Vendor:
Founded:
Headquarters:
Talkdesk
2011
San Francisco, CA
Customers:
Deployment Model:
Free Trial:
1,800+
Cloud
No
Talkdesk At A Glance
Product Overview
The Talkdesk contact center software is an end-to-end customer experience solution that enables businesses to adapt to the changing needs of their customers. It’s deployed in the cloud, so organizations won’t need to host their own data. Talkdesk also allows companies that want to migrate from on-premise systems to the cloud to do so at their own pace.
Because the software has an intuitive interface, agents can learn to use it quickly. It can also be customized to fit an organization’s exact needs.
Additional benefits of Talkdesk include:
- Self-service options for customers
- A shorter implementation process
- Integration with many applications (e.g., customer relationship management systems, productivity tools)
- Three scalable pricing tiers
Features
Talkdesk has many robust features. Here are some of its key ones.
Voice – Each agent can send and receive calls via their desktop interface. Talkdesk integrates with CRM systems, so agents can get relevant customer information, add notes and click to call directly from that system. The software also integrates with the Callbar web application that lets agents access calls from their mobile devices as well as hold, mute and transfer calls. Other voice features include local caller ID, international numbers, call queues and voicemail management.
IVR/ACD – Talkdesk Studio is an interactive voice response (IVR) flow designer with a visual interface that doesn’t require users to learn any code. It supports an unlimited number of IVR options and comes with prebuilt components that trigger specific call flow actions. The call flow can be enhanced with speech recognition for a hands-free customer experience. There’s also artificial intelligence (AI) functionality that detects errors and performs other optimization strategies within the call flow.
The automatic caller distribution (ACD) receives information from an inbound caller and then routes the caller to the appropriate agent or department (e.g., support calls are routed to the customer service team).
Outbound dialer – This feature includes predictive dialing that filters unnecessary calls, such as voicemails or hang-ups, so agents can connect with a live person more efficiently. Users can import their call lists from a CSV file, CRM or other business systems. They can also create automated notifications that alert the customer proactively if there’s a specific issue (e.g., fraud alerts, appointment reminders).
Omnichannel – Agents can communicate with customers from any channel (e.g., email, text, chat, social media) via the platform. There’s also a social listening feature that detects specific hashtags within posts as triggers and notifies an agent to act on them urgently.
Customer self-service – There are a few ways companies can provide self-service options to their customers. For example, they can set up an AI-powered virtual assistant that intelligently detects keywords in the customer’s questions and then provides an answer. If that doesn’t resolve the customer’s issue or if a question is complex, the assistant can transfer calls or messages to an agent.
The Talkdesk Guide serves as a knowledge base for both customers and agents. Users can create new articles with the drag-and-drop interface and collect content feedback from others. An AI-powered recommendation engine automatically ranks articles based on prior interaction and provides feedback on content improvement.
Workforce engagement – Supervisors can create budget plans and forecasts that address future staffing needs and schedule shifts based on agent skills and availability. The performance management feature lets supervisors monitor their call center’s performance in real time, and they can also analyze the tone of voice in a call that picks up specific phrases or words. Additional performance management features include a dedicated employee portal for managing daily tasks, custom scorecards that evaluate agents, script monitoring, coaching instructions on a call via Slack and customer feedback collection.
Reporting and analytics – Users can access real-time data and metrics via the Talkdesk Live dashboard, identify trends using key performance indicators (KPIs) and act on issues quickly. In addition, the Talkdesk Explore business intelligence tool can analyze a large amount of data and includes prebuilt and customizable reports and dashboards. Users can drill down into the data and send ad-hoc or scheduled reports. There’s also a speech analytics feature that analyzes calls to detect customer issues.
Target Market
Talkdesk is mainly intended for enterprise organizations, but it can also be used by small and midsize businesses. We’ve listed 10 of its clients below.
- Discovery Education
- Dropbox
- IBM
- The Motley Fool
- PBS
- Peloton
- Stitch Fix
- Tuft & Needle
- The Weather Company
- Wounded Warrior Project
Implementation/Integration
As mentioned, Talkdesk offers businesses the option of moving to the cloud at their own pace. There are two options: Talkdesk xConnect and Talkdesk Boost. With the Talkdesk xConnect option, businesses can migrate to the cloud but still keep their on-premise telephony systems. They can also work with their preferred telecom provider. The Talkdesk Boost option gives organizations access cloud while retaining their on-premise ACD system. In addition to these options, Talkdesk has a public cloud/private cloud hybrid for companies that prefer that approach.
Because the implementation methodology is tailored to each client, Talkdesk has a discovery phase to discuss the client’s needs and requirements and develop a deployment plan. Clients can also opt to work with the vendor’s implementation partners for a custom implementation plan.
Talkdesk integrates with over 60 systems out of the box, such as Slack, Salesforce, Zendesk and Google. Clients can also integrate the software with 50 additional call center applications (e.g., workforce management, analytics) through the AppConnect Marketplace. The AppConnect Marketplace has a 30-day free trial, then users can purchase one of its pay-as-you-go plans.
Customer Service & Support
Users can browse articles in the knowledge base, submit ticket requests or contact support by email. In addition, they can brush up on the software’s features via the Talkdesk Academy Training portal or work with a dedicated Customer Success Manager who can provide recommendations on software optimization and best practices.
Pricing
There are three pricing tiers, which start at $65 per seat, per month. Please contact Talkdesk directly for a more specific price quote.
The three tiers are:
Professional – This tier is intended for small and midsize businesses and includes features like ACD, IVR, real-time dashboards, self-service SDK, integration to over 60 applications and access to over 50 AppConnect partners.
Professional Plus – This tier targets larger companies and include the features from the Professional tier, plus mobile functionality for agents, SMS customer surveys and integration to business intelligence software.
Enterprise – This tier is intended for companies with complex requirements and includes the features of the other two tiers, plus unlimited call recording, 100% uptime SLA, custom reports and dashboards, advanced application integration and the Studio Functions module (an extension of routing functionality with low-code editor).
Users can also purchase any of these optional add-on features: omnichannel, workforce management, quality management, speech analytics, a virtual agent, an AI-powered knowledge base, PCI-compliant payment and Salesforce Smart SMS. Pricing is not available, so please reach out to Talkdesk for a quote.
Shortcomings
Some users have mentioned issues with call connectivity and quality, such as spottiness or dropped calls. In addition, users have stated that they would like additional customizable reporting options.
Screenshots
About
Talkdesk’s mission is to help enterprise organizations provide a better customer experience with an adaptable contact center software. It serves over 1,8000 customers and 30,000 users in over 50 countries. Talkdesk has earned numerous awards from esteemed companies, including Gartner, Frost & Sullivan and Forrester.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has additional offices in Lehi (UT), Portugal and London.
