Olivia Maier
We are here to help you as you search for an important business tool- a call monitoring software system. You may be just starting your search, or might be in the final stages. Wherever you are, we know that this article can help you out.
Today we’re sharing everything that you will need to know about call monitoring software. We’re going to get started with the basics of call monitoring systems, and why businesses love to use them. From there, we will go into how you can determine the best system for your business. That will be done through our ultimate checklist, with the TEN features that your call monitoring system HAS to have.
We will give you a comparison on some of the top business call monitoring options, including:
We will be framing our comparison by discussing the call monitoring features based on the checklist we will give you. We then will look at the big picture of these systems, as well as how they provide additional value to their customers.
If that sounds good to you, then we are excited for you to read and become an expert on call monitoring systems in just a matter of minutes.
Call monitoring systems are quickly becoming a must-have feature for every business phone system. Call monitoring systems are often included in the TOP modern day business phone systems, but they aren’t a guarantee.
Call monitoring software allows your business to listen to, record, and analyze the calls that your team is making. Call monitoring systems are a collection of business phone features that when added up can create an effective way for teams to better manage their calls. The technology can be broken down into a bunch of individual features, but as a collective they all work together to help further your ability to manage your calls, improve your customer service capabilities, and keep track of important business information.
Teams will implement call monitoring systems for a variety of reasons. For example, a sales team may love the ability to coach their new and existing representatives, as well as giving managers access to new insights and observe their team in action. Other teams such as an inbound call center may love the ability to get real time updates on who is currently on a call, the length of calls, and other important call metrics.
Overall, teams love to use call monitoring features as they can improve your phone communication workflows, provide more feedback to your managers and team members, and keep track of important call metrics. These benefits can lead to more efficient and productive teams, as well as equip you with information to reach long term goals.
We wanted to give you an easy to follow checklist with the top TEN features that your new call monitoring system should have. While many call monitoring systems and virtual phones will come with additional benefits, without these ten features we just don’t think you can have a truly effective call monitoring solution in place. As you go through your call monitoring software search, make sure to have this list handy to determine if a provider can really operate as a call monitoring solution.
We want to apply the checklist to four of the virtual phone system providers that offer a range of call monitoring capabilities. We will be looking at the following options that your team may be considering:
As we look at them, we will be using the TEN must have features to understand how effective the different solutions are. We will also be mentioning some “big picture” considerations that are important to be aware of, such as pricing and support options available.
If that sounds good to you, then we can’t wait to dive into comparing some of the top call monitoring providers.
Yodel.io is a cloud based phone system that is able to effectively provide call monitoring capabilities.
Yodel’s call screening system and intelligent IVR capabilities work together to ensure that your team is only receiving relevant calls that have been directed to the right person. Even small or solo teams can benefit, as they will be able to know the caller’s intent before even picking up the phone. Yodel is able to record calls in a manner that allows you to start, pause, deactivate, and resume throughout an active call. That way if you want to keep your recordings short, want to avoid sensitive information being recorded, or just want to capture the main purpose of a call, you have the flexibility to do so.
Yodel gives you access to actual call commenting, where you make notes that can be shared during a live call, call whispering which allows you to give your teammate audio information without your caller hearing, and call conferencing features. You can access their call reporting directly from their interface, making it easy to take advantage of.
One of the best value added features of Yodel are the integrations available. Whether you love your CRM, live inside of Slack, or have another business tool your team can’t live without, Yodel makes it easy to connect your phone to your other software. Yodel also provides a variety of phone number types, including allowing you to keep your existing number, access a toll-free number, local area codes, as well as international phone numbers.
Yodel.io’s support options allow you to get started in a worry free environment, as they prioritize being easy to implement and always easy to use. Whether you want to take advantage of demo calls, trial periods, or their always available resources, you are covered. Yodel.io is also affordable with two pricing plans available, the first at $25/month/user, and the second at $35/month/user.
Aircall is a cloud based phone system as well, and can offer a majority of the features that we had mentioned.
Aircall can help you with call screening, as they are able to detect and block spam callers. It does not appear that their IVR system is a fully intelligent voice based system, but they can route callers as they respond to voice prompts.
Aircall appears to offer call conferencing as well as general call commenting features. Their call recording capabilities also allows your team to effectively monitor calls. It appears they are missing some features such as call whispering but that doesn’t mean that it fails as a call monitoring software. This is where it really boils down to how your team will want to use call monitoring. If you are hoping to subtly give your team a hand without having to interrupt, the apparent absence of call whispering could be significant. However, this type of functionality may be possible through the use of other features or a combination of features.
Aircall is able to provide call recording as well as a live activity feed. Their call reporting system gives you access to important metrics, and they are able to integrate into a wide variety of business tools and applications.
Aircall tends to be at the higher end of pricing options, so it makes sense to understand how Aircall fits into your business big picture in general. Aircall’s pricing starts at $30/user/month and goes up to $50/user/month. Be sure to check out how Aircall can grow with your business before you commit to their higher end pricing scheme.
Dialpad was mentioned on this list as it will frequently appear as a top business phone system, especially as you are looking for a cloud based phone solution. However, it doesn’t appear that Dialpad specifically mentions call monitoring features that we have determined to be essential. This includes a lack of mentioning call commenting and call whispering.
Dialpad is more known for integrating into their other products, than they are for integrating into other business tools. If you are looking for a phone system that can also offer capabilities such as video calling, without having the call monitoring features we’ve mentioned, then it may still be worth looking into Dialpad.
Their pricing ranges from $15/user/month up to $25/user/month. However, their pricing plans significantly impact which integrations are available to your team. If you have a specific business tool in mind that you would like to connect Dialpad to, it is definitely worth checking out what is available in each plan.
We hope that you’ve been able to learn a little bit more about call monitoring systems today, whether you came into this article already a pro or feeling like a call monitoring newbie. Keep our checklist in mind as you go forward with your search, as it can help you eliminate potential providers or confirm that a solution is the way to go.
If you are looking to take advantage of a call monitoring system built into a robust cloud based phone solution, test out Yodel.io with a free trial today. You can reach our team through individualized demo calls that will make sure that all of your call monitoring, and business phone questions are addressed.
