When clients want to get in touch with your business or brand, they may do so through your customer support (you can for services from Telnum.net).
In the past, the only way to communicate was through voice calls in call centers. However, clientele can now get in touch with a company through various ways, including emails, website chatbots, social media, and so on, all of which are run by contact centers.
But what is the difference?
Contact Center vs. Call Center: A Closer Approach
A. Call Center
They are places where people work. They deal for both incoming calls and outbound calls (calls originating from a customer service representative, usually sales calls).
These people answer calls from both new and long-term clients.
B. Contact Center
There are various ways people can get in touch with a contact center. These include phone calls, text messages, emails, social accounts, and more!
When people communicate through many different channels, they can move quickly from one to the next. People can also choose how they want to talk.
Now that we have a basic idea of the two, let’s look at their differences:
Omnichannel communication vs. single-channel communication
An average person spends about 7 hours a day on the internet.
Thinking that people are more likely to reach your customer service through digital means makes sense. Millennials are also the majority of people who shop online, and they don’t like to initiate phone calls.
An old-fashioned call center with only one channel (incoming and outgoing calls) is often not enough for this. On the other hand, an omnichannel contact center can meet these demands.
It is easier for your consumers to get in touch with you if you use more than one communication method (email, social media, live chat, etc.) than if you only use one. It also makes it easier for them to switch between different channels, improving customer experience.
Even though your agents must learn more about this system, it will speed up its time to solve customer problems. FCR and average handle time (AHT) are two of the most critical performance metrics. It can improve both of them (AHT).
Proactive support vs. reactive support
Customers want brands to know what problems they might have before they do.
Even the most devoted call centers can’t help every consumer right away. Rather, they are primarily reactive, which means they only help customers with problems. It only works if the customers know the problems they have.
However, because contact centers work digitally, they can use various technologies to figure out what might happen to customers. The work is split between AI (Artificial Intelligence), chatbots, and humans. To make things even better for the brand, the customer is served quickly and can form a good impression.
Self-Service Online vs. Conventional Customer Support
Specific clients are technologically sophisticated and are more inclined to self-serve via contact center services such as your website, frequently asked questions, and chatbots.
Not only is this more convenient, but it also helps buyers feel more assured in their purchase, alleviates buyer’s remorse, and increases their brand engagement.
Additionally, it can educate customers about new products and services and assist you in tracking their activity to conduct targeted marketing.
Not every customer, however, prefers to self-serve.
Certain individuals may require specific direction or explanations, best accomplished through a personal connection. Additionally, your consumer may be unable to resolve their issues via self-serve.
That is where traditional call centers come into play, providing the essential phone support for an improved client experience. However, keep in mind that while contact centers provide omnichannel help, they will also give traditional customer service.
Services that are centralized vs. specialized services
A contact center is centralized since it controls the whole client database and associated services in one location. On the other hand, a call center is typically less centralized, as each call center may specialize in a particular service. Depending on the nature of your organization, you may not require a centralized contact center; instead, you may need a standard call center that specializes in a particular service.
Call centers can manage all incoming and outgoing calls effortlessly, as well as a high number of voice calls. This maximizes the efficiency and effectiveness of your phone channel. After all, for most age groups, telephone discussions remain the favored method of customer assistance. Additionally, it will assist in keeping frustrated clients at bay by allowing them to contact your firm in the manner of their choice – which will increase your customer satisfaction ratings.
On the other hand, contact center agents must juggle several mediums to deliver centralized services. However, providing customized services shall be easier because you’ll have a central repository for consumer details.
Customer Experience: Consistent vs. Inconsistent (CX)
The customer experience (CX) has surpassed product and price as the primary brand characteristic for some organizations. However, historically, call center data has been dispersed across an excessive number of platforms and may have been underutilized. This may result in a communication breakdown during incoming conversations, resulting in an angry consumer and inconsistent client experience.
Any contact center agent may readily access and utilize a customer’s data to assist them in resolving their issues. Additionally, they use technology such as an Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), an Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and a predictive dialer to route inquiries and calls to the appropriate agent.
That is why, in general, they offer a consistent client experience.
Let’s have a closer look at the few essential parts of a call center:
Advanced call distribution
They have features that make it easier to distribute calls so that more calls can be answered and customer satisfaction is high at the same time. Interactive Voice Response is an excellent example of a feature that helps with first-call resolution. It directs a call to the person who can help the person who called. This lets your staff’s different skills be beneficial to your clients.
Modularity
Managers at a contact center can change the access and priorities of their employees in real-time to be as effective as possible. They can work together, even though they all operate at various stations. They have duplicate contacts and goals. There are also more secure data and tighter security measures that can be used. The structure of a contact center must change with changes in call volumes and goals.
Scripts
Contact centers often write unique scripts for consumer interaction. Sales can be easier whenever you plan ahead. If a contact center has a lot of different ways for people to get in touch with them, scripts can be used for them all. As a good contact center agent, however, you must change your script if deemed necessary.
Reporting in real-time
People who work for contact centers watch how well their agents do and how happy their consumers are. These analytics are very complicated and multi-faceted, and the amount of data can make it hard to make sense of what you’re looking at. To create data-based decisions for your contact center, you should choose to concentrate on a few KPIs instead of a lot.
Final Words
Here at Telnum, we are offering virtual numbers including multichannel ones (where is possible), toll-free numbers, and virtual SMS and fax numbers. Virtual PBX may help you to combine some of these services in one, although you will need a virtual local number most of the time.
Contact us and our Tech Specialists are more than happy to assist you!
