiny new call center features with your business needs. That is, not everyone needs all the bells and whistles when starting out. 

After you’ve determined the type of call center you need and the types of customer calls you’ll handle, partner with your call center provider so they can help you achieve these goals, including helpful ideas to do it faster.

For a cloud-based call center with many features that scale when you need to, check out Nextixa’s VoIP call center solution.

FAQs

Ready to start a call center? Read some of the FAQs to better inform your setup.

A multi-line phone system is a must-have for businesses looking to handle multiple calls simultaneously. It packs essential features like call waiting, transferring, conference calling, and forwarding into one powerful solution.

The best part? No need for extra phone jacks or new numbers to add lines. With multiple setup options, from on-premises to cloud-based, you can easily expand your business phone system and streamline communications.

This guide cuts through the noise, helping you find the perfect multi-line system for your business needs and budget.

What Is a Multi-Line Phone System?

A multi-line phone system lets you handle two or more calls simultaneously. It enables employees to place calls on hold, dial internal or external numbers, and return to the line.

Multi-line phone systems differ from phones with a single line that can only maintain one phone call at a time. Likewise, they have one phone number assigned to them. When the line is in use, callers will be directed to a voicemail or a busy signal.

Businesses can set up a multi-line telephone system in one of two main ways:

• On-premises multi-line phone system – This aging on-premises phone system requires telecom equipment. Examples include a Private Branch Exchange (PBX) or Key System Unit (KSU). Both of which need many technical skills to manage.
• Cloud-based multi-line phone system – This modern phone system exists in the cloud to provide unlimited phone lines for phones to use. Cloud phone systems don’t need users to be on-site to reach a dial tone. Examples of this include newer VoIP phone services and some IP PBXs.

Business owners rarely touched traditional phone systems after they installed them. For the most part, a single device with multiple lines and phone numbers met their business needs.

At one time, PBX systems were affordable to set up and maintain. As the technology evolved, qualified technicians became scarce. Hardware and talent make these quite expensive to keep. Also, they lack the vital functionality for working remotely.

The cloud-based multi-line phone system leverages Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. This newer phone system works using an internet connection rather than separate lines. These phone systems are more capable and cost-effective for companies of all sizes.

How Does a Multi-Line Phone System Work?

A multi-line phone system creates an internal telephone network with separate extensions. This functionality lets operators hold incoming calls and see other extensions’ real-time presence.

Traditional and cloud-based are two types of phone systems that support multiple telephone lines. You should know the differences between each type of phone system. Here’s a summary.

Feature	Traditional Phone System	Cloud-Based Phone System
Installation	Complex on-site installation	Easy cloud deployment
Cost	Higher upfront and maintenance costs	Low monthly subscription
Scalability	Limited by physical hardware	Highly scalable via software
Remote Access	Limited capabilities	Full remote & home office access
Features	Basic voice features	Advanced unified communications
Maintenance	Requires technical staff	Managed by provider
Reliability	Vulnerable to outages	Redundancy & high uptime

Traditional multi-line phone systems

Traditional, or analog, multi-line phone systems come in two variations.

The first is where a single landline provides two-line functionality using existing wires. You’d wire these into phone jacks by using yellow and black wires. You’ll need to pay for an extra line from the phone company to use it. Analog handsets can switch lines and place calls on hold using the flash button.

The second type is a Private Branch Exchange — or PBX for short. It accepts multiple phone lines by way of basic landlines or trunks. These provide phone features such as voicemail, call forwarding, and speakerphone. If you have to dial 9 to reach an outside line, you have a PBX.

Callers will receive a busy signal when your incoming lines are in use. This limitation is a notable concern to a business that needs to grow.

Traditional phone systems need desk phones that can accept multiple lines. These phones offer features like headsets or cordless phone (DECT) capabilities. However, its popularity continues to decline in favor of its alternative: VoIP.

Multi-line phone systems running in the cloud offer the best of both VoIP and PBX systems. Let’s look under the hood to see how they work.

Cloud-based multi-line phone systems

The successor to the traditional phone system is the cloud phone system. They offer multi-line capabilities with limitless scalability. Plus, they offer many in-demand business features included.

How is this possible?

This type of multi-line phone system uses Voice over Internet Protocol to make and receive calls business calls.

A cloud phone system converts calls into data packets. It transmits them to a nearby data center. In a matter of milliseconds, the IP phone converts the audio into the sound you can hear. The VoIP provider provides a virtual PBX dedicated to its business-class users.

As a reliable business VoIP provider, Nextiva provides a complete phone system in the cloud with impressive uptime.

