Call Tracking System

[kala]

Looking for input on a call tracking system - not an order system, but a call tracking system. Example would be the ability for a CSR to see the last 20 times a customer called and what they called about (say on a screen pop) - they could then go into our order system, place order and on wrap up enter exactly what the customer called about, date time call was closed and resolution. This system would need to integrate with our order system which is oracle based and cti would need to integrate as well. Data could be stored in data warehouse to report. Only reports we have available now are through ACD (which assumes caller is pressing the right option on the VRU) and reports from order system - but inquiries and complaints are not always logged in which to generate a report - looking for ways to track problems, issues, calls by area code and nxx.

[mikael]

Dear Kala,

How big of a call center do you run? How many agents will be concurrently using the system?

All of the commercial-grade call-trackers will do what you say you need -- it just takes money. And time for the implementation.

The process is pretty straightforward. Start by making a detailed list of the features that you think you need, then prioritize them according to Must Have, Need to Have, and Would be Nice to Have. (There probably are some templates floating around that others have used that would give you a pretty good idea of the basic feature set of a call-tracker.)

With your system requirements document in hand, the next step is to make a list of no more than 5-6 vendor candidates. Send them your requirements list, and ask them to respond.

Evaluate the responses, and then narrow your candidate list down to no more than 3 or 4.

Invite the short-list candidates to come to your site and do a full demo. They also must provide you with several reference accounts, and you'll want to go and visit those accounts to talk to your counterparts there.

Time the whole process so that you reach a decision and sign the contract just before the end of a quarter -- that motivates the vendors to give you the best deal. (Beware, however, of driving too hard a bargain -- you'll regret it later!)

Keep in mind that the implementation costs of the system can range between 2 and 10 times the cost of the software license. If you've done a good job in specifying your requirements and haven't gotten carried away with asking for too many custom features, then the implementation costs will be lower.

That's the process in a nutshell. If you have more questions, send me an e-mail.

[kala]

mikael -

The problem I am finding is that when researching I am seeing only help desk systems and order tracking system and not a call-tracking system. Who are these commercial call trackers in which you are referring. I have talked some with Avaya and am getting information from them, but they are proposing a customed solution since our call center would not utilize all aspects of their contact crm solution. Thanks for the help.

[mikael]

Kala,

For the small to mid-range contact center, look at Onyx, Frontrange or SalesLogix. For larger centers, where you'll have more than 75-100 concurrent users, there's Siebel, PeopleSoft and Clarify.

The large systems all can integrate with Oracle, and I'm confident that Onyx can as well. The other two are probables in this regard.