Call spoofing is a growing challenge for businesses worldwide. This type of fraud involves the perpetrator using technology to make it look like they’re calling their target from a local number, a well-known company, a government agency, or even a real contact. The scammer then tricks their target into answering their calls and steals their personal information or money.

Call spoofing is a global problem: it’s estimated that Americans alone lost an estimated $87 billion to phone scams last year. It’s also damaging to legitimate businesses who often suffer reputational and financial losses when a scammer impersonates their brand.

Plivo’s introduction of the Verified Caller ID feature is designed to tackle security challenges by bolstering the platform’s security measures. The Verified Caller ID feature plays a pivotal role in enhancing the authenticity of outbound calls made within Plivo’s ecosystem. By authenticating and verifying caller numbers, businesses can establish a more credible presence through Plivo. This feature is especially beneficial for resellers, adding an extra layer of authentication that strengthens security throughout the communication landscape.

How do Verified Caller IDs work?

A spoofed caller ID is when someone alters the information displayed on their caller ID to make it look like they’re calling from a different number or even a different name than they are. It’s like wearing a disguise for their phone number.

With Verified Caller ID, Plivo ensures that calls are placed using authorized numbers and caller IDs, thereby preventing any calls originating from unknown caller IDs. Notably, if the number is rented or ported to Plivo, caller ID verification is bypassed as Plivo already authenticates these numbers. However, this verification step becomes essential only if a customer wishes to use their own non-Plivo number for making outbound calls. Here’s how the verification process works at a high level.

1. Add Number: Include a number you intend to utilize as an outbound caller ID within the verified caller ID screen on the Plivo Console or through API integration.
2. Authentication: Plivo will send a one-time passcode using SMS or voice.
3. Confirmation: Enter the code to prove you have control of the number.
4. Verification: Once your phone number is verified, you can use it as the caller ID when you make calls

Plivo makes it easy to verify your number. You can verify your numbers with Plivo using the Plivo console, APIs, and SDKs.

Get started with Plivo Verified Caller ID

Plivo’s Verified Caller ID is built to seamlessly integrate into your existing workflow. We make it easy to verify your numbers quickly and reliably using the console, REST APIs, and SDKs. Learn more about the verification process in our FAQs, guide and API reference.

While Klaviyo has all the much-needed features for e-commerce businesses, it's not a good fit for everyone.

Firstly, it's expensive. Michele V, a Klaviyo user, says, "Recent price increase is making it hard for smaller businesses to enjoy Klaviyo's services. Many smaller e-commerce businesses find Klaviyo too expensive."

Then, it's not easy to understand and use. Jasmine M, another Klaviyo user, says, "The learning curve of the platform is really steep. Before using the platform seamlessly and getting effective data outputs for analysis, I had spent enough time understanding the platform by going through different videos and document files related to it."

Lastly, its customer support is not extensive. Chin J, a small business user, speaks of limited customer support in case of issues. 

So, what are the possible Klaviyo alternatives? In this post, we have listed the top 7 alternatives to Klaviyo, highlighting key features, pricing, pros, and cons. 

1. Plivo CX

Plivo CX is a complete customer engagement and support platform handling all customer touchpoints with your business. You can launch marketing campaigns to acquire & engage your customers and also service them. The capability to integrate both marketing and customer support into one platform makes Plivo CX the best Klaviyo alternative.

Key highlights:

Pros:

• Brings both marketing and customer service into a single platform
• Supports all key channels: AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, and WhatsApp 
• Affordable pricing
• High deliverability rate as Plivo has its own messaging network.

Cons:

• There could be a slight learning curve while exploring all the features
• Currently works for Shopify e-commerce brands only

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2. Braze

Braze is a customer engagement platform that enables businesses to create personalized and effective marketing campaigns. It makes omnichannel marketing possible by integrating all major marketing channels, such as email, SMS, push notifications, and in-app messaging, into one platform.

Key highlights:

Pros:

• User-friendly interface
• Extensive features for marketing

Cons:

• Limited and difficult-to-use reporting features 

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3.Omnisend

Omnisend is an email marketing and SMS automation platform for e-commerce businesses to engage with customers. With Omnisend, you can send personalized messages to customers to boost their shopping experience. 

Key highlights:

Pros:

• Excellent customer support
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Limited pre-defined templates

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4. Attentive

Attentive, one of Klaviyo competitors, is a personalized messaging solution for businesses. It enables businesses to engage with their audience through SMS and email campaigns.

Key highlights:

Pros:

• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Limited integrations. Currently, it doesn't support many email providers and CRMs. 
• Pricing is on the higher side.

5. Postscript

Postscript is an SMS marketing platform helping e-commerce brands, particularly Shopify brands, build strong customer relationships through SMS campaigns. 

Key highlights:

Pros:

• Affordable solution

Cons:

• Limited integrations to fit into the complete tech stack

6. Automizely

Automizely is an email and text marketing platform that helps brands automate their campaigns. It currently targets Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce brands.

Key highlights:

Pros:

• AI-powered personalization for campaigns 

Cons:

• Limited advanced features.

7. Avada

Avada, another Klaviyo competitor, is a marketing platform for Shopify brands. It supports campaigns on email, SMS, push notifications, and WhatsApp channels.

Key highlights:

Pros:

• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Limited customization options.

Ready to make a switch?

If you are looking for a complete solution to bring your entire customer outreach, marketing, and customer service into one platform, Plivo CX Engage is your solution.
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‍Book a demo today!

Are you searching for the perfect SMS marketing platform to take your ecommerce business’s communication to the next level? Studies have shown that 45.9% of e-commerce businesses use SMS marketing as a pivotal aspect of their marketing strategies. 

While there are numerous powerful SMS marketing platforms available, it can be challenging to find the right SMS campaign tool that will seamlessly deliver high engagement, effective integration with your existing marketing automation systems, and streamlined workflows. 

This article will explore the features, pricing structures, and use cases of some of the most popular SMS marketing platforms currently available and how your Shopify brand can choose the solution that will transform your SMS marketing strategies from a communication strategy to a revenue-boosting powerhouse. By the end of this detailed guide, you will be empowered to choose the right tool that is customized to your business’s long-term goals and technical setup.  

The Top 6 SMS Marketing Platforms For Shopify Businesses

1. Plivo CX Engage

Plivo CX Engage has a powerful SMS marketing platform that can help your brand leverage audience segmentation, messaging capabilities, and campaign management. Your business doesn’t need multiple tools to manage, acquire, engage and service your customers. Plivo CX Engage is a single platform that Shopify brands need to manage their customer experiences and operations while keeping costs low. 

Plivo CX Engage Best Features:

• Use “Journeys” to track user activity on the storefront and automatically trigger customer journeys
• Group your customers based on demographic data and specific characteristics
• Import contacts from numerous different sources
• Access AI-generated message suggestions, customizable templates, and support for various SMS channels 
• Seamless integration with Shopify, with advanced features such as journey building and event tracking
• WhatsApp marketing to build customized outbound campaigns
• Easily upgrade to provide customer service from the same platform 
• Global messaging coverage and high reliability 

Plivo CX Engage Limitations

• Designed for e-commerce brands and currently only works for Shopify stores
• Businesses in highly regulated industries may need to still monitor and evaluate regulatory requirements for their sector.

Plivo CX Engage Pricing

• Plivo CX’s customer service solutions range from $0.0095 - $0.013 per SMS and $0.029 - $0.039 per MMS. 

Plivo CX Engage Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (724 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3 / 5 (83 reviews)

2. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is an SMS marketing app and tool that is designed to help small and medium-sized businesses use cross-channel SMS marketing to increase customer retention and e-commerce revenue. It contains over 300 integrations and supports plans for efficiency campaign delivery. 

Klaviyo Best Features

• Test different versions of SMS messages using A/B testing to determine which is more likely to perform better.
• Segment your audience based on different demographic criteria to send more targeted messages.
• Send and receive SMS messages with your leads and customers.
• Customize your brand’s SMS messages using customer information such as historical purchase behavior, name, and location.

Klaviyo Limitations

• Klaviyo has a limited free plan, which only allows users to send 150 SMS messages per month, which is not sufficient for growing Shopify brands.
• Its advanced features may be overly complex and difficult to understand, especially for brands without prior experience with SMS automation tools. These advanced features also require users to contract an agency to adopt them. 

Klaviyo Pricing:

• Depending on the number of contacts your business needs to contact on a monthly basis, Klaviyo’s monthly pricing can vary from $45 to $3,870 per month. 

Klaviyo Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (1014 reviews)
• Shopify App Store 4.0/5 (1,861 reviews)

3. Attentive

Attentive specializes in conversational SMS solutions that allow businesses to send product updates, promotional offers, and more. It is equipped with more than 100 integrations and is popular for its customer service solutions. 

Attentive Best Features

• Send targeted SMS messages to communicate product updates and announcements.
• Have two-way conversations with your potential and existing customers through SMS.
• Set up automated SMS messaging timelines based on specific customer behavior. This can include welcome messages, order updates, and more. 

