Call Center Software for Small Businesses: 7 Best Solutions

55% of SMBs* are moving their call centers into cloud-based platforms. However, while making the decision to go digital is easy, choosing the right solution for your needs is anything but.

But you knew that already, seeing as you’re reading this. Don’t worry. CloudTalk has answers to all your questions. In this article, you’ll find the 7 best call center solutions for small businesses, including pricing, features, and best use cases. So, keep reading!

Key takeaways:

• Before you kick-off your provider selection process, first make sure you completely understand your company’s wants and needs across all teams.
  
• The buying process should be collaborative and based on qualitative and quantitative information regarding features, integrations, and user experiences.
  
• CloudTalk provides the ideal balance of inbound and outbound features at an affordable price for SMBs to turn customer experience into their biggest advantage.

Small Business Call Center Software: A Comparison

Call center software naturally varies in features, integrations, and pricing. To not overwhelm you with too much information, we narrowed down the scope of this comparison to the most important inbound and outbound features for SMBs.

7 Best Call Center Software for Small Businesses:
Comprehensive Overview

#1: CloudTalk

CloudTalk is the next generation of AI-powered business calling software for SME customer-facing sales and support teams. Since 2016, CloudTalk has helped 4,000+ businesses turn conversations into conversions.

Boasting 160+ international numbers and 35+ of the most desirable CRM, Helpdesk, and BI one-click integrations, 24/7 customer support, and 1-day onboarding, making customer experience your biggest competitive advantage is easier than ever.

Best For:

SMB call centers looking to deliver exceptional global customer experiences with advanced features.

User Insights:

Great product, teething problems always taken care of promptly. Easy to use and navigate. The AI is a godsend for someone like me who is forgetful about note-taking. Integrates well with all the systems we use, and for someone who has been in sales for years and has used lots of similar products that is really rare.

Adam A., Car Finance, SMB

Flagship Features:

• Conversational Intelligence: Leverage the power of AI to automate call recording and note-taking while gleaning key customer insights.
  
• Real-Time Dashboard: Manage your operations with a clear view of all data and calls as they happen in real-time within an intuitive user interface.
  
• Call Flow Designer: Streamline your customers’ inbound journey via a visual call flow editor for your Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.
  
• Power Dialer: Create easy-to-use, one-click call queues directly from your browser or CRM and speed up your sales outreach to close more deals.
  
• Analytics: Dig down into all aspects of your business with customizable Analytics outfitted with numerous filters and report options for data clarity.

Pricing:

#2: Zendesk

Zendesk is a customer service platform built to enhance collaboration and optimize customer interactions. Since 2007, it has helped businesses deliver personalized, multichannel support across email, voice, chat, and social media.

With over 1,000 integrations, Zendesk unifies customer data and streamlines workflows. Onboarding is fast, with tools for creating support portals and knowledge bases. However, users report issues reaching service and navigating bots to get direct help.

Best For:

Businesses seeking a comprehensive, omnichannel support solution with advanced analytics.

User Insights:

We’ve been using Zendesk Sell for a few months now and have been impressed with its ability to help our sales team effectively follow up with leads. One of the great things about Zendesk Sell is that its intuitive interface makes it easy for everyone on the team to use and learn. Zendesk Sell sometimes crashes or slows down, which can be frustrating. We also had integration issues with our email system, which caused errors when communicating with potential customers.

Ross Stewart C., Ambassador, SMB

Flagship Features:

• Unified Agent Workspace: Provide agents with a centralized interface to manage all customer interactions efficiently.
  
• Automation: Streamline repetitive tasks and workflows to enhance productivity and response times.
  
• Self-Service Portal: Empower customers with access to knowledge bases and community forums for quick resolutions.
  
• Omnichannel Support: Engage customers across various channels, ensuring consistent and personalized experiences.
  
• Integrated Voice Software: Manage inbound and outbound calls directly within the platform, with features like call recording and monitoring.

Pricing:

#3: RingCentral

RingCentral is an AI-powered communications platform for teams of all sizes and industries. Established in 1999, the solution has helped 5,000,000+ businesses create better connections with their customers, apps, and each other.

The platform has extensive integrations with leading CRM and productivity tools, including Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Zendesk. RingCentral offers a streamlined onboarding process complemented by 24/7 customer support.

Best For:

Organizations requiring a unified communication platform with robust collaboration tools.

User Insights:

When I first used this Ring Central contact center, I was surprised by how it was utilized at the company. You can dial in-company extensions easily via directory display. I also like that there are desktop, mobile, online, and hard desk phones at your disposal. However, this tool isn’t ideal for managing a mid-size or larger contact center. It lacks reporting tools that are usable from an ad-hoc perspective.

Verified User in Insurance, Mid-Market

Flagship Features:

• Live Transcriptions & Summaries: Automatically transcribe calls and meetings in real-time, providing concise summaries for easy reference.
  
• Team Messaging: Facilitate seamless internal communication through integrated messaging channels, enhancing team collaboration.
  
• AI Translations: Break language barriers with AI-powered translations, enabling effective communication across diverse teams and clients.
  
• Business SMS: Engage customers and stakeholders through professional SMS capabilities, ensuring timely and direct communication.
  
• Analytics: Gain actionable insights into communication patterns and performance metrics to drive informed business decisions.

Pricing:

#4: Aircall

Aircall is a customer communication and engagement platform for SMB sales and support teams. Established in 2014, It has helped 10,000+ companies worldwide turn customer and employee satisfaction into key growth drivers.

With 100+ integrations, including CRMs, Helpdesk, and productivity tools, along with quick onboarding, Aircall ensures seamless alignment with the systems your team already uses. However, its customer service has received mixed reviews.

Best For:

Teams looking for a user-friendly, cloud-based phone system with seamless CRM integrations.

