Choosing the best contact center software is crucial for any retail business. Every customer inquiry can enhance your business's growth and brand reputation. At 8x8, we understand that the right contact center solution can streamline your operations and elevate customer satisfaction. Here are six key factors to consider when making this important decision.

1. Customer experience management

Look for ways to enhance customer interactions by integrating skills-based inbound voice to match customers with the best available agent. Features like an intuitive IVR (interactive voice response) system and connecting to an expert colleague ensure swift and accurate query resolution.

Customer experience management supports multi-channel engagement, giving agents a 360° view of customer interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and social media. Agent Workspace and Supervisor Workspace offer tailored, performance-centric interfaces with a collection of tools to deliver intelligent assistance and insightful reports.

Features that enable agent-customer co-browsing allow agents to help guide the customer when shopping online for an extra level of service, while queued and web callbacks can reduce customer wait times.

2. Employee engagement

A user-friendly interface is crucial for efficient agent operations and training. Intuitive functions such as speech analytics, quality management, and post-call surveys reduce the learning curve for agents, enabling them to provide faster and more effective support. Supervisors are armed with the tools they need to coach and upskill their agents based on every customer interaction.

3. Analytics and reporting

Comprehensive analytics and reporting tools are essential for understanding customer behavior and agent performance. These tools should offer customizable reports and real-time insights, empowering your team to make data-driven decisions and continually enhance your contact center operations. With 8x8’s advanced analytics, you can gain actionable insights that drive continuous improvement.

Advanced analytics, quality management, speech analytics, post-call surveys, native CRM (customer relationship management) integration, a comprehensive knowledge base, and effective workforce management collectively optimize both customer and employee experiences, driving higher satisfaction and engagement.

4. Integration capabilities

Seamless integration with your existing operational tech stack is vital for a smooth and optimized workflow. Your contact center software should provide a unified view of customer interactions and be compatible with popular CRMs, order management, and POS (point of sale) systems. 8x8’s integration capabilities ensure that your contact center can expand and operate efficiently within your existing infrastructure to drive customer success.

5. Scalability

It goes without saying that your contact center solution must be scalable and able to grow with your business. As your company evolves, your software should adapt to increasing needs—whether that means adding more agents or enhancing capabilities. 8x8 offers scalable solutions that allow you to start with a lower cost of entry and expand as needed, ensuring your contact center keeps pace with your business growth.

6. Security and compliance

Protecting sensitive customer data is non-negotiable, especially when processing secure payments over the phone or online. Compliance with regulations such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is essential for retailers handling customer data on a daily basis. 8x8 Contact Center is designed with robust security measures and is fully GDPR-compliant, providing peace of mind for retailers of any size.

Align business needs and customer support

Choosing the best contact center software requires a thoughtful evaluation of the above factors. By prioritizing these elements, you can invest in a solution that not only meets your current business needs, but also positions your contact center for future success.

The best cloud contact centers for retail offer a range of transformative capabilities that help increase revenue opportunities by delivering exceptional customer experiences.

Download 8x8’s Contact Center Buyer's Checklist for Retailers to benchmark important features against your own requirements.