How Do Call Centers And Contact Centers Differ From One Another?

Although blurry, the distinction between call centers and contact center solutions is significant. To choose the one that best meets the needs of their organization, decision-makers must understand how these centers differ from one another. After all, a single bad experience can ruin a customer’s trust for good.

While the terms “call center” and ” hosted call center solutions ” are sometimes used interchangeably, decision-makers should be aware of some important distinctions between these centers.

Here are the 5 differences between call centers vs. contact centers

To choose the strategy best suits their organization, decision-makers should be aware of the differences between call and contact centers.

  • Channels

Meet requirements through a hosted call center solution

Call centers and call center solutions offer customer service and outreach, but they operate through different communication channels. While contact centers use a variety of channels, call centers only use oneā€”the phone.

In an era before digital channels, call centers first appeared. Nevertheless, they are advantageous to many businesses because live agent phone calls and hosted call center solutions provide a personalized experience that other channels frequently don’t. On the other hand, call center training solutions have digital channels that let customers communicate with a company on the platform that best suits their requirements.

2. Data

Know your customer’s personality and preferences with a complete call center solution.

Contact centers can gather more customer data than call centers because they provide more channels for communication. Additionally, they can strengthen customer profiling, enabling businesses to offer individualized customer support to enhance CX through a complete call center solution.

Call centers can use speech analysis call center software to examine calls and learn more about a customer’s personality and preferences. Contact center solutions do the same, but their omnichannel strategy provides more opportunities for data collection. For instance, contact centers can use information from social media, such as likes and follower counts, to identify the affiliations and attitudes of customers that might not be clear over the phone.

3. Customer self-service

Self service

For CSS capabilities, most call centers use interactive voice response (IVR) systems or call center telephony solutions, which are automated phone assistants that respond to voices and keypad inputs.IVR systems can handle simple tasks like reordering prescription medication and connect callers to the appropriate agents. Still, they can also irritate customers with lengthy menu options that don’t cater to their needs.

Beyond IVR, a contact center’s CSS capabilities include chatbots, FAQ pages, online knowledge bases, and forums, all of which can assist customers in independently locating answers. Additional examples of contact center CSS include automated text messages that confirm or reschedule appointments and mobile applications that let users place or modify orders.

4. Agent skills

Agent skills of contact center solutions

Contact center agents require additional skills because they use more varied channels for various communication types. Call center agents also need customer service abilities like empathy and patience.

Telephone customer service is provided by call center agents, who must have excellent verbal communication skills, friendliness, and problem-solving abilities. Representatives of contact center solutions also offer customer service over the phone and through text-based channels like social media, email, live chat, and text messages. Therefore, contact center agents require social media etiquette, multitasking, written communication, and reading comprehension abilities. All these can be achieved through a complete call center solution.

Customers may become irritated by unclear writing from the staff of contact center solutions, which may result in needless follow-up messages. Additionally, agents must be grammatically correct because poor grammar can make a company unprofessional. Professionalism is also necessary when using social media because one bad experience can spread quickly and harm a company’s reputation.

5. Technology

Technology

 

Although the technologies used by call centers and contact center solutions can overlap, contact centers need extra services to help them manage their omnichannel nature by hiring call center outsourcing solutions. In addition to the essentials of phones, computers, and headsets, call centers may also use the following technologies:

IVR. IVR’s automated phone assistants decide which agent or division will best assist a customer based on voice and keypad responses.

Automated call distributor (ACD). An ACD will automatically transfer a caller to the appropriate agent or department once an IVR has determined who the caller needs to speak with.

Speech analysis software. This program can examine calls and identify emotions like satisfaction and rage. An organization can use speech analysis software to determine when to follow up with dissatisfied customers.

Workforce management (WFM) system. WFM systems can assist in allocating the proper agents for each day, as some days in a call center are busier than others.

Enhanced internet access. To use call center software, remote agents need a quick and secure connection, which might necessitate internet upgrades.

 

Contact centers also include the following in addition to call center technologies:

Email response management system. Large volumes of emails can be sorted, tracked, and archived with the aid of these systems.

Omnichannel routing. Agents may struggle to manage their interactions in contact centers because of the various channels they use. Regardless of the channel, omnichannel routing uses AI to determine a customer’s intent and route all requests to a live agent.

Advanced analytics. This methodology uses various AI technologies and analysis techniques to give a comprehensive view of the customer journey and provide predictions about the choices a customer will make in the future.

Channel reports. Reporting software gathers raw data from various channels to create KPIs, such as first contact resolution and customer effort scores. Managers can track KPIs to guarantee consistency of quality across channels.

 

Conclusion

Despite their differences, call centers and contact center solutions offer inbound and outbound customer service. They both employ agents as well as a number of the same technologies.

Depending on its unique requirements and priorities, a company may use a call center or contact center solutions. Call centers can be cost-effective for businesses whose customers mostly deal over the phone. A contact center may be useful for companies that experience high levels of digital engagement or want to stay on top of emerging technologies.

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