“Virtual” is an important distinction when it comes to multi-line phone systems.

Phone extensions aren’t physical phone lines. There aren’t any phone jacks, either. They are logical representations for a cloud PBX to queue calls or provide call parking. You can queue up to 525 calls per line. That’s a lot of calls!

As long as you have a reliable internet connection, you can have as many lines as you want.

Note: While cloud-based multi-line phone systems are generally easier to implement compared to traditional on-premises systems, bear the network requirements (like a stable internet connection), network bandwidth, power backup, and security measures (encryption, firewalls) in mind when choosing a cloud phone system.

Types of Multi-Line Phones (And Use Cases)

Choosing the right office phone for your multi-line phone system shouldn’t be a guessing game.

Here’s a breakdown of the different types available, along with examples of how businesses can use them. Remember, more lines don’t always equal better — it depends on your specific needs.

Phones categorized by number of lines:

• 2-line phones
• 4-line phones
• 6-12-line phones

2-line phones (basic call management)

A two-line phone system is ideal for small businesses with a predictable call volume.

These typically offer basic functionalities like:

• Placing and receiving calls on two separate lines.
• Putting calls on hold.
• Transferring calls (possibly blind transfer).
• Redial.
• Voicemail & answering system.

Examples of companies use-cases that could use two lines include:

• Solopreneurs with one line for sales and a second one for service.
• Small offices with two employees, so they each have one line.
• Small retailers to accept incoming calls and one line for management.

You can find two-line VoIP desk phones for approximately $80. The Poly VVX 150 is a great choice for those on a budget.

4-line phones (enhanced call management)

A good fit for businesses where employees need more control over their calls. If you find that employees need to place calls on hold, warm transfer, a four-line phone is a great fit.

These offer features including:

• All the functionalities of 2-line phones.
• Multi-party conferencing & speed dial.
• Call forwarding (directing calls to voicemail, another line, or an external number).
• Intercom (calling colleagues within the office).
• Call recording (may require additional licensing).

Check out these examples of a four-line phone in use:

• Small agencies with sales reps and account managers to answer incoming customer calls.
• Customer service teams with support reps call back customers, vendors, and employees.
• Receptionists with a need to answer and transfer multiple incoming calls.

Prices for four-line phones start at around $160 per handset. The Poly VVX 250 or Cisco IP Phone 6851 are great picks for a heavy-duty VoIP phone.

6-12-line phones (advanced call management and performance)

These are high-performance options suited for businesses with complex call routing needs and heavy call volume.

They typically provide:

• All the functionalities of 4-line phones.
• Faster processors and more memory for smoother operation.
• Larger, backlit displays for easier viewing.
• Line presence (seeing the availability of colleagues’ lines).
• Programmable softkeys for one-touch access to frequently used features (call forwarding, voicemail, conferencing, etc.).
• Integrated Bluetooth for hands-free calling (on some models).

These will be the best option for these business needs:

• Executive assistants who screen and need to know their exec’s line status.
• Team supervisors who need to monitor multiple calls at once.
• Senior account executives who need to check inventory and pricing with management.

Desk phones above five lines are typically above $250. The cost-effective Nextiva X-885 VoIP phone supports 12 lines for only $190.

While the number of lines is a key factor, choosing the right phone system also involves considering your business needs for call features and functionalities. Look for a system that offers the features most important to your day-to-day operations.

Flexible number of phone lines

The challenge of choosing a phone with a predefined number of available phone lines? You have to understand your business communication needs and anticipate your future requirements.

No matter the number of lines your company uses, it’s always better to have phones that can handle more. It’s important to point out that these phones only need one wire, which makes installation a breeze.

What if you need four phone lines most of the year, but up to ten during busier seasons?

With traditional phone systems, you’re unable to scale your call volume fast. And if you’re hiring aggressively, you’ll have to add more lines and buy new handsets.

This is where hosted VoIP comes in. When your needs change, you can add more phone lines when you need them right from your admin dashboard.

Instead of purchasing new handsets, they can use a business phone app on their smartphone. Boom, done!

How To Set Up a Multi-Line Phone System

If you go down the traditional phone system route, you’ll need the phone company to install every line.

You’ll also need to set aside a hefty budget for an on-premise PBX and a technician to set everything up. You’ll need to configure desk phones to interface with your PBX.

A cloud-based multi-line phone system is a simpler alternative. All you need is an internet connection, and it only takes about 20 minutes.