Attentive Limitations

• Attentive smart-sending time period is 8 hours. This means that SMS contacts who have received a message from your brand within the previous 8 hours will be skipped. This can limit the total number of messages you are able to send a customer or lead per day.
• This platform has limited customization options, particularly for its free plan.

Attentive Pricing

• Pricing information is not publicly available.

Attentive Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.8/5 (482 reviews)
• Shopify App Store 3.7/5 (21 reviews)

4. Postscript

Postscript is a Shopify-integrated SMS campaign tool designed to help e-commerce platforms execute their SMS marketing strategies. It offers four distinct plans with varying features and platform fees. 

Postscript Best Features

• Grow your subscriber list efficiently to be able to send the right message to specific customers at the right time. 
• Build campaigns and add external media.
• Set up automation to increase efficiency. 
• Integrate SMS strategies with email, loyalty programs, and reviews. 

Postscript Limitations

• Postscript has a limited number of custom fields that users can use.
• This platform uses a credit pricing system, which means that international SMS require additional credits.

Postscript Pricing

• Postscript offers four distinct tiers of pricing plans. The first tier is free with limited features. The other three tiers include various services such as customer success management, onboarding, support channels, and more. 

Postscript Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.9/5 (159 reviews)
• Shopify App Store 4.9/5 (1937 reviews)

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5. Omnisend

Omnisend is an SMS marketing solution popular for its effective customer service and intuitive user interface. One of its most unique features is its seamless migration from competitors such as Klaviyo and Mailchimp.

Omnisend Best Features

• Resend SMS campaigns without manual interference.
• Use pre-configured SMS messages, subject lines, and workflow settings.
• Leverage two-way SMS communication with contacts.

Omnisend Limitations

• Omnisend’s free plan only allows users to send up to 60 SMS messages per month.
• This platform lacks the advanced automation features present in other SMS marketing tools.

Omnisend Pricing

• Depending on the number of contacts your Shopify brand has, the pricing of this platform can vary from $59 per month to $1914 per month. 

Omnisend Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (849 reviews)
• Shopify App Store 4.8/5 (5502 reviews)

6. Recart

Recart is an SMS platform that focuses on helping Shopify businesses access efficient SMS marketing services. It is popular for being relatively more cost effective than other SMS marketing solutions.

Recart Best Features

• Set up automated campaigns that send messages based on triggers and pre-defined schedules
• View real-time analytics for your Shopify SMS marketing campaigns. 
• Leverage AI tools to develop and improve SMS content
• Take advantage of stringent regulatory compliance measures.

Recart Limitations

• Recart does not provide users with the ability to track customer journeys. 
• Recart is only available for Shopify ecommerce stores.
• Recart’s SMS features are only available through a bundle with its email marketing solutions. This is not ideal for businesses with established email marketing strategies and tools.

Recart Pricing

• Recart’s starter 3-month plan starts at $345 per month and can go up to $1149 per month.

Recart Ratings and Reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (6 reviews)
• Shopify App Store 4.8/5 (5477 reviews)

How to Choose an SMS Marketing Platform

1. Define Your Objectives

Before you choose from the available SMS marketing solutions available in the market, you need to decide if the platform you select aligns with your brand’s short-term and long-term goals. 

Is your primary goal to increase Shopify leads or to retain your existing customers? How often do you plan to use the platform? Digital transformation goals and the right SMS marketing software can help your business achieve are improving employee experiences, improving scheduling, optimizing reporting and more. 

Researching common objectives pursued by businesses using such marketing platforms can aid you in two ways:

1. Connecting to an objective if you already have one in mind.
2. Borrowing an objective if you haven't defined one yet.

Research has shown that 29.46% of companies have cited efficiency as their main goal for purchasing operational software. From increasing website visits to your e-commerce platform to shortening your sales team response time, setting specific and measurable goals will help you decide which SMS campaign tool is the right fit.  

2. Evaluate Features and Functionality

What will your business be using the SMS platform for? Will you use it to send abandoned cart reminders or to update your customers about order and delivery statuses? Only 13% of businesses allow customers to respond to SMS messages? Is this one of your business’s priorities?

Common features and use cases for your ideal SMS marketing platform include: 

• Segmentation and Targeting
• Opt-out management 
• Analytics and reporting 
• Abandoned cart emails

Once you know what the various use cases for your ideal SMS platform are, you will be able to select a tool that provides the capabilities to achieve your long-term objectives. 

Prepare a list of features and functionalities that your business needs to achieve your overall SMS marketing goals. What features will make or break your Shopify brand’s success in the long term? You should also consider the level of support that each platform provides and to what degree each tool is able to operate without requiring manual intervention. 

This step will help you compare the features and pricing that each solution provides and choose one that aligns best with your exact needs and preferences. 

3. Assess Your Budget

The pricing of different SMS marketing software can vary significantly based on different subscription plans and available features. Consider the scale and exact requirements of your Shopify brand, as well as the features you need to drive successful SMS marketing campaigns. 

Retail e-commerce brands can experience a return of up to 300% on their investment in SMS marketing. Specify your business’s available budget and narrow down available SMS platforms based on different price ranges. 

Consider these factors to create a budget that drives results:

1. Brand Size: SMS marketing budgets typically vary depending on your business stage. Smaller brands might allocate a smaller percentage of their marketing budget to SMS, while larger brands with established audiences may dedicate a higher percentage.
2. Campaign Goals: Are you focused on driving sales, increasing customer engagement, or promoting brand awareness? Understanding your goals will help you prioritize features within your chosen SMS platform.
3. Target Audience Size: The number of subscribers you have directly impacts your budget. Platforms often offer tiered pricing based on subscriber volume.

Here's a breakdown of how budget allocation might differ based on brand size:

1. Emerging Brands: Focus on core features like sending basic text messages and managing subscriber lists. Look for cost-effective platforms with pay-as-you-go options or low monthly fees.
2. Growing Brands: As your audience expands, consider features like segmentation, automation, and analytics. Look for platforms with features that support growth and budget for a mid-tier subscription plan.
3. Established Brands: Prioritize advanced features like two-way messaging, rich media messaging (MMS), and integrations with other marketing tools. Invest in a premium platform with robust features to maximize campaign effectiveness.

By understanding these factors, you can narrow down your SMS platform options based on features and price range, ensuring you get the most value for your budget.

Start SMS marketing with Plivo CX Engage 

Plivo CX Engage is a powerful SMS marketing software that can provide your Shopify brand with everything it needs to achieve tangible success through SMS marketing. Our platform is equipped with powerful and industry-leading features such as customer segmentation, AI-generated messages, intelligent SMS sending, and much more. 

Partnering with Plivo CX Engage for your SMS marketing needs will help you communicate with existing contacts, grow your marketing list, scale and optimize lead generation cycles, and more. This will help your e-commerce business craft and deliver powerful messages that leave a long-lasting impact on your audience and translate to increased revenue. 

Ready to finally use the best SMS marketing tool currently available? Book a demo to learn more about Plivo CX Engage’s powerful features and capabilities.

The ability to swiftly and effectively support customers is paramount for business success. An efficient customer support team improves brand reputation, boosts customer retention, generates referrals, and increases long-term profitability.

Intercom is a popular AI-driven customer service solution. Apt for large enterprises, SMBs, and startups, and has features like AI chatbots and automation, CRM integrations, custom agent workspaces, and robust knowledge base creation. 

Despite its many advantages, Intercom’s effectiveness depends on factors such as the size of your customer support team, short-term and long-term goals, and budget. Intercom might not be the right solution for every business and falls short in many areas:

• Does not offer enhanced monitoring and supervision capabilities
• Fails to deliver the expected level of customer support
• Does not integrate with home-grown systems
• Pricing can be prohibitive, especially as the number of agents increases

As a customer service operations manager, keep reading if you're well aware of Intercom’s limitations and looking for alternatives in the market that align with your customer service goals. 

This blog post delves into 10 Intercom alternatives, their features and limitations, and pricing plans to help you find the best fit for the job.

What are the key features to consider in Intercom alternatives?

When reviewing your options:

• Look for transparent, scalable pricing solutions to fit your budget without sacrificing quality
• Choose a tool known for its intuitive interface, user-friendly design, and customization options
• Consider whether a platform specializes in your industry or offers niche-specific features
• Identify essential features you genuinely need without being overwhelmed by unnecessary functionalities
• Evaluate the level of support provided, including availability, responsiveness, and resources like knowledge bases

10 Top Intercom Alternatives to Consider 

1. Plivo CX Service

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Plivo CX Service is a cloud contact center solution that elevates customer service with AI. It allows you to integrate email, voice, live chat, SMS, email, and WhatsApp into a single platform—working multiple channels to support your customers simultaneously.

Powered by Plivo, it offers reliable calling and messaging capabilities, enhancing agent productivity and enabling real-time coaching opportunities.

Plivo CX Service reduces the need for live agents by over 50% with OpenAI-powered chatbots, making it a strong contender for Intercom alternatives. What sets it apart as the best Intercom alternative is the easy-to-use web-based application for Mac and Windows, a drag-and-drop customer journey builder, and local and toll-free numbers in 50+ countries. 

