CRM platforms integrate with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to create a powerful solution that will boost your customer communications. You’ll commonly find this integration in call centers and other organizations that field a high volume of inbound and outbound calls.
Our research shows that 40% of businesses that use CRMs also use VoIP solutions. This isn’t surprising – in doing so, your business can unlock a series of great benefits, including streamlining your day-to-day operations.
In this article, I’ll take you through what a CRM and VoIP integration does, the mechanics of how it works, and what you can look forward to if you decide to join the legion of businesses that are already reaping the rewards.
In this guide:
What is a VoIP Integration for a CRM Platform?
CRM and VoIP integration automatically syncs information between your CRM platform and VoIP solution. It’s particularly valuable for teams or businesses that make a lot of calls, such as sales teams or call centers.
If your business is using CRM, there’s a good chance you’ll also be using VoIP technology. In these scenarios, integrating your VoIP with your CRM platform will free up time and resources that would’ve been spent manually transferring information from one to the other. Alongside this, by automating the process, you’ll also remove the margin for error.
Examples of CRM platforms that integrate with VoIP include HubSpot, Capsule CRM, Agile CRM, and more.
How Do CRM Systems and VoIP Platforms Integrate?
Because these two systems often go hand-in-hand, you might find that the process is very simple. Integrations normally happen through an application programming interface (API), which is basically a set of rules that allow two different programs to communicate with one another.
For example, Zoho CRM integrates with several different VoIP providers, including RingCentral, CloudTalk, Comunik VoIP, and more. Zoho uses a platform called PhoneBridge to handle its telephony integrations. It allows users to make and receive calls from within their Zoho CRM, as well as automating call logging and keeping track of important call details. To get started, follow the steps below:
- Make sure you have an existing Zoho CRM account, and sign up for Zoho Phonebridge by visiting the website and filling out your details.
- There are several Phonebridge plans to choose from. The free plan will get you basic features, including click-to-call, call logging, and call recording. At the other end of the scale, the Enterprise plan, which offers custom pricing, is geared towards larger organizations.
- Configure your VoIP settings to enable integration with Zoho Phonebridge. This will vary from provider to provider, but will usually involve configuring specific APIs.
- Now, you can connect Zoho Phonebridge with Zoho CRM. Navigate to “settings” within Zoho CRM and locate Phonebridge integration settings.
- Once the integration is complete, you can customize your Phonebridge settings to optimize it for your business.
Benefits of Integrating Your CRM with a VoIP
You might now be asking – why are CRM-VoIP integrations so useful? Well, users can unlock a series of great benefits when they decide to pair the two platforms. Below, we’ve outlined some of the biggest.
Deliver a great customer experience
By pairing the two platforms, you can ensure that your communication is aligned with your service, and deliver a top-tier experience for your customer. This will have a positive knock-on effect on your customer loyalty and sales.
Simplify your day-to-day
It will make your life a lot easier, as you won’t have to juggle as many platforms or interfaces. For small businesses, in particular, time can often come at a premium. The ability to place calls from within your CRM will save you time, as well as reducing the margin for error.
Act quickly
With a vast amount of insight at their fingertips, your agents can act swiftly to take advantage of promising leads – before you’re beaten to it by your competitors.
How CRM Systems Are Used by Call Center Teams
Another way to understand the benefits of integrating your CRM platforms with a VoIP provider is to look a little more closely at a specific example of a business team that uses both. As mentioned above, you’ll often find CRM and VoIP integrations in call centers, which have extensive telephony requirements.
In this context, agents use their CRM platform as a huge dataset containing important customer information, such as personal details and where they might fall in the buyer journey. Below, we’ve outlined some of the key ways that call center teams take advantage of VoIP integration for their CRMs.
Manage customer data
Arguably, a business’s greatest asset is its customer data. With this information, you can build up buyer profiles, personalize the customer experience, and ultimately make more money. CRMs aggregate, organize, and store all of this data, giving agents this vital information at their fingertips.