Here are the four steps to set up your virtual phone system with multiple lines:

1. Choose a business phone service. Select a plan based on your business needs. Nextiva has a range of phone plans packed with powerful features. You can also try it out for free.
2. Assign phone extensions. In your admin portal, you can start adding internal extensions of each of your team members. This makes internal dialing and call transfers easy.
3. Record your phone greetings. Upload your custom greeting or record one from your phone (or computer). Leave a lasting first impression when people call your company.
4. Begin making and answering calls: If you don’t have a VoIP phone yet, you don’t have to wait for one to arrive. Start with your iOS or Android smartphone thanks to a softphone app.

You’ll have a multi-line phone system in less than an hour. VoIP phones from Nextiva come equipped with all your settings, so you need to plug them in.

Advanced Features in a Multi-Line Phone System

What can you do with a multiline phone system? They offer a lot more than multiple telephone extensions. Some features vary between on-premises PBXs and cloud phone systems.

Let’s dive into the top VoIP features you’ll want to have in your multi-line phone system.

1) Auto attendant

An auto attendant directs incoming calls to the right person or team based on your caller’s keypad input.

Using an auto-attendant improves the customer experience by reducing the waiting time. You’ll also convey an image of a professional business regardless of your company’s size.

Save yourself time thanks to these ready-made auto attendant scripts.

2) Call hold and call parking

Call hold lets you pause a call so you can talk with a colleague or answer another call. Call parking is similar but with the extra benefit of allowing others to retrieve the call that you’ve put on hold.

Holding and parking calls give you the benefit of resolving every customer call. Also, on-hold music engages callers and announces custom messages like payment options.

3) Call analytics

Measuring call volumes and associating those with business activity helps you scale your organization. Nextiva’s business-grade internet phone service displays real-time call data and business analytics.

At a glance, supervisors can view reports and create custom dashboards for leadership and staff to perform at their best.

4) Call forwarding

The call forwarding feature allows you to transfer calls to any phone number or device. Depending on your provider, you might also route calls to your voicemail, desk phone, or cell phone.

Call forwarding helps you stay operational, including when you’re out of the office. You can eliminate missed calls and missed business opportunities.

5) Call routing

Call routing is a VoIP feature that directs inbound calls to any person based on any criteria you define. This logic includes the time, caller ID, and auto attendant selections.

You can route your calls to your team using any of these policies:

• Round-robin: calls are distributed in equal fashion across the team
• Regular: calls are answered in chronological order
• Uniform: calls go to the agent who’s been available the longest
• Simultaneous: all the phones ring, and the agent that answers it first takes the call
• Weighted: You set a ratio of calls to be routed to each agent

6) Business voicemail

If you don’t pick up your call on time, allow your callers to leave a voicemail. This means you won’t lose a potential lead or a chance to delight a customer. Otherwise, they may turn to your competitor.

Business voicemail can also send voicemail transcripts to your email or text message. Keep on top of your voicemails so you can follow up in a timely way.

7) Screen pop

Screen pop shows real-time info about callers the moment your phone rings. Nextiva’s Call Pop surfaces data such as customer sentiment and past interactions. This integrates with your CRM takes your customer experience to the next level.

8) Toll-free numbers

Toll-free business numbers help you gain a national presence. Toll-free numbers feature an 800/888/866 area code that doesn’t charge landline callers.

Establish trust with your audience and track incoming calls across marketing campaigns. You can also get a toll-free vanity number like 1-800-CONTACTS and build an even stronger brand.

9) Audio conferencing

Use a conference call to host meetings using your phone or an internet connection. Conference calls are a staple for any modern phone system, but it’s usually an add-on for landline setups.

Conference calling brings participants together without an expensive PBX or a third-party service. You can enjoy productive meetings with colleagues, partners, or customers. A cloud-based VoIP solution means participants experience HD call quality, too.

10) Call recording

Recording phone calls increases accountability and training opportunities with your team. It unearths powerful insights about your prospects and your customer experience.

Adapted from high-volume call centers, VoIP call recording doesn’t need any cassettes or equipment. Customize this feature to record all calls, select users, or on-demand.

Benefits of a Multi-Line Phone System

Do you still need convincing on the advantages of a multi-line phone system? Here are some perks to consider.

💰Lower costs

Going down the cloud phone system route is the best way to provide multiple phone lines to your team.

A landline phone system based on the Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) costs $50 per line on average. That calling plan usually is for local calls only. It also lacks any of the business phone features that companies use today.

It’s no secret businesses have moved on from the likes of AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, and Frontier for the cloud. They’re saving up to 65% off their communications costs.

