How to open a budget call center in 5 steps

A customer’s first encounter with an online business happens on its “cover page” - the company’s website. The next, equally important step is contacting the customer support. If you’re just getting started, most likely the main communication channels will be phone and email. A support call is live communication in real time. You hear the client’s emotions and can gently guide the conversation with the right words and a calm, confident tone.

We will show you how to launch your own contact center affordably and without unnecessary complexity in just five steps.

• Step 1. Required equipment
• Step 2. Telephony setup
• Step 3. Virtual number: how to choose?
• Step 4. Setting up a voice menu (IVR)
• Step 5. Additional useful PBX features
• FAQs

Step 1. Required equipment

Good news right away: at this stage, large investments are not needed. To make and receive calls, it’s enough to install an application on your computer or mobile phone. Another advantage - you’re not tied to any specific location, so calls can even be received while traveling. As for headsets, consider models with noise cancellation. This allows operators to work comfortably in shared or coworking spaces.

The Zadarma team has prepared detailed instructions for popular softwares and apps. As always, we recommend using Zadarma’s official applications for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

Step 2. Telephony setup

To choose the right pricing plan, answer a few questions:

• Will you be making local or international calls?
• Which features are key for you?
• Which services are available on the market today?
• How many employees will be involved?

Fortunately, Zadarma has developed ready-made pricing plan solutions that simplify the choice and don’t require deep technical knowledge.

If you provide your services in a single city or country, you can select a regional plan. Simply determine the number of team members and outgoing minutes you need. All pricing plans include a free PBX and per-second billing. The Office and Corporation plans provide virtual numbers. For businesses with international presence, pricing plans are available for the following regions: EU, USA/Canada, Americas, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, World, Switzerland, and Israel.

Step 3. Virtual number: how to choose?

You can choose a number from any country or city, however people are more likely to answer calls and call numbers from the city where they plan to purchase a product or service.

All Zadarma virtual numbers are multi-channel, meaning they have several incoming lines so operators can receive multiple calls simultaneously. As mentioned, virtual numbers are included in the pricing plans depending on the region. To get a number, you need to register, select a number, provide the necessary documents, and pay for the order. Document verification takes up to 1 business day, but usually completes faster.

In this article we explain how to choose a business phone number: city, toll-free 800, or mobile.

If your business already has a number familiar to clients, you can port it into our system.

Step 4. Setting up a voice menu (IVR)

This is the most important technical part. Here you determine how calls are received, how they are distributed among operators, what clients hear upon first contact, and more. Proper call flow logic helps reduce wait times and lowers operator workload.

IVR is the voice of the auto-attendant that guides users through your services. With Zadarma’s free cloud PBX, you can forget about complex setups involving technical specialists and make changes yourself in the dashboard in just a few clicks.

Basic PBX settings you’ll find useful:

• voice menu (IVR): you can upload your own audio file or provide text to be voiced;
• if your contact center isn’t 24/7, you can set working hours, as well as days off, and holidays. During non-working hours, you can upload an additional greeting and/or activate voicemail;
• hold music replaces beeps, giving you extra time and preventing client irritation;
• does your business have multiple departments? Set up menu items so that when a caller presses a button (for example, 1), they are routed to the correct department with the assigned extension number;
• call recording often helps resolve disputes when the client and operator interpret a conversation differently. Remember to notify the client about recording, for example, in the greeting.

Step 5. Additional useful PBX features

These features are optional but during your work you may find that they become indispensable for you. Let’s look at them in more detail:

• blacklist: create a separate scenario and specify phone numbers or number masks (for example, 4416*) from which you do not wish to receive calls. This is useful if calls are irrelevant or if competitors start spam calls;
• call reception by dialed number: if you have multiple virtual phone numbers, you can set up separate voice menus for each of them;
• call reception by caller's number: this feature is useful if an agent is assigned to a specific client in your system;
• messenger notifications: receive messages about missed calls, current balance, service renewal reminders, as well as SMS in messengers: Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Slack;
• PBX integration with CRM: allows operators to make one-click calls, organize the client database, maintain a complete interaction history, and assign tasks. This service is free;
• AI speech recognition and call analytics;
• AI voice agent: created based on modern LLM models (including ChatGPT), automatically answers incoming calls, consults clients, and, if necessary, transfers calls to the appropriate department or employee.

As you can see, creating a quality and fully functional contact center is not as complicated as it might seem. It can be done without significant costs.