Home » The Complete Guide For Using Call Recording Services Effectively

The Complete Guide For Using Call Recording Services Effectively

Customer and client satisfaction is important for the effective running of any company. And so, as a business owner, you must put sufficient effort into creating reliable and strong client relations. It should be evident that you care for your customers and their concerns. To do so, pay attention to how your employees interact with these prospects. Is your correspondence thoughtful and leading to some end? Are you targeting the right audiences? Are customers satisfied at the end of a call? One way to ensure calls meet these benchmarks is to use call recording to identify strengths and weaknesses.
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In this guide, you can explore what call recording is and how they can make running a business more efficient and productive. Continue reading or choose the section that's most relevant to you.
  1. 1. History of Call Recording
  2. 2. Business Communication
  3. 3. How to Record Calls
  4. 4. Infographic
  5. 5. How To's
history

History of Recording Calls

Even though call recording is a relatively new technology, some form of recording existed as early as the 1900s. Let’s have a brief look at how this tech has evolved over the years into what we have today.

The Patent That Started it All

Before the 1900s, the human voice could not be recorded. But, in 1903, the “Telephone Answering Machine” patent created by Theodore and Carl Freese was filed. This was the first patent on record addressing and acknowledging the recording of communications. Their device could record sounds waves on a wax disk. However, the invention was not popular in its time due to difficulty of use and limited recording capacities.

Next Came Tape Recorders

Decades later, tape recorders were invented and used primarily in air traffic control centers and military vessels. The purpose here was to record conversations and directions. These devices were huge and needed a team of professionals to work them. But nonetheless, these devices provided users an opportunity to replay past conversations, have a direct reference, and the ability to “go back in time.” Having this ability was extremely useful when trying to determine the root cause of a problem or misunderstanding. However, tape recorders needed to be further developed. They needed to be smaller and record higher quality audio as well as store more information, and as a solution, the digital recorder was born.

Digital Recorder

So far, recordings were stored in a tangible item: wax disks or physical tape. But digital recording changed that. Digital recorders convert voice into numbers and stores it and then translates it back to audio so that users can listen. And these come in smaller sizes and with sufficient storage space. Additionally, you don’t have to maneuver complicated technology and get lost in tapes or disks.
Choosing Your Business Number

Call Recording Now

Digital recording still exists but in different forms for different purposes. For example, we now have access to cloud technology and, by extension, cloud storage. And so, there is more space to keep your recordings safe. And devices with recording capabilities are faster, more efficient, and more user-friendly. Here are some different instances where a call recording software is used:
  • Storing important information that needs to be referred to later
  • Conducting phone interviews
  • Noting business transactions and correspondence
  • Collecting feedback and surveys

Call Recording: A Business Communication Tool

Oftentimes, companies may run into trouble for not keeping proper records of their customers or for not remembering a conversation accurately. And, it is not always feasible to make notes while on a call. This is where call recording comes in handy. When calling certain companies, you may have heard the phrase: “This call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes.” This is because the business has decided to record their calls for future reference.

This feature or service gives users the ability to record incoming and outgoing calls. You can record calls manually or automatically using call recording apps, software, or recording gadgets. However, call recording software is most preferred by large corporations due to the added benefits that come with automatic recording capabilities. Call recording:

  • Provides client records
  • Enhances customer service
  • Improves employee productivity
  • Enables companies to maintain full compliance through recorded transactions
  • Acts as evidence to protect from liabilities, and more.

There are many reasons to opt for this business communication feature; let’s have a look at a few.

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Keep Track of Callers

Call recording can help keep track of incoming and outgoing calls and the purpose of each call. Call centers or businesses with high call volumes may experience overwhelming call activity. So, it is useful to record calls as one can refer to details or information stored within the recording. And, most call recording software allows recorded calls to be saved as audio files either on the user’s device, email, or the software itself. This makes past conversations easy to access.

Execute Call Quality Assurance

Consider this example: You are the manager of a call center and you notice a dip in the number of sales being closed. You train your employees again, but still, there seems to be no improvement. How do you begin to identify what or where the problem is?

Here, having the ability to go back in time and review a bad call can provide insights into issues faced. Essentially, businesses may choose to record customer calls to analyze the quality of the call. This, in fact, is the most common use of this feature. You can study the way your agents are interacting with the person on the other end of the call. And then determine what to change and or what strategies are working. For example, are customers responding well to the script being used? Or, is your agent’s talking speed impeding the sale? Or, is the agent too slow when pitching the product? Was your rep able to clearly explain the product and answer questions?

Review recordings to train new and old employees to do a good job. In the midst of hundreds of calls, it is easy to lose track of the small details. Recordings can bring those details to light and make reps aware of their errors. On the other hand, you can also highlight successful calls and strategies you want agents to repeat. Encouraging and acknowledging strengths can motivate employees to put in every effort needed.