VoIP-powered phone systems cost less than $20 per line each month. You also won’t pay for installation, a PBX server, or toll charges, thanks to unlimited calling.

✅ Reliability

Your phone system needs to be reliable and secure. On-premises phone systems leave you vulnerable to power or network outages.

VoIP phone systems rely on multiple data centers for redundancy. Your business works uninterrupted, no matter what happens to the phone infrastructure.

On top of that, top service providers adhere to standards, including PCI, SOC 2, and HIPAA. Focus on your customers instead of worrying about security audits. Hooray!

🎛 Flexibility

Suppose you’re hiring remotely, opening new offices, or switching to a hybrid workforce. In that case, you need a phone system that allows employees to work from anywhere.

A traditional multi-line phone system limits them to the office. It makes communication challenging when they’re working remotely.

A cloud-based phone system gives you the flexibility to equip your team with the tools they need. They can get work done from the convenience of their cell phone and an internet connection.

📈 Scalability

If your company is growing and you don’t want technology to get in the way, a cloud VoIP system is your best bet. It’s expandable and lets you add phone lines with ease. Even adding more locations to the same phone system can be done without any technical skill.

When you have a spike in demand or an increase in headcount, your phone service won’t hold you back. Look to call queuing for another way to scale your customer service team.

Cloud phone providers like Nextiva boast an impressive 99.999% uptime and availability.

⚖️ Convenience

A multi-line phone system simplifies life for you and your employees. They become more productive and can propel the company forward.

Thanks to features like auto attendants and toll-free numbers, you’ll earn trust among your customers. If you need to set up an inbound call center, you can do that in less than a day.

Some systems integrate with popular CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software and other business applications. This allows for features like caller ID pop-ups with customer information.

Gone are the days of your phone company leaving you stranded. If you ever need a helping hand, contact us 24/7.

Experience the Best Business Phone System

When choosing a business phone system, think about your needs today and a few years from now. What is the ideal way you want to interact with customers? Your communications platform can make or break your success.

An on-premises multi-line phone system can limit your potential. It holds you back by increasing costs and denying your team the advanced functionality they need.

Cloud-based phone systems are the gold standard for startups, midsize, and enterprises alike.

Nextiva provides a complete multi-line phone system for less than half the cost of landlines.

Get it all starting at $18.95/month and you won’t look back.

Change how you call with Nextiva VoIP phone system

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Outbound call centers power sales, marketing, customer service, and more for a business. They offer personalization and reach that other communication channels cannot yet match.

But how do they work, what are their key features and benefits, and how do you optimize them for your business? Let’s find out.

What Is an Outbound Call Center?

An outbound call center refers to a contact center operation, where agents make outgoing calls to customers and prospects, as opposed to receiving incoming calls.

Let’s take a quick look at the difference between a contact center and a call center:

• Call Center: A call center primarily focuses on voice calls as the main method of communication. This can be either inbound, where agents receive calls from customers (e.g., for support or inquiries), or outbound, where agents make calls to customers (e.g., for sales or surveys).
• Contact Center: A contact center, on the other hand, manages customer interactions across a wide range of communication channels (email, SMS, web chat, social media) in addition to voice calls.

And the difference between outbound call centers and inbound call centers are:

Feature	Outbound Call Centers	Inbound Call Centers
Main Focus	Making calls to customers for telemarketing, sales or fundraising.	Receiving calls from customers for support, inquiries or complaints.
Primary Goals	Generate sales, lead generation, donations, or conduct surveys.	Provide customer service, support or technical assistance.
Skill Set Required	Sales-oriented, persuasive communication, resilience to rejection.	Problem-solving, empathy, technical knowledge, patience.
Call Initiation	Calls are initiated by the call center agents to potential or existing customers.	Calls are initiated by the customers seeking assistance or information.
Sales	Primary focus is on initiating and closing sales through proactive outreach.	Sales may occur but are often secondary, resulting from upselling or cross-selling during support calls.
Onboarding	May involve initial contact for setting up services or follow-up on recent purchases.	Primarily involves assisting new customers in understanding and using products or services.
Retention	Efforts may include follow-up calls to retain customers or renew services.	Focuses on solving problems and addressing complaints to prevent customer churn.
Support	Limited, as the main aim is not to provide support but to sell or inform.	Core function, with agents trained to offer solutions and technical assistance.
Challenges	Reaching potential customers, dealing with rejection, maintaining a high energy level.	Handling a wide variety of inquiries, managing high call volumes, maintaining patience and empathy.