Plivo CX Service best features

• Allows you to use customer data to automatically route customers to the most appropriate agents with Contacto Voice; also enables self-select for quicker routing, shorter wait times, and faster resolution 

• Enables agents to send a photo or link while on a call to the customers with Contacto SMS/text messaging; resolves issues faster

• Contacto Whatsapp helps deflect common questions to automated responses with powerful bots in WhatsApp

• Natively integrates live chat with your mobile app to help your agents give the best response every time with snippets using Contacto Live Chat

Plivo CX Service limitations

• Does not have features related to quality assurance and workforce management 
• Does not have a mobile version for support agents

Plivo CX Service pricing

• Growth: $32/user/month
• Business: $59/user/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

Plivo CX Service ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

Plivo CX Service is best suited for

Midsize businesses looking for a scalable and affordable solution for SMS messaging and telephony services

2. Cloudtalk

Cloudtalk is a VoIP business calling solution used by sales and support teams that automates workflows and increases your team’s calling efficiency and performance with built-in analytics.

Moreover, your customer support team can speak to the callers first and determine what they need, routing them based on agent skills, custom fields, and CRM or helpdesk info.

This Intercom alternative operates in 160+ countries, allowing you to improve your pick-up rates by making local calls from anywhere globally.

Cloudtalk best features

• Helps agents structure their calls with customizable notes, call scripts, and questionnaires
• Allows labeling phone calls and tracking metrics like interactions, goals, and outcomes
• Disconnects and blacklists unwanted spam calls immediately

Cloudtalk limitations

• Unstable performance noticed in the Cloudtalk iOS app, widespread crashes in using features like "callback"
• Difficult to access live support due to time zone differences
• Customer service is supported only through voice channels

Cloudtalk pricing

• Starter: $25/user/month
• Essential: $30/user/month
• Expert: $50/user/month
• Custom: Custom pricing 

Cloudtalk G2 rating

• 4.3/5 (800+ reviews)

CloudTalk is best suited for

Small teams with basic call routing needs, customer service centers, and sales teams

3. Avaya

Avaya’s Experience Platform is a cloud contact center solution that supports customer communication across multiple touchpoints, from voice and video calls to chat messaging.

It gives your agents a 360-degree view of the customers from both your on-premises and cloud interactions. This Intercom alternative offers a simple, flexible, secure cloud experience with worry-free upgrades, support, and administration. 

Avaya is used by businesses in the healthcare, education, financial services, and public sectors for their remote contact centers to manage customer interactions. 

Avaya best features

• Flexible cloud deployment models match varying business needs, whether it’s entirely cloud-based, hybrid, or an on-premises solution
• Offers collaboration tools like instant messaging, video conferences, ring groups, and file sharing, maximizing contact center performance
• Empowers agents and supervisors to be the best at what they do with in-call monitoring and live coaching tools.

Avaya limitations

• Innovation and feature roll-out is slow
• Setting up, customizing, and managing the platform can be complex and may require specialized skills or resources
• There can be challenges when interfacing with older systems or third-party applications not directly supported by the platform
• Since the platform is not built cloud-first, a lot of features available in the on-premise software are unavailable in the cloud version

Avaya pricing

• Custom pricing 

Avaya G2 rating

• 4.1/5 (100+ reviews)

Avaya is best suited for

Enterprises that need a customizable and sophisticated communication solution

4. Aircall

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Aircall is a phone and communication platform for improving productivity, customer service, and team collaboration.

On top of common features like call routing and recording, queue callback, and AI-generated call summaries, your contact center agents can create and share select contacts with their team so everyone can follow the conversation.

Benefit from the one-click setup from this Intercom alternative’s admin dashboard and manage all settings in one place.

Aircall best features

• Hosts up to five people in the same live conference call with Aircall’s VoIP calling solution
• Streamlines internal communication and better assigns tasks to your agents with Aircall’s shared inbox
• Allows you to send, receive, and manage SMS text messages between you and your contacts for personalized conversations

Aircall limitations

• Does not have additional support capabilities like helpdesk, knowledge base
• The platform lacks flexibility since the rudimentary workflow designer cannot be used to create custom journeys
• Text integration in Aircall with Hubspot CRM could be improved with the automatic ticketing system that Aircall generates
• Occasional call quality issues, where calls can be choppy or experience dropped connections, have been reported

Aircall pricing

• Essentials: $30/license
• Professional: $50/license
• Custom pricing: 25-licenses minimum 

Aircall G2 rating

• 4.3/5 (900+ reviews)

Aircall is best suited for

Medium-sized businesses looking for an easy-to-use cloud-based call center solution with excellent CRM integrations

5. RingCentral

RingCentral Contact Centre is an easy-to-use cloud-based communications system for customer support teams and contact centers. It is equipped with the most standard features, including audio conferencing, unlimited calling, and video meetings.

This Intercom alternative has a centralized portal for agent activity to manage inbound and outbound conversations easily. RingCentral is ideal for large businesses with multichannel communication.

RingCentral best features

• Enables you to gamify incentives to boost agent performance and encourage learning and development
• Shares reports summarizing agent availability, call traffic fluctuations, and training progress
• AI-powered tools like automated call scorecards, feedback modules, and keyword tracking

RingCentral limitations

• Limited to generic calling usage across functions
• Slow at innovating and rolling out new features
• Delayed customer support due to differences in the time zones
• The system is complex and requires training for setup
• Lacks features that cater to the needs of the support team, like a customer’s past interaction history

RingCentral pricing

• Custom pricing 

RingCentral G2 rating

• 3.9/5 (700+ reviews)

RingCentral is best suited for

Midsize businesses that want comprehensive cloud communication platform with an extensive feature set and reliability

6. Genesys Cloud

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Genesys is a cloud platform that provides enterprise-grade communications, collaboration, and contact center management capabilities on a global scale.

This Intercom alternative helps you transform your customer experience, no matter where the conversations start or end, across digital channels like email, text, chat, and social media. Genesys offers AI-powered agent assistance and native CRM integrations for business optimization.

Genesys Cloud best features

• Delivers deep analytics and reporting features built into the user interface
• Integrates all critical apps with off-the-shelf functionality or custom-built solutions when needed
• Comes with self-service options like speech-enabled IVR, voice bots, and chatbots, empowering customers to interact with you when and how they choose

Genesys Cloud limitations

• Requires engaging an implementation partner, so setup and maintenance are expensive
• Customizing customer journey workflows is a complex and time-consuming process
• The default application capabilities, such as agent assistance, voice transcriptions, surveys, and reports, are limited
• Eventually costly due to numerous add-ons added for system customization
• Since the platform is not built cloud-first, a lot of features available in the on-premise software are unavailable in the cloud version

Genesys  pricing

Genesys offers five types of pricing plans:

• Genesys Cloud 1 (Voice): US$75 per month
• Genesys Cloud 2 (Digital): US$95 per month
• Genesys Cloud 2 (Digital + Voice): US$75 per month
• Genesys Cloud 3 (Digital + WEM): US$75 per month
• Genesys Cloud 3 (Digital + WEM + Voice): US$75 per month

Genesys G2 rating

• 4.3/5 (1300+ reviews)

Genesys Cloud is best suited for

Enterprises looking for a robust, scalable cloud contact center solution

7. Zendesk

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Zendesk is one of the oldest customer service platforms in the market, with a unified agent workspace. It enables customer support reps to converse with customers on any channel, whether email, chat, WhatsApp, or Apple Business Chat.

Shared inbox tracking, knowledge base management, and comprehensive reporting are the other capabilities offered by Intercom alternative. From large enterprises to startups, Zendesk serves 160,000 global customers in 30+ languages. 

Zendesk best features

• AI-powered bots support customers with natural, human language in a tone set by you
• Allows you to easily customize a live chat widget to match your brand colors, get access to unlimited chat history, and format direct messages the way you like
• Robust tools like routing, CSAT ratings, time tracking, and service level agreements ensure your agents never miss any request

Zendesk limitations

• Slow response times from the support team, taking hours or even days for basic inquiries
• Zendesk does not offer conversational support - the outdated ticketing system makes customer service cumbersome
• Complicated processes for adjusting subscription levels, such as adding or removing users, with up to 60 days notice required for some changes

Zendesk pricing

Zendesk offers four pricing plans:

• Suit Team: $55 per agent per month
• Suit Growth: $89 per agent per month
• Suit Professional:$115 per agent per month
• Suit Enterprise: Talk to sales

Zendesk G2 rating

4.3/5 (5799 reviews)

Zendesk is best suited for

Midsize businesses seeking a strong customer service software with seamless integration into their support and sales pipelines

8. Talkdesk

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Talkdesk is an AI-powered cloud contact center platform that transforms customer experiences, dramatically reduces costs, and supercharges operational efficiencies. Enable multichannel communication and personalize and automate workflows for your agents.

This Intercom alternative comes with 70+ pre-built CRM and collaboration tool integrations. Customize and scale your platform with AI apps within Talkdesk to boost agent productivity and optimize customer journeys.

