Having the right Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) provider can transform your customer service experience.
Finding a good provider doesn’t need to be overwhelming — but it’s important to know the questions to ask and the answers to expect. Let’s walk through some of the questions you should ask when vetting CCaaS providers:
- What features and functionality do you offer?
First, do an inventory of the features and functionality that are critical to your company. For example, do you need to be able to gather omnichannel analytics so that you can analyze all your voice and text-based interactions? Do you need the CCaaS provider to integrate with solutions you already use? Gather all this information to be prepared to provide each vendor with a no-compromise checklist of your needs.
- Where is your platform hosted? (Data center, public cloud, private cloud)
Ask any vendor to provide detailed information about where their platform is hosted and why they made that choice: what were the key drivers (from both a business and technical perspective) that influenced their hosting decision?
- What are your Service Level Agreements (SLAs)?
Can the vendor provide you with transparent and well-defined SLAs for their platform? Are their SLAs in line with your company’s minimum availability requirements? Ask for any information the vendor can provide about services and support SLAs and push back on areas where transparency is limited.
- How do you comply with data privacy standards and regulations?
Take the time to understand which data privacy regulations are crucial for your company and how a CCaaS solution implementation may impact your ability to meet those requirements. Having vendors demonstrate and show documentation that their software complies with these requirements can give you peace of mind.
- Which third-party technology tooling does your CCaaS solution integrate with?
Ask vendors how their software interacts and integrates with the applications you use and how these integrations can enhance current processes. If you have a specific integration that will be critical for your company, ask for a customer example demonstrating their solution’s successful integration with that software.
- Can my company do a free trial of your software? What are your pricing and subscription options?
Top-tier vendors should offer seamless trial options that you can begin online and different pricing tiers and scenarios. If you’re a large enterprise, don’t hesitate to ask a vendor about their custom pricing, subscription options, and flexibility.
- Who is your target customer base?
Is the CCaaS vendor focused on a particular industry, location, or company size? How often do they engage with companies with a similar profile to yours? Make sure the vendor is well-suited to meet your company’s needs and has experience with companies like yours.
While these essential questions will help lead you to a successful deal with your CCaaS vendor, we encourage you to talk to a technology advisor to better understand your CCaaS needs and find the most suitable solutions. Talk to one of our advisors today with no strings attached.