Outbound call centers offer high-impact call center operations in industries like telemarketing, financial services, healthcare, higher education, and staffing agencies. Connecting businesses to audiences, an outbound call center solution provides timely information, serves customers faster, and increases sales performance.

Why are outbound call centers important in business operations?

Outbound call centers are important in business operations for several reasons:

• Serves as a customer touchpoint: They serve as a key connection point between companies and their customers, both existing and potential. The agents working in outbound call centers play a significant role in delivering proactive customer support, informing customers about new products or services, and gathering feedback.
• Generates business value: They are essential for generating leads, conducting market research, and making sales calls to expand the customer base and increase revenue.
• Connects staff to customer demand: Outbound call centers offer a range of services and tools that help improve the customer experience. For instance, call recording, real-time analytics, and outbound calling software make it easy to manage communications and monitor center agents’ performance.
• Provides strategic, operational support: Outbound call centers enable existing sales, marketing, and support functions for various campaigns, including market research, lead qualification, account notifications, and even customer review generation. 

Related: 16 Must-Have Call Center Features for Sales Teams

What is an outbound call?

An outbound call is a phone call made by an agent from a company to a customer or prospect, typically for purposes such as sales, customer outreach, surveys, or appointment setting. Outgoing calls contrast with inbound calls, as it’s the contact center agents who initiate the conversation.

Typically, companies use their business phone system or a sophisticated cloud contact center for outbound calling. Outbound calls serve several purposes: sales, fundraising, market research through surveys, and follow-up calls.

Examples of Outbound Call Centers

Outbound call centers can serve multiple purposes and be used in a variety of ways, such as:

• Telemarketing: Promotional outbound calls to potential customers. This can include cold calling (reaching out to someone who hasn’t expressed interest beforehand) or following up on leads generated through other channels.
• Telesales: Sales and marketing calls by call center agents with the aim of helping customers improve their operations or grow their business’ revenue.
• Appointment Setting: Qualifying leads and booking appointments for salespeople or other professionals.
• Technical Support: Servicing existing customers who are facing issues with a product or service.
• Customer Retention: Reaching out to customers at risk of churning from a poor customer experience and attempting to retain them.
• Product Inquiries: Proactive customer support by answering questions about product features and benefits.
• Market Research: Collecting data from consumers or businesses to conduct market research in order to inform business intelligence.
• Fundraising: Collecting donations for charities or other non-profit organizations.
• Debt Collection: Calling people who are behind on their payments to collect the debt.

Benefits of Outbound Call Centers

Outbound sales directly influence conversion rates. Outbound call center agents create opportunities — not wait for them. Here are some key benefits of using outbound call centers.

Reach customers on their schedule

With outbound call centers, you can reach a high number of potential customers. With outbound dialing methods like a predictive dialer, call center managers maximize their phone time and increase conversion rates.

Improve customer acquisition

With the right market research, telemarketing, and cold-calling tactics, your sales team can identify and reach out to potential customers. Real-time customer info (like Call Pop) boosts retention and revenue.

Retain more customers

Live call agents can place customer calls and provide personalized support, upsell or cross-sell products, and set appointments for follow-up. Even help desk call center teams can build long-term relationships and drive loyalty by focusing on customer satisfaction.

Boost agent productivity

With contact center software and integrations, call agents streamline their workflow and spend more time on phone calls. With business process outsourcing (BPO) firms, you can have them work on new deals and route the info to your sales reps when a prospect is ready for a sales discussion.

Track important metrics

Call center metrics like call volume, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction help you identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategy. Use contact center software to automate metrics tracking and generate reports for analysis.

Outbound vs. Inbound Call Center

Inbound and outbound call centers serve complementary needs but differ in some key ways:

• Purpose: Inbound centers handle incoming customer queries and service needs, acting as helpful reactive resources. Outbound centers make proactive calls to connect with customers and prospects.
• Center agent skills: Inbound agents require strong technical knowledge, multitasking abilities, and empathy to resolve service issues. Outbound agents need persuasion skills, resilience, and sharp listening to qualify leads or close deals.
• Technology: Inbound centers prioritize ticketing, knowledge management portals, and IVRs. Outbound relies heavily on autodialer algorithms, campaign management tools, and voice analytics.
• Regulations: Inbound centers follow general consumer privacy protocols. Outbound centers adhere to telemarketing rules around ethics, data, calling hours, and consent requirements.
• Metrics: While inbound KPIs focus on customer satisfaction scores, first-call resolution, and wait times, outbound centers track lead quality, deal conversion rates, and call connect rates.