Talkdesk best features

• Delivers high reliability and call quality, backed by an enterprise-grade uptime SLA
• Comes with 30+ security certifications, including SOC 2 and 3, ISO 27001, PCD DSS Level 1, HIPAA, and GDPR
• Offers flexible cloud contact center deployment options; store key data in the region of your choice for compliance

Talkdesk limitations

• Needs an additional primary helpdesk software to manage and capture customer interactions
• Lacks features to provide omnichannel support
• Lacks the flexibility to customize workflows and ticket organization to accommodate unique operational styles
• Does not provide sufficient guidance and resources during the onboarding and setup process

Talkdesk pricing

• CX Cloud Digital Essentials: $85/user/month
• CX Cloud Essentials: $85/user/month
• CX Cloud Elevate: $115/user/month
• CX Cloud Elite: $145/user/month

Talkdesk G2 rating

• 4.4/5 (2100+ reviews)

Talkdesk is best suited for

Midsize companies requiring a cloud contact center solution with strong AI and analytics capabilities to improve customer service efficiency

9. Five9

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Five9 is a cloud-based contact center solution integrating advanced features such as an automated dialer, comprehensive lead management, and detailed reporting tools.

With a focus on optimizing call management processes, Five9 aims to improve efficiency and effectiveness in handling customer interactions. 

This Intercom alternative’s cloud software architecture delivers flexible application and storage capacity and can scale rapidly on demand.

Five9 best features

• Enables agents to be more effective on the phone by giving them more time with live prospects
• Helps maximize agent productivity by increasing the amount of connections they can make with customers with predictive dialing solutions
• Real-time and historical reporting, recording, workforce management (WFM), quality monitoring, and CRM integrations creates consumer-centric omnichannel experiences 

Five9 limitations

• Has an outdated UI
• Needs an additional primary helpdesk software to manage and capture customer interactions
• Lacks features to provide omnichannel support
• Users have reported a rise in unwanted or unclear calls since switching to Five9, indicating potential issues with call filtering or management
• Defaults to a callback option that provides insufficient information for the user to understand the context of the callback

Five9 pricing

• Digital: $1499/month
• Core: $149/month
• Premium: $169/month
• Optimum: $1999/month
• Ultimate: $229/month

Five9 G2 rating

• 3.9/5 (300+ reviews)

Five9 is best suited for

Midsize contact centers that need a comprehensive, cloud-based solution

10. Dixa

Dixa is a customer service platform that enhances how businesses interact with customers by providing a unified view of multichannel communications, including phone, email, chat, and social messaging.

This Intercom alternative includes popular call functionalities such as IVR (Interactive Voice Response), click-to-call, call recordings, intelligent routing, and analytics.

Dixa also provides tools for tracking team performance, analyzing and auditing customer interactions, and coaching agents when necessary.

Dixa best features

• Smart algorithms and agent priority feature automatically ensure the most qualified agents handle the most critical conversations first
• Helps track and improve team performance with easy-to-read dashboards and built-in QA
• Gives access to customer account information, historical conversations, and company documentation in one unified, detailed view

Dixa limitations

• Does not offer native support for text/SMS channels
• The current system for transferring calls or interactions appears to be restrictive, as users cannot communicate with someone in a different queue without transferring the customer call directly to them
• When customers use the chat feature on a website, agents currently cannot see what part of the website the customer is viewing

Dixa pricing

• Essential: $49/month
• Growth: $109/month
• Ultimate: $169/month
• Custom: Contact sales

Dixa G2 rating

• 4.2/5 (300+ reviews)

Dixa is best suited for

Medium to large businesses focusing on customer friendship platforms

Maximize Your Customer Service Capabilities with Contacto

Selecting the right Intercom alternative could improve your customer support capabilities, optimize workflows, and yield insightful data.

Book a complimentary demo with our team if you are specifically keen to learn about Plivo CX and whether it aligns with your immediate requirements and can scale as your business grows. We will take you through all its features and answer your queries.

Businesses must effectively manage customer interactions across channels while keeping costs low.

As a customer support leader, the challenge lies in finding the perfect inbound contact center software that can evolve and meet the requirements of the modern-day customer. 

With customers expecting seamless interactions, omnichannel customer engagement solutions are the need of the hour. However, integrating new inbound call software with existing CRM systems can be a complex and time-consuming process that often increases implementation costs and potential disruptions. 

So how can you deliver exceptional CX while optimizing business revenue and keeping overhead costs low? 

Using comprehensive market research, industry data, and data-driven insights from actual customers, we’ll explore the top inbound contact center solutions to find which platform works best for you. 

What is Inbound Contact Center Software? 

Inbound call center software allows companies to manage their incoming customer calls efficiently without having a physical call center space. Your customer support team needs a laptop, headphones, and a reliable internet connection to solve your customers’ queries. 

Advanced inbound call center solutions can route calls to the appropriate agents or departments based on the customer's inquiry, whether it's a support query, sales inquiry, or any other customer interaction. This ensures that your customer’s needs are addressed promptly and efficiently. 

Happy customers equal higher net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction score (CSAT), agent handle time (AHT), and first call resolution (FCR). These core key performance indicators (KPIs) will result in loyal customers, increased revenue, and better customer service, influencing customers' purchasing decisions and helping you outwin competition.

The inbound call software you choose will be the first point of contact for most customers, which means it plays a vital role in shaping their perceptions of a brand. The right software will improve customer satisfaction and loyalty and become a business-critical growth driver. 

Must-Have Features of Inbound Contact Center Software

When choosing an inbound call center solution, you should look for several key features:

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR): It allows customers to interact with the company’s system via voice or touch-tone keypad. It can provide automated responses to common inquiries or route calls to the appropriate department, thereby reducing wait times and improving customer support  
• Call Queuing: This ensures incoming calls are directed to the most suitable agent or team based on pre-established rules and criteria. An effective call-routing process can speed up call resolution times and improve customer satisfaction

• Omnichannel interactions: Customers expect seamless omnichannel interactions across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat, social media, and SMS. An inbound contact center software that enables efficient management and integration of disparate customer channels is a must for customer-centric brands

• Workforce management system (WFM): It helps with forecasting call volumes, scheduling staff, tracking key performance metrics, and managing real-time compliance. WFM can significantly improve operational efficiency and agent productivity

• Analytics and reporting: Allows customer support leaders to collect real-time data about the performance of their call centers. It can help identify trends, monitor agent productivity, and make informed decisions to improve operations
• Third-party integrations: Choose software that integrates well with your existing systems and tools such as the CRM you use 
• Support: Reliable customer support is essential. Make sure your inbound call software provider offers responsive and helpful support

Metrics that Skyrocket When you Invest in the Right Inbound Call Center Software

Investing in inbound contact center software can bring numerous benefits to your business:

1. Improves customer retention: By providing quick and efficient customer service, you can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, leading to higher customer retention rates
2. Enhances agent efficiency: Features like call routing and IVR can reduce the agent workload, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks that require human intervention and improve overall efficiency
3. Streamlines operations: Inbound call center solutions can automate many routine tasks, leading to more streamlined operations and lower operating costs
4. Enhances inbound call management: With features like call recording and real-time analytics, gain valuable insights into your inbound call traffic and improve your call management strategies

5 Best Inbound Contact Center Software Solutions 

1. Plivo CX

Plivo CX’s inbound call center software is designed to revolutionize your customer interactions. Effortlessly manage high call volumes, route calls to the right agents, and deliver exceptional service across all channels. Additionally, the seamless integration of data from different platforms solves a big challenge customer support leaders often face—data silos. 

It can be a useful tool in your CX arsenal with the power to delight customers across multiple channels without losing the human touch. 

Plivo CX key features

• Consistent and personalized customer support service across multiple channels, including voice, email, chat, social media, and SMS; with all platforms in sync
• Smart call routing ensures that calls reach the most qualified agent reducing wait times and boosting customer satisfaction 
• Reduced wait times and improved customer satisfaction during peak hours with Plivo CX's call queuing feature, decreasing customer wait time and call abandonment
• Leverage real-time call center data to identify trends, monitor agent productivity, and make data-driven decisions that optimize operations
• Streamline your workflow by integrating business systems into a unified communications screen, putting essential data at your fingertips
• Access and update relevant customer information seamlessly within Contacto, thanks to two-way API integration
• Empower your agents to multitask seamlessly with Contacto's concurrent messaging capabilities
• Uncover valuable growth insights by leveraging internal notes and conversation dispositions within Plivo CX's reporting dashboard

Plivo CX limitations

• Lacks features related to quality assurance and workforce management

Plivo CX pricing

• Growth: $29/user/month
• Business: $69/user/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. LiveAgent

LiveAgent tackles high-volume customer interactions across multiple channels with its versatile software suite. Ticketing systems, knowledge bases, search widgets, and mobile apps, empower businesses to deliver exceptional service. 

