Call Center Meaning: Definition, Types & How It Works

Definitions:

The difference between call centers and contact centers lies in the scope and diversity of services offered. Call centers focus exclusively on phone-based interactions, while contact centers use multiple communication channels, reflecting the evolution of customer service needs and technology.

Key Difference of call center and contact center:

1. Call Centers:

– Phone-Centric: Operate exclusively through inbound and outbound phone calls.
– Types of Calls: Handle customer inquiries, technical support, complaints, telemarketing, and customer retention.
– Personal Touch: Provide direct voice communication, offering a personal approach to customer service.

2. Contact Centers:

– Omni-Channel Communication: Integrate phone, email, text, social media, live chat, and voice over IP.
– Self-Service Tools: Utilize technologies like chatbots and knowledge bases to reduce agent workload and enhance customer satisfaction.
– Broader Agent Skillset: Agents need to be proficient in both verbal and written communication across multiple platforms.
– Advanced Technology: Employ omnichannel routing, analytics, and customer data integration to streamline operations and improve service.

Why the Difference Matters:

– Comprehensive Engagement: Contact centers provide enhanced customer engagement by offering multiple channels of communication, which is crucial in today’s digital landscape.

– Personalization and Efficiency: The multi-channel approach allows for more personalized, efficient service, gathering comprehensive customer data for improved interactions.

– Evolving Skillsets: Contact center agents require a wider range of skills, including multitasking and managing digital interactions, unlike the more specialized role of call center agents.

– Technology-Driven: Contact centers rely on advanced technology like analytics and omnichannel routing, providing deeper insights into customer behavior and optimizing service delivery for modern customer needs.

Types of Call Centers at a Glance

• Inbound call centers: handle incoming customer calls, support, orders and queries.
• Outbound call centers: make outgoing calls for sales, collections and surveys.
• Automatic Call Distributor (ACD): the system that routes each call to the right agent.
• IVR: the menu system that greets and directs callers before they reach an agent.

For the full picture, see our call center software guide.

FAQ

What does “call center” mean, in simple terms?

A call center is a dedicated team, with the phone lines and software behind it, that handles a business’s calls at scale. In plain English, it’s the place, physical or virtual, set up to answer or make phone calls on a company’s behalf, rather than routing them to whoever happens to be free at a desk.

Is a call center the same as a BPO?

Not quite. A BPO, or business process outsourcing company, can run many services, payroll, data entry, back-office processing, of which a call center is just one. A call center specifically deals with phone-based customer interaction, and it can be run in-house or handed to a BPO.

What is the difference between a call center and a contact center?

A call center only handles phone calls. A contact center handles phone calls plus email, chat, social media and messaging, all from one system, so agents don’t lose context switching channels. See the comparison above for the full breakdown.

What technology powers a modern call center?

At minimum, a phone system, an IVR to greet and route callers, and an ACD to send each call to the right agent. Most modern call centers add a CRM for caller context and a reporting layer to track metrics like first call resolution and handle time.