While inbound centers enable reactive customer service, outbound promote proactive sales and marketing — but a mix of both is ideal for improving the customer journey.

5 Top Functions of an Outbound Call Center

Outbound call center services serve a variety of call center campaigns. Here are six of the top offerings.

1. Lead generation and qualification

A call center agent reaches out to potential new prospects identified through market research and promotional campaigns done via channels like pay-per-click ads, events, website downloads, and more.

Agents use an outbound call center to qualify leads, promote products/services, book sales appointments, and pass on qualified leads to sales teams.

2. Collecting customer surveys and feedback

Conducting market research through customer surveys helps businesses gather in-depth insight. Agents can also follow up with a customer to alleviate bad customer reviews with friendly service.

While talking with customers, agents can also look for ways to cross-sell and upsell. This can be done by actively listening to customers’ needs and connecting them with sales agents.

And this tactic has some impressive results. The probability of overcoming sales objections for a cold prospect is 5-20%. However, the probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. 

3. Appointment setting

Agents can book appointments for prospects to meet with a sales representative. This lets sales reps jump into the process once a lead has been thoroughly vetted, saving time and streamlining the sales process.

4. Correcting billing issues

Outbound calling is also used to contact existing customers and let them know that their subscription is up for renewal. Or if a bill is overdue or there are billing errors, they can call customers to help resolve the issue.

5. Scheduled customer callbacks

Agents can schedule callbacks to avoid irritating customers by keeping them on hold for too long. This helps eliminate long wait times for the caller and improve customer experiences.

Key Features of Outbound Call Centers

Here are a few key features to consider when looking for an outbound contact center provider. 

Dialer tools  

Sales dialers allow agents to improve their efficiency and the volume of calls they can make. The types of dialer tools differ within outbound call center software, but here are a few of the most common:

• Predictive dialing: A predictive dialer tool automatically dials numbers for agents. Nextiva prohibits the use of auto/predictive dialers for high-value outbound calls.
• Power dialing: Similar to predictive dialing, power dialing allows agents to make calls, one after another, automatically — much faster than dialing by hand.
• Business phone calls: With VoIP phone service, agents can make calls anywhere there’s an internet connection. This lets them work remotely and eliminates the need for a phone line.
• SMS reminders: Send a short SMS reminder from your outbound contact center before a meeting. A reschedule is better than a no-show.

Related: Outbound Dialers: Benefits and Essential Use Cases

Custom caller ID

If a caller ID phone number is local to the customer, they’re more likely to answer the call. That’s why modifiable caller ID is essential in outbound communication.

The agent’s desktop can see only the customer’s number entered by the agent. The incoming call at the customer’s end shows up with a phone number belonging to their area.

Click-to-call capability

Click-to-call is sometimes referred to as a click-to-dial and one-click calling. It’s a phone system feature that connects phone calls using VoIP.

Call recording

The ability to record phone conversations with customers can greatly improve agent success. This feature is also used to track agent performance to help them improve.

With VoIP call recording, companies can offer quality call assurance, minimize legal risks, and increase accountability.

Best Practices for Outbound Calling

Outbound call centers help make dedicated outgoing calls to achieve various business goals. It’s not just about picking up a phone and making calls; several key components work together to make it successful.

Understanding these components and following some best practices will help you make headway in your call center operations and improve your contact center experience.

1. Managing people

One of the biggest challenges in running an outbound call center is helping agents overcome call reluctance and build rapport with customers.

With frequent customer conversations, agents directly impact campaign success. Prioritize communication skills, product mastery, and rapport-building during hiring and ongoing training to boost engagement.

Supervisors need to guide teams by monitoring interactions, establishing goals, addressing development areas through constructive feedback, and ensuring compliance with quality norms through a coaching leadership approach.

Behind the scenes, the management must oversee direction and study data patterns to optimize operations, manage technologies or budgets judiciously, and promote collaboration to maximize productivity.

A collaborative approach makes for a well-oiled, strategic, and analytical contact center.

2. Managing processes

Manage your campaigns from the get-go to not lose out on important leads. Define the objective, target audience, call scripts, and communication channels for each campaign.

• Lead Generation: Source potential customers or contacts through web forms, purchased databases, or internal referrals.
• Dialing Technology: Use contact center software like automatic dialers and predictive dialers to optimize agent call time and efficiency.
• Call Scripting: Provide agents with a prepared roadmap for conversations to cover consistent messaging and key points.
• Quality Assurance: Monitor and evaluate calls to stay on script, demonstrate proper professionalism, and improve customer satisfaction.