Conduct Market Research

market researchCall recording can also become a part of your marketing efforts. For instance, imagine you just started a new company, developed your product, and hired necessary personnel. Now, you wait for the sales to come gushing in. But they’re too slow for your taste. How can you improve? Are you putting your efforts in the right place? Do you need to rethink your marketing strategy?

Listen to recorded calls to get an idea of what callers’ preferences and habits are. How are they responding to your product or to specific questions? Where are your callers calling from, and is it the place you intend to target? How did prospects come across your service and what prompted them to call or do business with you? Or, why are they choosing certain products over others? These questions will lead you to understand whether you are marketing your product in the right place or whether it is targeting the right audience, and so on. You can also learn what makes clients say, “No, I don’t need this right now” or what times of day they prefer talking. Or, you can identify the main issues customers face while using your product.

Basically, you can establish the strength of what you sell by paying attention to how customers are reacting to it. And that information is priceless because it can tell you what is successful and what needs to be changed.

Avoid Liabilities

It is common for companies to face lawsuits for a variety of reasons. Miscommunications, inappropriate behavior, and scamming can become a huge problem for a business. Such disputes can stem out of misunderstandings or someone trying to make easy money and can lead to expensive lawsuits. And at times, determining who is at fault can be difficult. In such cases, having evidence of a transaction or correspondence is useful. Call recording software can serve this purpose by reducing the company’s liabilities and protecting it from costly lawsuits by functioning as a valuable asset.

How to Record Your Phone Calls

There are a few different ways to record a phone conversation for business purposes. And these methods depend on the type of office phone system your company runs on. Consider this: do you have a high outgoing call volume and therefore need to record outbound calls? And so, will a mobile call recording app work or do you need a more sophisticated recording software? Or, can you benefit from an automatic recorder that records all calls? Global Call Forwarding’s “Call Recording” feature, for example, records 100% of calls and this percent can be adjusted.
how to record calls
Based on your needs, you can choose to get a mobile/desktop app, recording device, or purchase the feature from your phone service provider. Keep in mind, phone apps don’t always have high-quality recordings. And recording devices can be too cumbersome to use, interrupting the call. Call recording software, therefore, is your best bet.

And an effective way to get a call recording software is to purchase it with your virtual business number. Virtual numbers route calls over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. And this makes it easy to attach other communication tools to your phone line for a reasonable price. For example, you can direct incoming international calls to your personal number without paying high international charges. But more importantly, you can add call recording as a feature to your phone service plan. Then, you can access all your calls, call activity, recordings, and more in one place.

Call Recording Laws

While call recording is an important business communication resource, it is highly essential to note that there are federal and state laws regulating this service. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the United States and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the European Union are the two main regulating bodies. Make sure you are aware of your country, state, and city’s call recording rules so that you don’t run into any trouble.

call recording Infographic

Try Recording Calls for Easy Business Correspondence

Recording calls has become increasingly popular for businesses due to the positive benefits that come with the feature. Start now and enhance your customer interaction with this service. Contact us to see how we can help with your business communication needs and begin recording important calls today!

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How to Record Your Phone Calls

Time:
Takes About 2 minutes
Description:
Steps getting call recording software and start recording calls.
Necessary Items:
Computer or Smartphone
image step 1
Choose a Phone Service Provider
Research phone service providers offering call recording as a feature. Consider what they have to offer and how your business can take advantage of their service. Along with call recording, Global Call Forwarding offers many other useful features that can help boost your communications.
image step 2
Start the Sign-Up Process
Once you decide which provider to go ahead with, go to their sign-up page to select the type of number and service you want.
image step 3
Select Your Country
Global Call Forwarding has a basic sign-up process which can be easily accessed on the website’s homepage. From the dropdown box on the left, select the country for the number you want to purchase.
image step 4
Choose Number Type
Then, pick the type of number and desired prefix you want. For example, Global Call Forwarding offers toll free (mobile accessible), universal toll free (UIFN), mobile, or national numbers.
image step 5
Choose the New Number
After picking the country and prefix, pick your new number from the next dropdown box with available options.
image step 6
Enter the Number You Want to Forward Calls to
Next, enter the information about the number you want your calls forwarded to. Select your country and enter the destination number.
image step 7
Review and Choose Your Plan
Look at the different plans available for your purposes and select one that suits your business best.
image step 8
Add Call Recording
Here, you can add “Call Recording” to make use of this feature. Also, review other additional services offered by the provider that you may need. Global Call Forwarding, for example, offers “Rollover Minutes” free for the first 3 months.
image step 9
Provide Your Contact Information
Finish up by completing the contact info
F A Q | Call Recording

To keep track of client information, to review recordings in the future, for protection against personal and business liability, and to maintain compliance with important regulations.

You can add the call recording feature to your virtual phone service plan when purchasing from Global Call Forwarding, for a small additional fee.

You can record incoming and outgoing calls from the Global Call Forwarding control panel by clicking the record button or by adjusting the settings to record 100%. Calls are recorded and stored as MP3 files.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the United States and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the European Union. For financial institutions, the Dodd-Frank Act and MiFID II legislation.