What is a Call Center?

Business call centers have always been a great way to earn and retain customers’ trust and loyalty by offering them the assistance and support they need over the long term. Brands and enterprises today place a high priority on providing top-notch customer service to forge lasting relationships with customers and strengthen business models. A recent study by Future Market Insights shows that the global call center market will generate $27.1 billion in revenue in 2022 and is expected to reach a market value of $55.5 billion by the end of 2029. The growing usage of customer relationship management (CRM) technology, rising focus on customer interaction, and customer feedback are some of the major factors driving this exponential growth in the call center market.

Call centers assist companies in streamlining and enhancing the effectiveness of their operations. It boosts the company’s ability and agility to gain new customers while retaining the existing ones. This blog will substantially focus on the fundamentals of call centers followed by their types and proven strategies to build a productive call center ecosystem.

A call center is a centralized division or branch of a company, designed to provide telecommunication services to existing as well as potential customers. It solely focuses on the smooth functioning of inbound and outbound services.

What are the different types of call centers?

A wide range of services is implemented through call centers. To understand the concept of call centers, here’s a quick overview of their classification on the basis of the different responsibilities they perform.

Classification based on the nature of calls

Inbound call center

Customer assistance, queries, and complaints are handled by inbound call centers. Customers can obtain resolutions to pre- or post-sales issues through this service.

Functions	Help customers to resolve issues related to payment, product, technical issues, etc.
Goal	Equip call center agents with the tools they need to efficiently handle customer concerns and deliver a comprehensive customer experience.
Pros	● Streamline incoming calls ● Build customer relationships ● Retain more customers through helpdesk service
Cons	● Inefficient without well-trained agent ● Longer wait times may lead to customer frustration

Outbound call center

The goal of outbound call centers is to proactively engage prospects to spread awareness of their products or services, promote offers, or receive feedback. It focuses on convincing customers to take action.

Function	Reach out to the target audience for sales, data collection, upselling, cross-selling, etc.
Goal	To expand the company’s outreach at the lowest feasible cost
Pros	● Build brand identity by spreading awareness ● Generate leads ● Boost conversions
Cons	● Requires highly skilled agents ● May lead to communication barrier if not multi-lingual

Automated call center

Computer-based systems manage and handle caller responsibilities in automated call centers. Unlike live-operator call centers, it requires a small team or almost no human intervention to operate.

Function	Automates calling operations such as telemarketing, brand promotion, feedback collection, etc.
Goal	To eliminate the need for numerous live phone operators to reduce operational costs for businesses.
Pros	● Resource optimization ● Higher first call resolution rate (FCR) ● 24*7 customer service
Cons	● Loss of human interaction ● Inability to solve complex customer issues

Classification based on channel

Multichannel call centers

With multichannel call centers, businesses can reach consumers through different communication channels including phone, chat, help desk, FAQs, social media, email, etc.

Functions	To open up multiple communication channels for an enriched customer experience.
Goal	Implementing a multichannel customer call center enables businesses to meet emerging customer expectations.
Pros	● Assures greater accessibility ● Offers the choice of communication channels to customer ● Channelizes workload by diversifying communication channels
Cons	● May impact response time ● Unsatisfactory Channel Switching Experience

Omnichannel call center

An omnichannel call center manages interactions with clients by providing assistance over a variety of channels, including social media, phone, chat, email, text (SMS), and more where all the channels are perfectly synced together.

Functions	An omnichannel call center integrates all business communication channels through a unified platform
Goal	To consistently serve customers across all communication channels
Pros	● Augments customer service experience through multiple channels ● Facilitates seamless switching of devices and channels ● Assures service level compliance
Cons	● Higher initial costs ● Inefficient without highly trained agents

Classification based on the target group

B2B call centers

B2B or Business to Business call centers facilitate interaction to target businesses on behalf of the client business.

Functions	To handle multiple duties for client business, such as inbound/outbound calling, lead generation, sales, and more.
Goal	Streamlining communication between different businesses.
Pros	● Spreads brand awareness ● Strengthens professional relations ● Opens up opportunities for collaboration
Cons	● Data privacy concerns ● Limited control to measure performance metrics

B2C call center

B2C or Business to Customer call center holds the interaction between businesses and end users for achieving sales targets or resolving customer issues.

Function	To streamline the business and customer interaction for satisfying customer experience and increased engagement.
Goal	To quickly and smoothly resolve customer issues by unifying different communication channels under one roof.
Pros	● Build brand identity ● Boosts sales ● Retains more customers
Cons	● Requires highly trained agents which can be expensive for businesses

Classification based on the work model

On-premise call center

An on-premise call center resides and operates within an organization’s corporate offices to handle customer inquiries.

Functions	To support, manage, and maintain communication channels with consumers from the office premises.
Goal	To build a seamless communication infrastructure within the organization.
Pros	● More reliable ● In-house storage of data ● More control over your functions
Cons	● Time to market is long ● Operational cost is more ● Restricts flexibility leading to employee attrition

Remote/ virtual call center

A virtual or remote call center works well for businesses that operate in a remote work model. By establishing a virtual call center, businesses can significantly reduce their operational costs and generate more profits.

Functions	To manage customer interactions using a web browser-based application running on the cloud hosting infrastructure.
Goals	Provide a smooth and seamless customer-agent interaction while adapting modern work (remote and hybrid) models
Pros	● Less dependency on technical staff ● Improved employee experience ● Greater ease of scalability
Cons	● More security risks ● May hamper productivity without proper employee tracking

Hybrid call center

A hybrid call center is an integration of both on-premise and virtual call centers.

Function	Leverages company’s existing on-premise channels while adapting to the new work environment. It simultaneously adds virtual channel functionalities to efficiently manage its workforce and operations.
Goal	Addressing the concerns of both on-premise and virtual call centers by integrating them into a single call center.
Pros	● Low maintenance cost ● Supports scalability ● Offers advanced features
Cons	● More dependency on technical equipment ● Hybrid schedules may hamper productivity and performance

Omnichannel call center software as the ultimate solution

We are living in a world where technology is continuously advancing at a faster pace than ever before. Therefore, businesses must maintain their focus, establish a balance, and remain receptive to novel ideas and developing technology. Every emerging business needs to adapt to an environment where they can have a seamless interaction with their consumers, and an omnichannel call center suits best for executing this goal.

If you’re looking for one such omnichannel call center solution then the HoduCC enterprise software solution can meet your needs. HoduCC is a leading call center software that offers robust capabilities to deliver a seamless omnichannel experience.