LiveAgent key features

• Build interactive voice response (IVR) systems with LiveAgent's IVR Designer Tool, even without technical expertise. This tool allows you to record or upload audio directly within the IVR tree for a seamless creation experience
• Store and analyze past interactions for training resources with unlimited call recordings 
• Gain valuable customer insights with the screen pop feature, which automatically displays relevant information when a live agent receives a call 

LiveAgent limitations (taken from G2)

• LiveAgent's interface can be a bit complex, with a learning curve 
• Issues with the mobile app's functionality impacting the ability to manage tasks efficiently. This hinders responsiveness and flexibility in customer service delivery
• Lack of direct integrations with popular CRM systems and other applications creates a gap in the user workflow. This requires workarounds or additional tools that don’t work well with the inbound contact center software

LiveAgent pricing

• Small: $9/agent/month
• Medium: $29/agent/month
• Large: $49/agent/month
• Enterprise: $69/agent/month 

LiveAgent reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.5/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (1000+ reviews) 

3. Zendesk

Zendesk stands out in the inbound call center software market, emphasizing simplicity and efficiency and making customer service operations smooth and hassle-free. The preferred inbound call center solution for enterprise-level businesses. 

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Zendesk key features

• Distribute calls based on agent skills, availability, and workload with Zendesk's smart call distribution feature 
• Make data-driven decisions that go beyond providing real-time data with insightful reporting and analytics 
• Omnichannel agent workspace to organize customer data 

Zendesk limitations (taken from Capterra) 

• Occasional bugs within the call functionality impacts call quality and user experience
• Cumbersome admin panel management due to separate systems for managing tickets and automations/workflows

Zendesk pricing

• Suite Team: $55/user/month
• Suite Growth: $89/user/month
• Suite Pro: $115/user/month
• Suite Enterprise: Custom pricing
• Suite Enterprise Plus: Custom pricing

Zendesk reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (5000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (3000+ reviews) 

4. Nextiva

Nextiva is an AI-powered inbound contact center software. Users save up to 50% of the time per interaction with the AI-powered voice and chatbot. The auto transcription feature reduces agent note-taking, allowing your agents to focus on high-priority tickets. 

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If your customer support team caters to customer communications through SMS, voice, chat, email, video, and social media, Nextiva’s unified platform simplifies agent experiences and interactions across channels. 

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Nextiva key features

• Replace multi-level phone menus with automated call flows using advanced IVR technology featuring speech recognition and text-to-speech
• Gain rich customer insights with the screen pop feature that automatically provides relevant information when a live agent receives a call
• Transform routine interactions into natural exchanges with Nextiva's conversational AI add-on

Nextiva limitations (taken from G2 & Capterra)

• Lacks diverse integration options with other third-party apps
• Users experience difficulty with account management. Grasping the nuances between various account types (user, team, extensions) and their relationship to phone numbers is complex

Nextiva pricing

• Custom pricing

Nextiva reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.5/5 (3000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (90+ reviews) 

5. Aircall

If you’re looking for a call center solution that integrates with your helpdesk and CRM to fetch customer/user details and take away manual labor, Aircall is the solution for you. Get weekly analysis on customer wait times and keep track of the activity fee in real time to see the calls coming through. 

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Aircall key features

• Collaborate seamlessly with Aircall's shared call inbox feature that ensures no customer query goes unanswered 
• Effortlessly manage customer relationships with Aircall's contact management features—easily assign, tag, and add comments to contacts
• seamlessly integrates with popular CRM systems like Salesforce and HubSpot, providing a unified customer service experience

Aircall limitations (taken from G2)

• Stability issues with the application requires agents to close and reopen to resolve problems, thus disrupting workflows and impacting customer service delivery
• Lacks call handling flexibility as it doesn’t direct incoming calls to employee voicemails

Aircall pricing

• Essentials: $30/user/month - minimum 3 users
• Professional: $50/user/month - minimum 3 users
• Custom: Custom pricing

Aircall reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (900+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (400+ reviews) 

Use an Inbound Contact Center Software to Manage Customer Interactions at Scale 

An inbound call center solution is like a Swiss Army Knife—it improves customer satisfaction and customer support agent’s productivity. 

We recommend signing up on Plivo CX if you’re a small or mid-sized business or an e-Commerce/Shopify brand. 

With its human-centric and intuitive platform, agents can provide scalable customer service, and customer support managers can improve CX KPIs.

Selecting the ideal call center cloud software isn't easy: surging operational costs, aging infrastructure, and juggling multiple vendors are some of the challenges. Elements like scalability, integration, and customer support are important. 

Here, we are spotlighting five standouts: Plivo CX, Genesys Cloud CX, Talkdesk, Zendesk Support Suite, and Nice CXone. Each excels in providing crucial features like real-time analytics, AI-driven chatbots, and versatile multi-channel support. 

Must-Have Features in a Cloud Call Center Technology 

Let's dive into the essential features that separate outstanding cloud contact center solutions:

• Seamless omnichannel support: Service customers on channels they prefer with integrated interactions. Whether it's via phone, email, chat, or social media, the goal remains the same—uninterrupted communication. Look for a platform that centralizes these channels to empower meaningful customer engagements.
• Voice bot, Chatbot and Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Boost your team's efficiency by automating 50-60% of customer service requests with voice bots, chatbots and IVR. Creating automated frameworks to collect and handle customers’ queries, reduces agent workload and speeds up resolution times. Choose a cloud based call center technology that lets you design IVR logic flows, and automate bots using rule-based and conversational AI. 
• Routing: Smart routing is your ally, steering customer interactions smoothly to the right agent based on a matrix of factors, and ensuring every call becomes an opportunity for resolution and connection.
• Empowering tools for agents: Modern agents need modern tools—screen sharing, knowledge base access, and call recording are the hallmarks of an empowered customer support team
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): Look for a cloud call center solution that allows you to automate the majority of your customer queries. Only the most complex queries that require human intervention reach your support agents. Even in that case, the AI should serve as a sidekick to your support reps, providing them with the necessary information that will help them to answer customer queries quickly and easily.
• Real-time monitoring: Real-time monitoring lets you see contact center metrics and KPIS of everything—calls, chats, emails—at once. With one central hub, you can provide live coaching to agents, spot trends, and satisfy customers.
• Reporting: Unlock hidden customer insights with comprehensive reporting features! Opt for a call center cloud software that helps you gain insights with historical reports, analyze recordings & transcripts for quality checks, and use performance data to give feedback to agents 
• Integrations: Your call center software cloud software should integrate with CRM, ERP, and other third-party apps for a unified view of customer data and streamlined operations.
• Scalability: Choose a cloud-based call center technology that innovates quickly, thus allowing you to scale your business requirements and not lag behind the evolving industry landscape.
• User-friendly software: Usability and customization should not be an afterthought. Opt for a platform that resonates with your team's expertise and can be tailored to your specific business needs, strategies, and workflows.
• Pricing and ROI: Choose a pricing model that aligns with your budget and usage patterns and offers higher ROI.
• Vendor reputation and support: Ensure your cloud call center solution is reputed, with stellar uptime and speed, even during software updates.

Top Cloud-Based Call Center Technology Solutions 

Now, let’s zoom in on the top cloud call center solutions and examine what they bring to the table.

1. Plivo CX

Plivo CX triumphs with a unified platform, where managing customer interactions is streamlined and intelligent. It focuses on simplicity and AI-powered automation to improve customer experiences and agent efficiency. 

Plivo CX’s cloud-based call center technology is ideal for medium and enterprise-level B2C and eCommerce brands with a multichannel presence.

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Plivo CX features

• Facilitates seamless omnichannel customer care by managing all interactions through a unified agent desktop and eliminates tool juggling
• Builds and deploys AI-powered bots to answer basic questions, deflect calls, and resolve simple issues, freeing up agents for complex inquiries
• Conversation analytics scores allow agents to gain real-time insights into customer emotions during interactions, allowing them to tailor responses and proactively address concerns
• Plivo CX integrates and holistically interacts with home-grown systems as well as popular CRM, ERP, and helpdesk systems for a unified view of customer data that interacts with each other
• Drag-and-drop workflow builder helps you build custom user journeys across all business communication channels thus streamlining customer interactions
• Smart routing feature to route calls, chats, and emails to maximize team efficiency, reduce resolution times, and improve customer satisfaction

Plivo CX limitations

• Does not offer features that aid in quality assurance and workforce management

Plivo CX pricing

• Chat only: $19/user/month
• Growth: $29/user/month
• Business: $69/user/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Plivo CX ratings 

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Genesys Cloud CX

Genesys Cloud CX is designed to forecast, collaborate, and automate, setting the stage for stellar customer service. It is used by enterprise organizations that need a deeper level of customer support, including helpdesk, contact center management, and digital channel management.

Genesys Cloud CX features

• AI-powered forecasting helps anticipate call volume and agent needs, allowing you to proactively schedule and optimize staffing, leading to better resource allocation and reduced wait times.
• Built-in collaboration tools like video conferencing and knowledge base access empower agents to deliver better customer service.
• Cloud IVR solutions designed to automate queries and facilitate self-service, thereby reducing the support team’s workload.