3. Managing technology

Deploy a robust telephony Infrastructure and phone systems that handle high call volumes, seamless call routing, and integrate with other essential software.

• Use a CRM system: Store customer data, track interactions, view orders, and manage your sales pipeline.
• Record and monitor calls: Capture calls for training, compliance, and performance analysis.
• Report and analyze: Report on various call center metrics like success rate, conversion rates, and agent performance to identify areas for improvement.

4. Training and development

Motivating and retaining call center agents in a demanding environment is another key challenge. You can do a few things to invest in your agents’ growth.

Equip new agents with product knowledge, communication techniques, call handling procedures, and company policies and continuously train them to perform better.

Provide refresher training, product updates, and new skills development to keep agents sharp and effective. Offering personalized coaching and feedback to individual agents based on their performance and learning needs improves their confidence and motivates them to get by the task every day.

5. Compliance and security

Protect customer data through secure servers, access controls, and data encryption protocols.

Adhere to relevant telemarketing regulations and data privacy laws to meet industry standards and internal quality benchmarks for call handling and customer service.

Nextiva: Start With a Proven Call Center Software

Nextiva is the final dial tone on your search for the perfect call center software. Our intuitive interface and automation tools streamline workflows, so agents spend less time navigating menus and more time engaging with customers.

Predictive dialing, voicemail, call recording, and advanced analytics provide valuable insights to optimize call strategies, maximize productivity, and gain better competitive intelligence.

It’s cloud-based and doesn’t need you to install costly on-premise infrastructure — a cost-effective and flexible solution for businesses of all sizes. Scale your operations up or down effortlessly. Your call center will always meet your growing needs.

Nextiva’s omnichannel capabilities let you easily transition between voice calls, social media, emails, and even text messages. You meet your customers where they are and never miss an outreach.

Outbound Call Center FAQs

Below, we’ll answer a few commonly asked questions about outbound call centers to determine if one is right for you.

Debating whether to switch from landline phones to VoIP? You’ll likely have questions about how VoIP technology works and how it compares to traditional phone service, especially in terms of reliability.

In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about VoIP reliability for a smooth and secure transition to a cloud phone system.

What Is VoIP & How Does It Work?

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a business phone system that places and receives calls via an internet connection. Unlike a landline phone system with on-premises equipment and tangled copper wires, VoIP connects to a hosted PBX (private branch exchange) located in the cloud.

VoIP converts voice into digital signals that are sent over a high-speed internet connection to the VoIP service provider, which then connects the call to other carriers on the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Calls can originate from desk phones, conference phones, computers, or mobile devices.

VoIP technology uses Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a set of open standards for real-time communication also employed by apps like Skype and WhatsApp for voice calls. The only thing VoIP needs is a high-speed internet service, which currently 94% of Americans can access, according to Statista.

Is VoIP Reliable?

The short answer is Yes.

The reliability of VoIP has greatly improved in recent years, thanks to three key factors:

1. Advancements in internet technology

The meteoric rise of high-speed broadband internet enabled reliable VoIP. Today’s cable, fiber, and even 5G Wi-fi internet connections provide far more consistent bandwidth and lower latency. This allows for crystal clear and HD VoIP calls without drops or network jitter.

2. Cloud-based infrastructure

Rather than being confined to an on-premise system, Voice over IP providers leverage redundant, geographically diverse data centers connected by tier 1 fiber networks. If an outage impacts one data center, calls are automatically rerouted to other locations to maintain 99.999% uptime guarantees.

3. VoIP vs. landlines

While landline service was once considered the “gold standard” for reliability, VoIP has closed the gap. In fact, VoIP phone systems can prove to be more reliable than traditional lines in cases of localized outages or service interruptions. VoIP calls can simply be rerouted over the internet and receive calls on any device.

The reliability of VoIP has caught up and even surpassed traditional landline telephones based on a few key advantages:

• Uptime & redundancy: Top VoIP solutions have redundant data centers and can automatically reroute calls in case of downtime or other issues. Landlines rely on physical infrastructure that’s difficult to bypass during outages.
• Disaster recovery: VoIP enables call forwarding to employee devices during emergencies. With landlines, the phone lines at the affected location are down completely.
• Costs: VoIP phone systems typically have much lower costs compared to landline telephone service. No expensive hardware installations or maintenance costs are required. Most VoIP providers offer flat monthly rates or per-user pricing, which is cost-effective, especially for small businesses or ones with multiple users or locations. Landline costs can quickly add up between equipment, service fees, and per-minute calling rates.
• Call quality: Modern VoIP phone service uses HD voice codecs and noise cancellation for superior call clarity over landlines. Issues like static, echoing, and dropouts are minimal.
• International calls: Long-distance calling is much more affordable with VoIP since it routes calls over the internet rather than traditional phone lines. Landlines often have extremely high per-minute rates for international calling.
• Flexibility: VoIP is not tied to a physical location, enabling mobile and remote work possibilities beyond traditional phone limitations.
• Security: VoIP providers use secure encryption protocols and meet stringent data security certifications like HIPAA and PCI-DSS. Landlines can potentially be tapped or compromised more easily.

