Do you need a call center or contact center for your business?
Call centers and contact centers are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same.
There are key differences that you should know before diving into your customer service strategy. Understanding the difference between a call center and a contact center and how to choose the right solution for your business is crucial for building a differentiated customer experience.
From flexibility and scalability to technology integration and scope of services, each type of center offers unique advantages and considerations. Let’s explore these distinctions in depth to help you determine the most suitable solution for your business needs.
A call center functions as a centralized facility where call center agents manage inbound and outbound telephone calls with customers. These interactions predominantly revolve around resolving customer’s queries, addressing their concerns, or providing assistance related to products or services. Call centers can be a department within an organization or they can be outsourced to an expert in the field.
Contact centers also handle inbound and outbound customer interactions but unlike call centers, the contact center agents can interact across multiple channels like phone, text, email, social media, messaging, and more. Contact centers represent a more evolved approach to customer engagement.
Read More: What is BPO? BPO Meaning, Benefits, and Importance
Aspect | Contact Center | Call Center |
Communication Channels | Primarily telephone-based interactions. | Integrates multiple channels such as email, live chat, social media, etc. |
Scope of Services | Limited to voice communications. | Offers a broader spectrum of support services across various channels. |
Customer Engagement | Reactive response to customer inquiries. | Embraces proactive and reactive engagement strategies for enhanced customer interaction. |
Queue Management | Automatic Call Distributors for routing calls and assigning to agents. | Automated queue management solutions for effective allocation. |
Technology Integration | Relies heavily on telephony systems. | Utilizes advanced technologies for seamless omnichannel support. |
Flexibility and Scalability | Limited scalability and flexibility due to reliance on traditional infrastructure. | Offers greater flexibility and scalability to adapt to dynamic business needs. |
Let’s take an in-depth look into the differences between call centers and contact centers.
1. Communication Channel
Looking at their definitions, the foremost difference between call centers and contact centers is the communication channels used. Call centers only use the phone channel for communication while contact centers extend their reach to encompass multiple communication channels.
As phone conversations occur in real-time in call centers, each call consumes an agent’s bandwidth entirely. The only viable approach to manage peak volume hours is by increasing staffing levels during those periods. However, maintaining a large team can result in substantial expenses.
On the other hand, contact centers use diverse digital channels like email, live chat, or social media which facilitate quicker problem-solving and better customer experiences. The workload and staffing levels are also reduced as agents can handle three or more chat conversations in parallel.
2. Scope of Services
Both call centers and contact centers play distinct roles in catering to diverse industry needs. Contact centers specialize in delivering comprehensive omnichannel customer service and managing customer relationships. They are favored by digital native enterprises who want to provide connected experiences to their customers.
On the other hand, call centers are primarily focused on telephone-based customer interactions, including technical support, telemarketing, and sales. Their scope extends to managing both inbound and outbound calls, making them indispensable for industries where traditional phone-based communication remains preferred, including banking, financial services, manufacturing, and non-profit sectors.
While contact centers excel in providing interconnected customer experiences across digital platforms, call centers remain pivotal in delivering efficient and targeted phone-based services tailored to specific industry requirements.
3. Customer Engagement
Customers demand proactive customer support and consistent positive experiences. As contact centers mainly operate through digital channels, they have an advantage over call centers in providing proactive support. Cloud-based solutions offer access to vast amounts of data, enabling agents to gain a comprehensive understanding of the customer journey. This data allows agents to identify indicators of dissatisfaction and take proactive measures to assist customers.
Read More: Putting the End-User at the Center Using Customer Centric Approach to Process Improvement
In contrast, call centers which are limited to communication via phone may struggle to anticipate issues as effectively as contact centers. The data they capture represents only a fragment of the broader picture and often lacks the necessary insights for implementing a proactive support strategy.
4. Queue Management
Modern contact center software employs omnichannel queue management strategies to efficiently direct customer inquiries from various communication channels. Contact center software with advanced queue management features prevents the allocation of new chat conversations to agents who are currently engaged in calls. This not only saves valuable time for contact center managers and administrators but also enhances overall support effectiveness.
Contact centers leverage automation as well to streamline ticket routing processes, ensuring that inquiries are directed to the most suitable agents based on factors such as keywords, past customer interactions, agent expertise, and communication channels.
Conversely, in traditional call centers, interactions are solely via phone calls. Therefore, instead of omnichannel routing systems, modern call center software utilizes automatic call distributors to efficiently assign incoming calls to appropriate agents. This approach similarly contributes to enhancing operational efficiency for call center managers.
5. Technology Integration
Contact centers leverage advanced technological solutions to seamlessly integrate various communication channels, enabling them to offer omnichannel support and manage customer relationships efficiently. These technologies empower agents with comprehensive insights into customer interactions, allowing for personalized responses and streamlined service delivery.
Call centers rely heavily on telephony systems. They also utilize technology to optimize telephone-based communication like automated systems for call routing, scripting, and data management. Furthermore, both call centers and contact centers harness analytics tools to gain valuable insights from customer interactions, driving continuous improvement in service quality and operational efficiency.
As technology continues to evolve, its integration remains crucial for enhancing the capabilities of both call centers and contact centers, enabling them to meet the evolving needs of customers.
6. Flexibility and Scalability
Call centers often face limitations in scalability and flexibility due to their reliance on conventional infrastructure like telephones. This reliance can constrain their ability to adapt to changing business requirements and fluctuations in customer demand. In comparison, contact centers offer significantly greater flexibility and scalability by leveraging advanced technologies and cloud-based solutions. These flexible architectures allow contact centers to seamlessly adjust their operations, scale resources up or down as needed, and quickly respond to evolving business dynamics. As a result, contact centers can effectively meet the demands of today’s dynamic market landscape while providing superior customer service experiences.
Know More: 5 Customer Service Trends to Watch in 2024
The foundation of exceptional customer service lies in understanding and meeting your customer’s evolving needs and expectations. While traditional call centers may offer reliability in certain contexts, their limited scalability and flexibility can hinder adaptability to dynamic business needs. On the other hand, modern contact centers emerge as the preferred choice for businesses seeking to stay agile and responsive in a fast-paced environment. With their advanced technologies and cloud-based infrastructure, contact centers provide the flexibility and scalability necessary to meet evolving customer expectations and industry demands. Therefore, in choosing the right solution for your business, you need to assess your specific requirements to ensure long-term success and competitiveness in the marketplace.
