After conducting considerable research and analysis of call center services, we recommend TeleDirect as the best overall call center service for small businesses in 2017.
Ready to choose a call center service? Here's a breakdown of our complete coverage:
- How to Choose a Call Center Service Buyer's Guide
- Our Best Picks for Call Center Services
- Best Low-cost Call Center Service for Businesses
- Best Answering Service for Medical Practices
When it comes to a call center service that can cover both your inbound and outbound needs, you'll want to be sure that the company you partner with offers extensive features on both sides of the equation. A quality call center service should be able to shift seamlessly from one task to another, be it answering customer service calls and processing orders, or conducting surveys and lead generation services for your business. And, of course, you need to trust that the call center service you choose will treat your customers with the utmost respect, just as your own staff would.
In order to help you decide which call center is best for you, Business News Daily reviewed a dozens of call center services. Ultimately, we recommend TeleDirect, which received an A-plus rating from the Better Business Bureau, as the best overall call center for small businesses in 2017 because of its comprehensive array of functions.
Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the call center that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our sister site BuyerZone provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free.
Why TeleDirect?
Full slate of services
TeleDirect offers nearly every service you could expect from a call center. TeleDirect's inbound services include reliable customer support, order processing, media support, tech support, reservation services and help desk services. The outbound services are equally robust, including lead generation, customer retention efforts, market research, appointment setting, telemarketing, follow-up calls and survey conducting. A unique feature of TeleDirect's outbound services is cold-calling, which helps to forge new customer relationships and expand your base; most other services do not perform cold-calling in addition to their other outbound functions. This slate of services made TeleDirect one of the most comprehensive call center service we reviewed.
24/7 availability
TeleDirect is available 24/7/365, providing a constant destination for your customers' phone calls, regardless of your business hours or time zone. Not only is constant availability a boon for cementing customer relationships, but it also means a representative will always be available on holidays and weekends.
Our customer-service experience with TeleDirect was satisfactory. Agents were knowledgeable and able to answer any questions we had, though our interactions did lack a personal touch or a friendliness that might leave an even better impact on a customer. However, we never had to wait and always obtained the information we needed quickly.
Dedicated agents
TeleDirect employs any combination of shared, blended or dedicated agents, depending on what your needs are. Having the option to use dedicated agents, which are call center employees specifically assigned to work for your business, can help ensure more accurate and engaging service. Shared agents manage several different accounts with the call center service, meaning they have to pay attention to more than just your business. Blended agents, as the name suggests, are a mix of shared and dedicated agents for your campaign.
Working with a dedicated agent ensures not only that your customers are of particular importance to the agent, but also helps to improve the call center's individual accountability.
Multiple languages
TeleDirect's agents can field calls in multiple languages, not just English and Spanish like many other call centers. If your business engages with a clientele that speaks a different language, TeleDirect is likely able to accommodate them. If your customers often speak a foreign language, TeleDirect is a great option for staying in constant communication with them in their native tongue.
Limitations
No live-chat support
One minor drawback to TeleDirect's service is that there is no live-chat option in the event you require support. Of course, there is a customer-support phone number, and the company also offers an email address. Overall, we found this limitation to be relatively insignificant, especially when compared with the list of services TeleDirect offers.
Monthly volume minimum
TeleDirect requires your business to use its services for a minimum of 29 minutes each month in order to continue working together. While you'll need to consider whether your average call volume hits this mark or not, the 29-minute requirement is not very prohibitive compared to some comparable companies' requirements – overall, TeleDirect's call volume minimum represents a minor consideration.
Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the call center that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our sister site BuyerZone provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free.
We chose TeleDirect from a pool of the dozens of call center services we considered. To read our full methodology and for a more comprehensive list of call center services, visit Business News Daily's best picks page.
