Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Service Turns Smartphones into Full-Featured Call Centers

August 20, 2014

Small businesses typically offer their owners the ability to be flexible. For example, owners can usually manage customer service in any way they desire. Many owners have decided that their primary customer service lines will be the same ones they use for personal calls: their own cell phones. The basic software and app packages that come on most smartphones, however, do not always provide owners with the right tools to handle calls in the way that businesses demand. One startup is trying to change all that.


Instead of forcing owners to buy expensive landline-based systems that may use the cloud or VoIP, BatCrab can turn any personal smartphone into a full-featured business call center that includes voice greetings, call waiting, hold music, announcements, and call status features. Business owners can set up their phones to include initial greetings that may urge customers to "push one for customer support," for instance, and the system will be able to transfer customers to a phone that is programmed to ring when people need support.

Testimonials on the BatCrab website note that its support for adding international telephone numbers increased their international customer base and others comment on the service's ability to route calls to different places across their various regions. In addition to routing calls and providing voicemail features for customers when businesses have closed, BatCrab also has data analysis features that allow administrators to view, for instance, the number of people who have called in and the efficacy of call routing based on the number of people who accessed support, sales, management, or other business departments.

The BatCrab system comes in various packages that all include support for an unlimited number of department listings and transfer numbers, the inclusion of every features BatCrab offers, and variable amounts of calling minutes depending on the price. The smallest of businesses may benefit from the $23 per month "Solo" service that includes 300 calling minutes, and larger operations may want to upgrade to the $205 per month "Business" service that includes 5000 minutes. It can be used with any style phone, so business owners and administrators can keep their chosen devices and still receive full capability through BatCrab.

Although some VoIP and cloud-based services may offer competitive prices similar to what BatCrab offers, the complexity of some systems may be unnecessary for all small businesses. Often, the smallest of operations are the ones most strapped for time and money, so it only makes sense that they would want something simple to set up that is also effective.




Edited by Stefania Viscusi



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