BLOG ยป Call Center vs Contact center: 7 Differences You Must Know
Call Center vs Contact center: 7 Differences You Must Know
- When it comes to customer service, companies often use the terms "call center" and "contact center" interchangeably. However, there are key differences between the two.
- A call center typically focuses on managing high volumes of incoming and outgoing phone calls, with agents primarily using telephones or virtual phone systems to communicate with customers.
- On the other hand, a contact center incorporates a wider range of communication channels such as email, chat, social media, SMS, and video, to manage customer interactions.
- In this article, we will explore seven key differences between call centers and contact centers, helping you to understand which one is best suited for your business needs.
Table Of Contents:
What is a call center?
What is a contact center?
Call center vs Contact center: 7 Differences
Call center or contact center? which is best for your business
Try TeleCMI cloud contact center software
Frequently asked questions
What is a call center?
- A call center is a centralized facility that is set up to manage and handle large volumes of incoming and outgoing telephone calls from customers, clients, and other stakeholders of an organization.
- Call centers are typically staffed with agents who are trained to handle various types of calls, such as customer service inquiries, technical support requests, sales calls, and more.
- They are used by a wide range of organizations, including retail businesses, financial institutions, healthcare providers, government agencies, and many others. They can be operated in-house by the organization or outsourced to a third-party provider.
- Call centers use a variety of technologies to manage calls, such as automatic call distribution (ACD) systems, interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and customer relationship management (CRM) software.
What is a contact center?
- A contact center is set up to handle various types of customer interactions across multiple channels, including phone, email, chat, social media, and more.
- A contact center is similar to a call center, but it incorporates additional channels beyond phone calls to provide a more comprehensive customer experience.
- It may also be referred to as a customer contact center, customer interaction center, or omnichannel contact center.
- It is typically staffed with agents who are trained to handle customer inquiries, provide customer service, resolve issues, and sell products and services.
- Apart from IVR, ACD, and CRM, contact centers use other tools such as conversational AI, email management systems, chatbots, and social media management tools.
Call center vs Contact center: 7 Differences
Difference 1: Communication channels
- The communication channels in call center software are typically limited to voice calls, with agents providing assistance to customers who call in with queries, concerns, or complaints.
- In contrast, a contact center encompasses multiple communication channels, including phone calls, email, chat, social media, and other digital channels.
- It is designed to handle various customer interactions, regardless of the channel the customer uses to reach out.
- Contact center agents may use different tools and software or UCaaS (unified communications as a service) to manage customer interactions across various channels.
- Contact center software also tends to be more flexible than call centers, allowing agents to switch between channels to provide personalized and seamless support to customers.
Difference 2: Scope of services
- Call centers are often organized into teams of agents who are specialized in specific areas, such as technical support, billing, or customer retention.
- Call center agents may also be responsible for making outbound calls to customers, such as conducting customer surveys, upselling, or following up on service requests.
- On the other hand, in addition to handling phone calls, contact centers may also handle customer inquiries via email, chat, social media, and other digital channels.
- They are designed to provide a more seamless and integrated customer experience across multiple touchpoints, allowing customers to interact with the company in the way that is most convenient for them.
- Contact centers are becoming more popular as customers increasingly expect companies to be available on multiple support channels, and as companies recognize the benefits of providing a more integrated and personalized customer experience.
Difference 3: Agent skills
- While there are similarities between the two, there are also important differences in the skills required for agents in each type of operation.
- Agents in call centers are trained to handle a high volume of calls efficiently while maintaining a friendly and professional demeanor.
- They are typically responsible for resolving customer issues, answering questions, and providing information about products or services.
- Call center agents are expected to have excellent communication skills, including active listening, clear speech, and the ability to convey information effectively.
- In contrast, contact center agents are often required to handle multiple channels at the same time, and may need to switch between channels seamlessly.
- Contact center agents must have excellent problem-solving skills, as well as the ability to navigate multiple systems and applications simultaneously.
Difference 4: Pricing
- The pricing of call center and contact center software can vary significantly based on their different features, capabilities, and deployment models.
- Call center software is typically focused on voice communications and is priced based on the number of agents, call volume, and concurrent calls.
- VoIP contact center software, on the other hand, is designed to handle multiple channels of communication and is priced based on a wider range of features, channels, and customization options. In addition, contact centers include advanced features such as omnichannel routing and workforce management.
- Overall, both can be deployed virtually and involves a subscription fee paid monthly, annually, or pay-as-you-go model.
Difference 5: Staff Training
- The training programs for staff in these two types of centers may differ in some ways.
- A call center typically focuses on handling inbound and outbound calls, and the training for staff in a call center often centers on effective phone communication skills, such as active listening, empathy, and clear speaking.
- Training for staff in a contact center may be more comprehensive, covering not only phone communication skills but also writing skills for email and chat interactions, as well as social media etiquette and proficiency in using contact center software and other digital tools.
Difference 6: Workload
- The workload in a call center is typically focused on handling incoming and outgoing phone calls.
- Agents in a call center may be responsible for answering customer inquiries, providing technical support, processing orders, and resolving complaints.
- The volume of calls in a call center can be high, and agents must be able to handle a large number of calls while maintaining quality and providing excellent customer service.
- In contrast, a contact center's workload is more diverse and complex, as agents must be able to handle various communication channels such as email, chat, and social media, in addition to phone calls.
- Agents in a contact center may need to switch between different communication channels frequently, which requires additional skills and training to handle effectively.
- The volume of contacts in a contact center can also be high, and agents must be able to manage multiple interactions simultaneously while maintaining a high level of service.
Difference 7: Data reporting and analytics
- Call centers typically only measure phone-based metrics. They measure metrics such as average call handling time, average speed of answer, call abandonment rate, and more.
- But, contact centers need to track performance metrics across all channels they support to have a holistic view of agent productivity. They need to track metrics such as average response time, first call resolution, customer satisfaction, customer churn rate, and more for each channel they support.
- This approach helps them to identify areas that need improvement, allocate resources effectively, and provide an outstanding customer experience across all channels.
Call center or contact center? which is best for your business
- The choice between a call center and a contact center depends on the specific needs of the business and its customers.
- Businesses should consider factors such as the volume of inquiries, the complexity of customer requests, the need for a personalized customer experience, and the resources available to manage customer support.
- Speaking generally, contact centers are good to go as they are flexible for customers to reach via their preferred channels. Some benefits of contact centers include,
- Multi-Channel Support: Contact centers offer support through various channels, such as phone, email, chat, social media, and more. This means customers can choose the channel they prefer and receive support that suits their needs.
- Improved Customer Experience: By offering multi-channel support, contact centers provide a seamless and personalized customer experience. Customers can switch between channels without having to repeat their issue, which can lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty.
- Increased Efficiency: Contact centers can leverage additional automation apart from IVR in call centers, such as chatbot systems, to handle routine inquiries, which frees up agents to focus on more complex issues. This can increase efficiency and reduce wait times for customers.
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Frequently asked questions
There are several types of call centers, including inbound call centers, outbound call centers, blended call centers, virtual call centers, offshore call centers, onshore call centers, in-house call centers, and outsourced call centers.
When choosing contact center software, it's important to look for features such as omnichannel support, call routing and queuing, analytics and reporting, CRM integration, quality monitoring and coaching, IVR, and predictive dialer.
Setting up a contact center involves determining the type of contact center needed, choosing a location, investing in hardware and software, hiring and training agents, and setting up processes and procedures for managing calls and improving agent performance.
To choose the right contact center software, consider factors such as business requirements, scalability, user interface, integration capabilities, security and compliance, pricing, and customer support.