Genesys Cloud CX limitations

• Lack of features in Genesys Cloud CX makes it rank lower than their on-premise counterpart
• AI automation is outdated with the platform supporting only rule-based bot workflow builder

Genesys Cloud CX pricing

• Cloud 1: $75/user/month
• Cloud 2: $95 to $115/user/month
• Cloud 3: $135 to $155/user/month

AI Experience is available at an additional cost starting at $40/month

Genesys Cloud CX reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4 /5 (200+ reviews) 

3. Talkdesk

Talkdesk's cloud-based call center solution provides businesses with tools that optimize call routing, enable in-depth analytics, and streamline workforce management for enhanced efficiency and productivity. 

This call center software cloud platform is preferred by financial services and insurance, government and education, manufacturing, and healthcare and lifesciences that require workforce engagement management and employee collaboration in addition to omnichannel engagement. 

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Talkdesk features

• Agents can place calls directly from their helpdesk, CRM, eCommerce platform, or website, streamlining communication.
• Configurable multi-level IVR ensures callers are directed to the right support team.
• Real-time generative knowledge and automatic interaction summaries improve your customer support team’s productivity and reduce average handle time.

Talkdesk limitations

• AI capabilities for text conversation channels lack the competency of AI for voice 
• Features for chat channels added to provide omnichannel support lack finesse, for example, the messaging interface doesn’t have automatic refresh, which hampers productivity 

Talkdesk pricing

• Essentials: $75/user/month
• Elevate: $95/user/month
• Elite: $125/user/month
• Experience clouds: Custom pricing

Talkdesk reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.4/5 (2000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (700+ reviews) 

4. Zendesk Support Suite

Zendesk Support Suite provides mid-sized businesses with an omnichannel experience by combining ticketing and customer support capabilities. Known for its simplicity and ease of use, Zendesk's cloud call center software integrates with many third-party apps. 

If your business extensively uses multiple business sources for the flow of information, Zendesk is the contact center platform of choice. 

Zendesk Support Suite features

• Route inquiries across channels like phone, email, chat, and social media to the most qualified available agent based on skills and availability, ensuring efficient resolution.
• Efficient ticket handling feature allows your team to prioritize urgent tickets, thus ensuring prompt resolution of critical issues.
• Self-service hub where customers can find answers, ask questions, and connect with each other. This reduces agent workload and fosters peer-to-peer support.

Zendesk Support Suite limitations

• Issues with uploading and exporting data 
• Limitations and difficulties in implementing basic processes

Zendesk Support Suite pricing

• Suite Team: $55/user/month
• Suite Growth: $89/user/month
• Suite Pro: $115/user/month
• Suite Enterprise: Custom pricing
• Suite Enterprise Plus: Custom pricing

Zendesk Support Suite reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (5000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4 /5 (3000+ reviews) 

5. Nice CXone

Nice CXone is a cloud-based call center technology offering a clutter-free interface and detailed insights. The secure, robust IVR system and the user-friendly, browser-based Max agent interface allow agents to maintain focus. 

Typically, industries such as healthcare, telecom, and BPO (business process outsourcers) use Nice CXone. 

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NICE CXone features

• Session recording provides invaluable insights into customer interactions with comprehensive call, chat, and screen recordings. Enhance agent performance by identifying improvement areas, analyzing trends, and coaching agents.
• NICE CXone's CCaaS offers crystal-clear voice quality and global reach. Enhance customer satisfaction with flexible routing, real-time analytics, and workforce optimization tools.
• Schedule and route calls to agents intelligently with skill-based routing. Automate the process of forecasting call volumes and proactively assigning agents, minimizing waiting times and ensuring smooth operations.

NICE CXone limitations

• Initial setup, data transfer and implementation is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process that warrants extensive support
• Takes a long time to implement and deploy features 

NICE CXone pricing

• Digital Agent: $71/user/month
• Voice Agent: $94/user/month
• Omnichannel Agent: $110/user/month
• Essential Suite: $135/user/month

NICE CXone reviews and ratings

• G2: 4.3/5 (1000+ review)
• Capterra: 4.2/5 (500+ reviews) 

Scale your Business with Plivo CX’s Call Center Cloud Software 

Choosing the right cloud-based call center technology is critical. Beyond features, pick the solution that threads through your business operations seamlessly, empowering your agents and surpassing customer expectations. 

Plivo CX has a suite of impressive functionalities. Robust features such as a unified agent desktop, real-time conversation analytics score, transcription, drag-and-drop flow builder, custom APIs, integrations, and automation promise a fully realized eCommerce environment.

So why wait? 

Take the next step towards a cloud-powered future with Plivo CX. Sign up today.

Two myths about SMS marketing are that it's intrusive and expensive.

But is it intrusive?

With mailboxes flooded by marketing emails, now more than two in five consumers want to hear from brands through SMS. In fact, consumers from ages 25 to 54 prefer to communicate with brands via SMS over email. SMS is a viable marketing channel. 

Now, is it expensive? 

In this post, we will break down SMS marketing costs, all contributing factors, and how you can build a cost-effective campaign. 

TL;DR: Using CoEngage, you can send a text message in the US for as little as $0.0095 per SMS. More on this later. 

10 Factors That Influence SMS Marketing Costs

Many factors contribute to SMS marketing costs, majorly campaign size, location, and the provider you choose. Here are the top aspects that influence costs:

1. Location

Firstly, the pricing will vary depending on the location of the consumers you are targeting. For example, CoEngage users can send one SMS at a cost between $0.0095 and $0.013  to US consumers. There are additional carrier fees, which will be explained in the next point. 

2. Carrier Fees

Mobile carriers are service providers that deliver messages. Popular mobile carriers are AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. These providers charge a small price called carrier fees, which are added to the SMS cost. 

3. Message Type

If you opt to send an MMS with media images, videos, or GIFs instead of a text message, then the charges can go slightly higher. For instance, for CoEngage users, the cost of sending MMS ranges between $0.029 and $0.039.

 4. Target Audience Size

The more consumers you reach out to, the higher the cost. The pricing scales with the volume of the contact list. 

5. Message Volume

Beyond the contact list, the number of text messages you plan to send in a month also significantly impacts the overall cost. Providers offer different pricing plans based on message volume. Assess your expected volume in advance to choose the right package.   

6. Provider Charges

The cost of SMS marketing largely depends on the service provider you choose and the pricing plans they offer. Three common types of pricing models are:

• Pay-as-you-go: You pay based on message volume and features used.
• Subscription: You pay a flat subscription, which includes a fixed message volume and features in it. 
• Hybrid: You pay a flat subscription for a certain message count limit. After exceeding the limit, pay-as-you-go pricing is enabled, and you are charged based on the message volume. 

Compare the pricing models across different providers based on your expected volume and features. Find a provider with a pricing model that fits your budget and requirements.

7. Phone Number Type

SMS marketing rules are getting stricter to save consumers from spam. You would need a registered number for business text messaging. Below are three main phone number types that you can use for texting:

• Long code: Long code is your usual 10-digit number that looks like a standard phone number. Example: (415) 555-XXXX. Due to the familiar format, messages from these numbers look more personalized and are effective for smaller SMS messaging campaigns. They allow two-way messaging so they can accept replies from consumers.
• Short code: Short codes are typically 5 to 6-digit numbers assigned by carriers for sending and receiving SMS messages. They are often used for mass notifications, marketing campaigns, and customer support. Shortcodes are relatively expensive compared to long-code and toll-free numbers. 
• Toll-free numbers: Toll-free numbers are a hybrid between short codes and long codes. Toll-free numbers support two-way communication, allowing businesses to engage in interactive SMS conversations with their consumers. Toll free is more cost-effective than short codes.

Tip: With CoEngage, you can get a phone number toll-free for free. We are waiving off the toll-free registration charges for all our users. 

8. Keyword Costs 

An SMS keyword is any word or phrase your consumers can text back as part of a campaign. For instance, If you are planning a Thanksgiving campaign, you can ask consumers to reply 'Thanksgiving' keyword to learn more about the offers. 

SMS keywords are usually used for opt-ins and to get a heads-up from consumers if they are further interested in any particular campaign. SMS marketing providers often charge for the usage of any specific keywords.  

9. Customer Support

Another factor that impacts the cost of SMS marketing is the type of support you expect from the provider. SMS marketing providers offer different pricing plans, each with varying levels of customer support. For instance, basic plans usually provide no customer support, mid-level plans may have email or chat support, and enterprise versions can have onboarding or 24*7 support. 

10. Advanced Features and Customization Options

SMS marketing providers can also offer advanced features like segmentation, personalization, AI support, analytics, etc. These features help in designing an effective campaign. The catch is these features could be included in their existing pricing plans or may come at an extra cost. Check for the below features and their pricing before making the decision. 

• Does the provider allow the segmentation of users into smaller groups with specific attributes such as age, gender, location, purchase history, address, etc?
• Does the provider support automation to trigger SMS automatically at a predetermined time or in response to any user action?
• Does the provider have an analytics report capturing KPIs like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and opt-in and opt-out rates?
• Does the provider offer any AI features for campaign support?

