WHAT IS COMPUTER TELEPHONY INTEGRATION?
Computer telephony integration, or CTI, is any technology that allows interactions on a telephone and a computer to be integrated or coordinated. This allows call center agents to perform call-related tasks directly from their desktops.
Computer telephony integration connects your phone system to your computer system, creating lots of flexibility for your call center. Your computer can answer inbound calls and outbound calls, play recorded messages, re-route calls, recognize incoming callers using caller ID, and bring up customer information from a database. The call center agent will have all of the information they need at his or her fingertips with no phone required. Computer telephony integration can also perform some of the functions of call center software, like providing interactive voice response (IVR) and automatic call distributor (ACD) functionality.
THE BENEFITS OF COMPUTER TELEPHONY INTEGRATION
Computer telephony integration has many benefits that can improve your call center efficiency and empower your agents.
LOWERED COSTS AND INCREASED FLEXIBILITY
Adopting CTI in your contact center solution means you can run a full call center without needing to install a dedicated PBX system. A hosted system is costly to purchase, requires constant maintenance, and is a pain to upgrade.
Having call center software solution with computer telephony integration is less costly, more flexible, and more scalable than a traditional system. Agents can work remotely and collaborate with other agents with ease. Call centers can also be decentralized, meaning customers can be supported even after business hours by remote agents. CTI i with call center software is a must for businesses of all sizes. CTI is capable of connecting agents to your call center from anywhere around the world, and provides added flexibility to your call center software.
SEAMLESS CONTACT CENTER AGENT EXPERIENCE
A CTI system built in your contact center solution gives contact center agents flexibility in how they handle customer interactions while streamlining their options. A CTI system allows agents to take calls, track customers, and have relevant customer information all through their desktop computers. A unified dashboard unifies these functions into a seamless experience for the contact center agent. The contact center agent will never have to go back and forth between different softwares and their phones, meaning they can spend more time delivering exceptional customer experiences.
CTI gives contact center agents quick access to customer information on their desktop. Client information is imported into their computers and synced to profiles. Every possible interaction, like taking calls, transferring calls, putting callers on hold, and resolve client issues, can be done from the dashboard with relevant customer information in the same place. This streamlines your contact center by giving agents quick and easy access to all customer information and call center functions in one place without having to switch to other applications.
IMPROVED AND QUICK CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
A CTI system implemented in your contact center solution will improve customer service and customer support by giving call center agents the required call functions and data in one place. This means call center agents can take more calls and reach more prospects, improving the efficiency of your contact center.
CTI allows for integration of call logs, phone numbers, and caller data on a unified dashboard, giving agents quick access to information like call history, live chat transcripts, caller information, phone numbers, personal information, support tickets, and order history, etc. This means your customer service teams can resolve customer issues more quickly. With the ability to pull up customer data very quickly and seamlessly, the customer can receive more personalized customer service as well, improving customer satisfaction.
CRM INTEGRATION WITH CTI
Computer telephony integration turns your phone system into a program that is capable of integrating with different software for a seamless and easy user experience. This means a CTI system can integrate with a customer relationship management (CRM) program. Integration with major CRMs, like Zendesk, Salesforce, Oracle, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, is crucial in being able to cover the entire customer’s journey rather than specific points in their journey.
With CRM integration into a CTI, the customer’s information and call history will be instantly available for the agent on his or her desktop through the CTI, while an account of the call will be stored in the customer’s CRM record for future reference. Integrating CRMs with your CTI system will improve and personalize the customer service you deliver while helping you build strong customer relationships.
FAST AND EFFICIENT CALL ROUTING
By integrating a combination of CTI, automatic call distributor (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), and skills-based routing into your call center solution, you can route calls quickly and efficiently, improving customer service and increasing automation in your call center.
Utilizing computer telephony integration in conjunction with a company’s call center solution, agents can determine the customers specific issues and route them to the correct department or agent all in the same dashboard. Combined with automatic call distributors (ACD) and interactive voice response (IVR), the customer can be quickly and intelligently routed to the right department. With skills-based routing, the routing can be even more refined by allowing the customer to reach the right agent with the right skill set directly. This contributes to higher efficiency and automation in your call center.
COMPUTER TELEPHONY INTEGRATION WITH OMNICHANNEL CONTACT CENTER SOFTWARE
What if your agent had access to all kinds of interactions from their desktop rather than just phone calls? With omnichannel contact center software, you can track all channels from a single desktop dashboard, making the experience seamless for both your customers and your agents. Whether you want to connect with customers over the phone, through social media, or over text messaging, omnichannel contact center software can support all of these channels and combine them into one dashboard.
Bright Pattern’s contact center software is cloud-based and omnichannel, capable of providing seamless customer experience across all channels for your customers. With Bright Pattern’s software, you can interact with customers on any channels, like live chat, social media and messaging, texting, SMS, and voice chat. Afterwards, you can access call recording and chat transcripts with ease. All of this can be done with the Bright Pattern dashboard, which fully implements computer telephony integration. Bright Pattern provides full CRM integration as well, integrating with all major CRMs like ServiceNow, Oracle, Zendesk, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics 365. Bright Pattern’s comprehensive CRM integration allows you to track your customer’s journey with your business from start to finish.