User Insights:

Good value product. Aircall is very user-friendly for admins and end users and integrates fairly well with the systems we want to send data to (Salesforce). Basic call reporting can be confusing, especially in real time. It can be difficult to find reasons for call abandonment / missed calls without really digging.

Esme N., Operations Lead, SMB

Flagship Features:

• AI Conversational Intelligence: Utilize AI-driven insights to enhance communication strategies and understand customer sentiments.
  
• Conversation Center: Manage all customer interactions across various channels in a unified inbox, ensuring no message goes unnoticed.
  
• Power Dialer: Automate outbound calling processes to boost sales productivity and reach more prospects efficiently.
  
• Analytics: Access comprehensive analytics to monitor team performance, call metrics, and customer interactions for informed decision-making.
  
• SMS: Engage customers through integrated SMS capabilities, allowing for timely and direct communication.

Pricing:

#5: LiveAgent

LiveAgent is an omnichannel helpdesk solution that consolidates customer interactions into a unified inbox. It has been empowering businesses to improve support efficiency and satisfaction with over 175 robust features.

The platform integrates with 200+ tools, including CRMs and social media. LiveAgent offers a 14-day free trial and fast onboarding, with 24/7 customer support praised for responsiveness. However, some users note occasional issues with spam filtering.

Best For:

SMBs seeking an all-in-one customer support solution with voice integration.

User Insights:

It does the basics well and has the flexibility to integrate with different types of email services. Initially, we did little to configure the support portal, but we have recently seen many areas to customize! The configuration interface feels a bit clunky, but you get used to it eventually, though it takes a while.

Chris N., Managing Director, SMB

Flagship Features:

• Universal Inbox: Manage all customer communications from various channels in a single, organized inbox.
  
• Real-Time Live Chat: Engage with customers instantly using the fastest chat widget on the market.
  
• Built-In Call Center: Handle inbound and outbound calls directly within the platform, with features like call recording and IVR.
  
• Customer Segmentation: Categorize customers based on specific criteria to deliver personalized support.
  
• Automation Rules: Streamline workflows with automated ticket routing, responses, and task assignments.

Pricing:

#6: Five9

Five9 is an all-in-one cloud-based call center platform for enterprise-sized customer-facing support and sales teams. Established in 2001, the company has been helping 3,000+ customers revolutionize their CX.

The platform seamlessly integrates with leading CRM systems (Salesforce, ServiceNow, etc.) Five9’s onboarding process is tailored to enterprise needs, providing dedicated support with 24/7 customer service, with some reported issues in efficiency.

Best For:

Enterprises desiring a scalable, AI-driven contact center platform with extensive customization options.

User Insights:

Overall good, but tech support could be better. Five9 works well for outbound cold calling and allows us a lot of freedom to set it up in the way that works best for us. When there are issues, tech support asks for a lot of information that is very difficult and time-consuming to collect, and when we do, it still doesn’t seem like it helps them diagnose/resolve the issue completely.

Briana B., Call Center Manager, SMB

Flagship Features:

• Call Center Statistics: Access comprehensive metrics to monitor and enhance call center performance.
  
• Speech Recognition: Utilize advanced speech recognition for efficient call routing and improved customer interactions.
  
• Agent Call Scripting: Provide agents with dynamic scripts to ensure consistent and effective communication.
  
• Call Conferencing: Facilitate multi-party conversations to resolve complex customer issues collaboratively.
  
• Text-to-Speech: Convert text into natural-sounding speech for automated responses and announcements.

Pricing:

#7: Nextiva

Nextiva is a connected communications platform for customer-facing teams of all shapes and sizes. Established in 2006, the company has helped 100,000+ businesses work and call smarter with its multichannel features.
The platform integrates seamlessly with various CRM systems, including Salesforce and HubSpot, teams to unify customer interactions across multiple channels. Nextiva offers a straightforward onboarding process with 24/7 dedicated support, though it’s worth noting that some users have reported technical issues (see below).

Best For:

Companies seeking a reliable, cloud-based phone service with advanced call management features.

User Insights:

We like that this service works for our remote and in-office staff. We also like that we can both incoming & outgoing calls. This is useful for training, call reviews, and saving client files when necessary. But the app can be finicky, causing staff to need to shut it down & reboot so it works. The other issue is that the number of recording licenses does not match the number of phone licenses. That does not make sense. If we have 15 people on phones, we can only record 12 of them.

Crystal L., Office Manager, SMB

Flagship Features:

• Unlimited Calling in the US & Canada: Make unlimited calls within the US and Canada without additional charges.
  
• Free Local & Toll-Free Number: Obtain a free local or toll-free number to enhance your business’s accessibility.
  
• Voicemail Transcription: Receive transcriptions of voicemails directly to your email for easy reference.
  
• Auto Attendant: Automate call routing to ensure customers reach the appropriate department efficiently.
  
• SMS & MMS: Engage with customers through text and multimedia messaging for versatile communication.

Pricing:

The Best Call Center Software for Small Business: In the Eye of the Beholder

Call center providers come in all shapes and sizes, and even if we may be a bit biased, we’ll be the first to admit that even CloudTalk can’t meet every customers’ needs equally. None of the solutions presented in this article can, after all.

As a small business, you need to be mindful of how you spend your money to ensure you get the best ROI possible and can scale up efficiently. Carefully consider your company’s operational needs, immediate targets, longer-term growth goals, and budget limits, and make your decision based on those core factors.

If your business is focused on building stronger customer relationships while scaling across 160+ international markets, CloudTalk offers tools tailored to meet the specific needs of SMBs. These include seamless integrations, real-time call analytics with AI, and customizable workflows that enhance productivity and performance.

Sources:

Techaisle