Additional Costs To Consider | SMS Marketing Pricing

Below are additional features that can impact SMS marketing costs. While some of these features may be available in the existing pricing plans, some of them could be chargeable. 

1. Integration

Does the SMS marketing provider offer all the necessary integrations? A few must-haves are integration with other platforms like Customer relationship management (CRM)  tools, eCommerce tools, or other marketing tools. Are the integrations available for free, or do you need any enhanced functionality (which is chargeable)?

2. Compliance 

Does the SMS marketing platform follow all compliance and legal considerations? For example, in the US, businesses must follow the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It is a federal law to safeguard consumer privacy. It prohibits marketers from sending any marketing messages if the consumer has not given prior consent. The law also provides timings in which businesses can send marketing messages, i.e., between  8:00 AM and 9:00 PM local time. 

While the SMS marketing providers do not charge separately for compliance, it's important to assess different platforms to find which one is compliant. 

3. Subscribe List Maintenance

SMS marketing providers have a limit on the consumer list in different plans. For instance, the CoEngage starter plan captures 5000 contacts. On the other hand, the pro plan allows unlimited contacts.

4. A/B Testing and Optimization Costs

Another additional cost in the pipeline is the cost of testing campaigns before the actual launch. It includes sending sample emails with different subject lines and content to optimize the campaign before the launch. 

5. Response Handling Costs

Two-way communication or handling responses from consumers may incur additional charges. This includes maintaining opt-in/opt-outs and managing customer responses. If you wish to integrate these responses into your existing systems and store them in CRM or customer support platforms, it may further increase the costs.

How To Calculate ROI on SMS Marketing Campaigns

Calculating return on investment (ROI) for SMS marketing campaigns is assessing how much profit you gained against the investment made. 

The steps to calculate ROI are:

1. Determine total revenue: Find the total revenue generated by the campaign. For example, the number of conversions, purchases, etc. 

2. Define campaign cost: Sum up all costs associated with the SMS campaign. It includes SMS marketing platform fees and any additional expenses.

3. Determine net profit: Find your profit against the investment by subtracting campaign cost from the revenue.   

Net profit= Total revenue - Total campaign cost

4. Calculate ROI: You can calculate ROI with a simple formula.

ROI = (Profit/Campaign cost)*100

Let's understand with an example. You planned an SMS marketing campaign in which you sent promotional emails to 15000 contacts using the CoEngage growth plan (priced at $79 per month). Out of 15000 contacts, 800 consumers made a purchase of $50 each.

Total revenue = 800*$50 = $4000

Campaign cost = $79

Net profit = Total revenue- Campaign cost = $4000 - $79 = $3921

ROI = (Net profit/Campaign cost)*100 = (3921/79)*100 = 4963.29%

Plan Cost-Effective SMS Marketing Campaigns With CoEngage

CoEngage offers a generous growth plan for small and medium businesses with up to 25000 contacts at just $79 per month. And Enterprise versions with unlimited contacts started at just $199 per month. Get in touch with our team to design the most cost-effective SMS campaigns.

For more than a decade, contact centers have been integral in helping organizations and key stakeholders address customer needs and influence their perception of the company’s brand, products, or services. 

Undeniably, its role in delighting customers is growing, and at the same time, today’s contact centers have to adapt to changing customer behavior. 

Findings from a McKinsey case study show that more than half of B2C customers engage with five to six digital channels before they make a purchase decision or resolve a request. This means contact centers must use multiple digital channels to engage with customers. 

That’s where a multichannel customer care strategy allows companies to integrate multiple channels within the agent desktop, enabling contact center agents to handle multi-channel customer interactions. This saves them the gruntwork of spending unnecessary time logging into different systems to manage multiple channels separately. 

Throughout this article, we discuss the top providers of multichannel contact centers, their key features and cons, and help you decide which is best for your business needs. 

What is a Multichannel Contact Center? 

A multichannel contact center is a cloud-based customer service solution integrating different communication channels into one platform. It helps businesses and customer support teams assist customers through channels where the audience resides, including SMS, voice, email, and social media. 

Your customer service agents must be available on multiple channels to fulfill this demand and ensure quick, easy, and seamless customer service. 

What are the Key Features of a Multichannel Contact Center?

A multichannel dashboard

The dashboard is where your agents access the different communication channels, voicemails, call logs, and reports. The channels are usually located on the left-side menu. New activity triggers a notification that agents can click to go to the relevant channel, whether it’s voice, SMS, WhatsApp, or email.

During active calls, the dashboard displays customer interaction history, contact details, order history, and options to change channels.

Advanced dashboards also include AI tools that provide canned responses and educational resources from the company knowledge base to assist customer support agents.

Call queueing

Call queuing puts all the inbound calls into a virtual queue and creates a waiting list for your customer support agents. This allows for:

• More organized call management
• The prevention of agent burnout
• Insight into important customer service metrics like the average wait time

Agents can view who’s in the queue, how long they’ve been waiting, and the expected wait time before responding to a caller.

Advanced multichannel call center software has an automated callback feature that notifies callers when an agent can answer their queries.

Routing and IVR

Multichannel contact centers have built-in routing and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menus. Automatic call distribution (ACD) automatically directs customers to the best-suited agents across different channels, depending on the issue. 

IVR lets customers self-resolve basic issues when call agents are unavailable or direct themselves to a queue, announcement, or agent based on their speech or dial tone.

Integrations with third-party apps

Multichannel contact centers integrate with CRM tools (like Zoho and Salesforce), team communication systems (like Slack), and information databases (like AirTable) for real-time flow of information between the contact center software and the other business systems your organization uses. 

Auto-dialer 

An auto-dialer automatically calls leads and analyzes their responses.nIf it detects a human, the call is transferred to an available agent. If it detects voicemail, a pre-recorded message is left for the lead to follow up on.

Why Set up a Multichannel Contact Center? 

Get advanced contact center insights

Multichannel contact centers offer analytics and reports that help you monitor:

• Queue activity 
• Customer behavior
• Team productivity 
• Call volumes
• Customer satisfaction levels

This information helps you understand how well your business is performing, which channels are more popular, and what problems are common among your customers. 

Improves customer service experience 

Salesforce reports that 90% of buyers believe a business's experience is as important as its products or services. Customer service is an important aspect of this experience.

With multiple communication channels, customers can choose the channel they prefer to contact your business, making customer service convenient and personalized. 

Improve agent morale and performance

Multichannel contact center software not only improves customer service but also simplifies the job of your customer support agents. 

A centralized dashboard summarizes all communication channels and customer profiles, enabling agents to respond to clients without monitoring multiple platforms or digging around for important information. Auto dialers and IVR menus are multichannel contact center features that reduce your team’s workload. 

The Top Multichannel Providers In 2024

1. Plivo CX

With Plivo CX’s multichannel customer service contact center, multichannel success is no longer overwhelming or an unachievable aspiration. 

If you’re an eCommerce brand on Shopify, Plivo CX lets you focus on multichannel journeys and provide personalized attention by unifying chatbots, live chat, SMS, and WhatsApp into one conversation. 

To enable businesses to deliver a cohesive customer experience at every touchpoint, Plivo CX has native voice capabilities, which means you don’t need to engage with third-party vendors for in-call features. 

As the best multichannel contact center provider, the additional capabilities of web and in-app chat embedded directly into your website or mobile application let customers interact with you directly while they shop and post-purchase. 

Key Features

• Inbound and outbound calling is complemented with data-driven routing (which directs callers to the most appropriate agent based on their information) and a programmable IVR for shorter wait times
• You also get toll-free numbers in 50+ countries and call recordings for training and quality assurance purposes
• SMS support that allows you to send messages while on call with a caller. You also get drag-and-drop workflows for proactive updates to reduce inbound support
• Offer WhatsApp support with automated responses to common questions and data-enhanced bot conversations
• AI-powered chatbots are capable of sending and receiving documents and photos for faster issue resolution
• Native integrations with nine popular third-party apps, including Shopify, Zendesk, Zoho, HubSpot, and Salesforce
• A drag-and-drop interface helps you build automated customer journey workflows

Limitations

• Lacks features related to quality assurance and workforce management

Pricing

• Growth: $19/user/month with 2000 chat sessions per agent and unlimited SMS
• Business: $39/user/month with 3000 chat sessions per agent and unlimited SMS
• Enterprise: 4000 chat sessions per agent and unlimited SMS. You’ll have to request a quote for pricing

Channels supported 

Voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Gladly

If you’re looking to ditch tickets and transition your support reps into revenue drivers and growth champions, Gladly is your AI customer service platform for multichannel support.

Combine the strengths of your contact center agents and AI-powered personalized self-service to free your agents from redundant tasks and focus on creating loyal customers. 

Ecommerce and B2C businesses with an omnichannel shopping experience use Gladly to consolidate multiple contacts from individual customers and increase the response time. 