While both VoIP and landlines have advantages, VoIP has evolved to meet and exceed modern business needs for reliability, mobility, and cost-effectiveness.

The key is choosing a reputable, enterprise-grade VoIP provider and a trusted unified communications solution that offers advanced features beyond just calling capabilities.

Factors Affecting VoIP Reliability

VoIP has transformed communication, but ensuring smooth sailing with it requires navigating some potential challenges.

Let’s dive into the key factors impacting VoIP reliability, the challenges they present, and how to overcome them.

1. Network quality & bandwidth

Imagine a highway packed with cars. That’s what a congested network looks like for VoIP calls. Insufficient bandwidth or network overload can lead to choppy audio (packet loss), jittery calls, and frustrating dropped connections.

The Fix: Quality of Service (QoS) to the rescue. This prioritizes VoIP traffic over other data, ensuring your calls get the fast lane. Additionally, make sure your network has enough bandwidth to handle the number of simultaneous VoIP calls you expect.

2. Power outages & backup solutions

Power outages and internet disruptions can silence your VoIP system faster than you can say “hello?” To avoid this, be prepared.

The Fix: Implement redundant power supplies, uninterruptible power sources (UPS), and backup internet connections (cellular data or a secondary ISP) to ensure your VoIP service stays up and running during outages.

3. Security & encryption

VoIP conversations can be vulnerable to eavesdropping or tampering, just like any online communication. This can be a privacy and security concern.

The Fix: Put a shield around your calls with end-to-end encryption using secure protocols like TLS or SRTP. This scrambles the data, making it unintelligible to anyone trying to listen in.

4. Interoperability & standardization

Sometimes VoIP systems from different vendors aren’t compatible with your infrastructure. This can lead to connection issues and reduced reliability.

The Fix: Stick to industry standards and protocols like SIP, RTP, and SRTP. This ensures your VoIP system can communicate smoothly with others, regardless of the brand. Additionally, test everything thoroughly before deployment to identify and fix any compatibility problems.

5. Monitoring & troubleshooting

With VoIP, troubleshooting issues can feel daunting because many components are involved (phones, gateways, servers, networks).

The Fix: Use comprehensive monitoring and troubleshooting tools to catch problems before they disrupt your calls. Train your IT team on VoIP troubleshooting techniques and establish clear procedures for escalating and resolving issues.

6. VoIP provider choice

The VoIP provider you choose significantly impacts reliability and quality. Some providers might have subpar infrastructure, limited support, or inadequate QoS measures, leading to frequent outages or poor call quality.

The Fix: Do your research. Evaluate potential VoIP providers and phone companies based on network infrastructure, service level agreements (SLAs), customer support, redundancy measures, and reputation. 

Here are the key factors to consider to ensure reliability and performance:

• Uptime guarantee of 99.99% or higher
• 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and chat
• Tier 1 network and geographically distributed data centers for failover
• Robust security measures and third-party certifications (HIPAA, PCI, SOC 2)
• Comprehensive features (call waiting, voicemail, caller ID, call routing, recording, forwarding, video conferencing, auto attendants), smartphone apps, and third-party integrations

Get quotes from a top-rated VoIP provider to compare service plans and pricing. Check reviews on third-party sites like Trustpilot to verify the provider’s track record of reliability and customer satisfaction

Address these factors and implement the suggested solutions to make your VoIP service even more reliable, delivering high-quality voice communication and minimizing disruptions. Go forth and communicate confidently, knowing your VoIP system is built for smooth sailing.

Moving To the Cloud Is Easier Than You Think

Don’t let unreliable phone calls hold your business back.

Cloud-based VoIP offers a robust infrastructure designed for maximum uptime and crystal-clear call quality. This translates to fewer dropped calls, smoother communication, and a more professional experience for everyone you connect with.

Take control of your business communications – Nextiva can help you make the switch to the cloud with a seamless migration process and ongoing support for small businesses and enterprises alike. Visit our website for a free consultation and discover the power of reliable VoIP.

VoIP FAQs