Keep track of relationships
With a CRM platform, you have a complete overview of your relationships with your customers, such as email, phone, and SMS correspondence. Added to this, you can see a history of your customers’ interactions with your brand, including purchases, reviews, and more.
Iterate and improve
By giving you access to a breadth of useful data, CRMs can help you to adjust and make improvements to your service. For example, with a complete picture of your customers, you can further personalize your offering. Sales agents can specifically tailor their strategies for specific customer segments, increasing your revenue and boosting customer loyalty.
Which Popular VoIP Systems Integrate with CRM Platforms?
There are numerous VoIP systems with CRM integration to choose from, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. We’ve highlighted some of our favorites below.
8×8
8×8 is a comprehensive, scalable solution that boasts five tiers, excellent customer support, and a robust feature set. Among its many possible integrations, users can choose between 26 different CRM platforms, such as Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zendesk. You’ll have access to different plugins based on which 8×8 plan you opt for.
8×8 video calling capabilities on full display, with a calendar integration prompt. Source: Tech.co testing
RingCentral
Another one of our top picks here at Tech.co HQ, RingCentral offers a huge range of integrations – over 400, in fact, with no fewer than 140 CRMs. As well as the big hitters identified above, users can opt for the likes of Pipedrive, Redtail, Microsoft Dynamics 365, HappyFox, SalesNexus, and many more.
Scheduling a meeting with RingCentral, with Google Calendar plugin visible. Source: Tech.co testing
Zoom Phone
An altogether more straightforward VoIP solution than the two outlined above, if you’re in the market for a simple, streamlined platform, Zoom Phone could be the answer to your prayers. It also integrates with two of the biggest CRMs on the market – Salesforce and Zendesk. It’s a modest selection, but for a small business, it might be all you need.
Zoom Phone’s voicemail feature offers in-built transcript functionality. Source: Tech.co testing
How to Choose a VoIP Provider to Integrate With Your CRM
So, you’re interested in integrating your CRM platform with a VoIP system. The question is – which one? When it comes to embracing innovation, it can be difficult to take the plunge, especially when it has a tangible impact on your bottom line. The fact that there are so many different options to choose from makes things a lot harder.
Below, we’ve outlined some key points that you should consider when evaluating which VoIP solution is right for your business.
Price
Top of mind for all businesses – no matter their size – you should start by thinking about how much you’re willing to pay for your VoIP solution. As we’ve discussed above, Zoom Phone is a highly affordable option that small businesses will relish. However, it only offers two CRM integrations, so you’re fairly limited in terms of flexibility.
Functionality
Next up, it’s time to think about the kind of functionality that you’re looking for in an integration. With some platforms, for instance, data will automatically sync both ways, meaning that call history information from your VoIP will pull through into your CRM platform. Others may not offer this kind of two-way data transfer.
Scalability
No one knows what the future holds, but it’s a good idea to be prepared for any eventuality. That’s why choosing a flexible VoIP solution is an absolute must for small businesses. The ability to scale up or down depending on business needs will enable your business to thrive in a temperamental environment. As mentioned, this is one area in which 8×8 excels.
Your industry
The type of business that you operate will have a massive bearing on the kind of CRM-VoIP integration that you go for. For instance, a company that carries out a high volume of inbound and outbound calls will need sophisticated calling features, such as a virtual receptionist, call forwarding, transfer, and barge.
Next Steps
By automatically syncing information between your existing CRM platform and a VoIP plugin, CRM-VoIP integrations are a fantastic solution for sales teams and call centers. They enable businesses to deliver fantastic customer experiences, and make your employees’ lives easier by streamlining the outreach process.
VoIP integrations such as RingCentral give you the tools to make calls from within your existing CRM interface, helping you to save time and meaning you don’t have to switch between both platforms every time you want to make a call.
Now, it’s time to apply everything that you’ve learned. Think about what your business needs, and what it can afford, and start looking into viable VoIP options that will integrate with your existing CRM platform. Make sure that you check out our list of the best VoIP providers for small businesses.
If you do, you’ll be rewarded handsomely with an integration that enables you to make more calls, land more customers, and ultimately boost your revenue.