Key Features

• A unified dashboard shows every customer conversation in a single place regardless of the channel, offering agents a complete history of customer interaction
• AI features help you reply to messages, summarize conversations, and generate marketing copy
• Gladly Sidekick offers a personalized self-service experience across multiple digital channels

Limitations (G2)

• Overwhelming user interface 
• No dark mode or color-blind support
• For a small business with limited, implementing Gladly can be a cost-deterrent 

Pricing

• Hero: $180/agent/month with multi-channel communication, unified customer view, a centralized knowledge base, and more
• Superhero: $210/agent/month with customer reporting, 99.9% uptime, and premium support

Gladly CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (895 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.8/5 (123 reviews)

Channels supported: Voice, email, SMS, social media, live chat

3. Kustomer

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If you’re in an industry like insurance that needs a unified communication system for cross-functional teams to collaborate and have visibility into the various customer interactions that different teams manage, Kustomer is an enterprise-level multichannel contact center solution for you.

With native integrations, teams get a real-time data stream which the business intelligence team uses to build their reporting. Whether through phone, SMS, email, or chat, you shouldn’t leave knowledge gaps with customer communication and Kustomer helps you do that with AI-powered customer service CRM. 

Key Features

• A timeline view displays each customer interaction in chronological order
• An easy-to-navigate, searchable, and SEO-friendly help center that you add to your app or website to reduce the burden on your agents
• KIQ Customer Assist is an AI tool that responds to customer queries in a conversational tone using only information from your knowledge base

Limitation (G2)

• Integrated tools like Shopify load slowly inside Kustomer
• Customer satisfaction surveys are sometimes missing and have to be searched for
• Frequent downtime

Pricing

• Enterprise: $89/user/month with multi-channel communication, voice provider integration, proactive service, and more
• Ultimate: $139/user/month with real-time user supervision, enhanced routing, real-time dashboards, and more

Channels supported: Chat, social media, email, voice, and SMS

Kustomer ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (411 reviews) 
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (56 reviews)

4. Gorgias 

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Gorgias is an AI-powered customer service platform for Shopify merchants—helping them become an omni-available brand. Automation allows you to provide responsive service on every channel, 24/7, for every question, without hiring extra agents. 

The suite of features, such as Helpdesk, autoresponders, and article recommendations from your help center, saves your team hours each week and offers a great experience for your customers. Your agents will spend less time answering questions, and with the article recommendations, your customers will save time following up. 

Key Features

• AI ticket management prioritizes, assigns, and tags every incoming ticket automatically
• Customer context, such as previous orders, subscription details, and reviews
• Canned responses for FAQs give your agents a headstart and standardize answers

Limitations (G2)

• Limited reporting features
• A steep learning curve
• Automation can be expensive 

Pricing

• Basic: $50/month with 300 monthly tickets
• Pro: $300/month with 2000 monthly tickets
• Advanced: $750/month with 5000 monthly tickets

Channels supported: Email, chatbot, social media, voice, SMS, and WhatsApp

Gorgias ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (507 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (111 reviews)

5. Help Scout

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Think of Help Scout as your unified platform for every customer, vendor, and partner conversation. Built for financial services, SaaS, and ecommerce platforms, Help Scout offers personalized agent support and self-service options for customers to find answers to their questions quickly and easily. 

Use AI to summarize conversations and improve your replies, automation to build customizable workflows, access customer data and their activity at a glance, and integrate with business sources to make your contact center agents’ life easier. 

Key Features

• A shared inbox where your team members collaborate and interact with customers across multiple channels 
• Collaboration features like assignments, private notes, and real-time collision detection ensure only one team member interacts with a customer
• A no-code help center with customizable colors and access control

Limitations

• Lacks support for SMS or voice (Website)
• Buggy workflow automation that doesn’t always work (TrustRadius)
• You can’t ask customers whether your knowledge base articles were helpful (TrustRadius)

Pricing

• Standard: $20/user/month with 2 shared inboxes and 1 knowledge base
• Plus: $40/user/month with 5 shared inboxes and 2 knowledge bases
• Pro: $65/user/month with 25 shared inboxes and 10 knowledge bases

Supported channels: Chat, live chat, email, and social media 

Help Scout ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4 / 5 (403 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (207 reviews)

Your Multichannel Contact Center Search Ends with Contacto

If you’re a small business or an ecommerce store looking to address customer needs and interactions over multiple channels and platforms, Plivo CX is your solution of choice. 

You get an easy-to-use agent for Windows and Mac, a drag-and-drop setup, toll-free numbers in 50+ countries, and SMS and WhatsApp support. Book a demo today!

Once you start using Plivo CX, focus on the popular channels among your customers to avoid getting overwhelmed.

10 Tips for Better Contact Center Management

Contact centers have become essential hubs for businesses aiming to offer exceptional customer service, and each contact center needs a manager to steer the ship.

Mastering contact center management is foundational for fostering a strong customer service team, providing an unparalleled customer experience, and ensuring agent satisfaction.

What is contact center management?

Contact center management focuses on the comprehensive oversight of the center’s operations, from the technologies used in a business’ service motion to the performance of its agents.

Contact center management is a balancing act of ensuring customers have a positive experience while optimizing the performance and satisfaction of agents, and it’s the responsibility of contact center managers to maintain this equilibrium, ironing out any operational wrinkles and guiding their team towards consistent excellence.

Key contact center roles and responsibilities

Contact centers thrive on the synergy between managers and agents, each playing an indispensable role.

What is a contact center manager?

The contact center manager acts as the captain of the ship. They are responsible for training agents, establishing performance metrics, ensuring high-quality service, and creating a positive, productive work environment. The contact center manager’s leadership shapes the overall effectiveness and reputation of the contact center.

What is a contact center agent?

Contact center agents are the ship’s crew, keeping the ship running as it should and acting as the direct link between a business and its customers. Day in, day out, contact center agents interact with diverse customers, answering queries, solving issues, and ensuring each individual feels valued. Their expertise and demeanor directly influence customer perceptions and satisfaction.

10 Tips for effective contact center management

Tip #1: Train agents regularly

A well-informed agent is a game-changer. Continuous training ensures agents are updated with the latest products, industry practices, and communication strategies.

Organizing regular training sessions, like monthly product updates or communication workshops, can bolster agent confidence and equip them with tools for success, enhancing overall agent efficacy.

Tip #2: Use data to make decisions

Data serves as the compass for contact center improvements. By analyzing key metrics such as call durations, customer feedback, or response times, managers can pinpoint areas that need refinement.

This data-driven approach is vital for crafting strategies for success in contact center management and ensuring both agent and customer satisfaction.

Tip #3: Create a positive work atmosphere

The correlation between agent morale and customer satisfaction is undeniable. By cultivating a supportive and engaging work environment, you motivate agents to perform at their best.

Celebratory gestures, like ‘Agent of the Month’ awards or team outings, can uplift spirits and reinforce a sense of community.

Tip #4: Keep communication open

A transparent communication framework is the backbone of efficient operations. It’s essential for agents to feel they can voice concerns or seek guidance without hesitation.

This can be achieved through regular feedback sessions, an open-door managerial policy, and promoting peer interactions, fortifying trust and camaraderie.

Tip #5: Use the latest tech

Incorporating cutting-edge technology can revolutionize contact center operations. Tools like CRM systems not only make processes smoother but also offer agents a wealth of information about customers, allowing for a tailored, efficient service approach.

Embracing current technologies is integral to the modern strategies for success in contact center management.

Tip #6: Set clear goals

As a manager, it’s important to offer transparency in how your agent’s performance is being measured, and to provide attainable benchmarks for success. Clear goals act as roadmaps guiding agents toward exemplary performance.

By defining these benchmarks and revisiting them periodically, managers can provide a structured growth path, catering to agent satisfaction and ensuring they understand their roles and responsibilities.

Tip #7: Listen to customers

Customers’ feedback is invaluable. By actively seeking, analyzing, and implementing their suggestions, contact centers can drastically elevate their service quality.

Regularly engaging your customers and requesting feedback can offer insights into customer satisfaction, guiding refinements and adaptations in your customer service strategy.

Tip #8: Sharpen your skillset

The world of contact centers is dynamic. To stay ahead, it’s imperative to foster a culture of continuous learning and adaptability.

Encouraging agents to attend workshops, partake in courses, or simply share knowledge can invigorate the workforce, driving both personal and professional growth.

Tip #9: Stay flexible

Adaptability is an essential skill for contact center managers. As technologies evolve and customer preferences shift, the ability to swiftly adjust and modify strategies becomes crucial.

A proactive contact center manager always keeps an eye on these trends, ensuring their contact center remains agile and responsive.

Tip #10: Trust your agents

Empowering agents to make decisions not only boosts their confidence but also accelerates issue resolution. Granting them a degree of autonomy, like offering on-the-spot solutions within certain parameters, can streamline operations and significantly enhance the customer experience.

Conclusion

Effective contact center management is an intricate blend of strategy and people skills. Prioritizing both agent and customer needs is the key to unlocking success and growth. Study these contact center management tips and they’ll serve as a comprehensive guide for anyone aspiring to elevate their contact center operations and outcomes.

Looking to level-up your customer service motion? Our cloud contact center offers a simple workspace for customer service teams that seamlessly combines your customer conversations with your existing systems.

Set up some time with us to share your business needs and get started with a free trial.

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