Are you a business looking to outsource your customer communication to one of the many call center services companies out there? Then you may have frequently come across these terms – inbound and outbound call center services. What are these terms? Which of these services can benefit your business?
To answer these questions, we have listed everything you need to know about the differences between inbound and outbound call center services.
INCOMING VS. OUTGOING
A company specializing in inbound call center services handles all incoming calls from prospects and customers to your business. On the other hand, outbound call center outsourcing involves taking charge of all outgoing calls from your business to prospects and customers.
While the difference is straightforward, the implications – not so much. The type of outsourced call center solutions you need depends on which aspect of your business you want to focus on. Is it the customer experience? Do you need to get more leads? Should you work on improving sales?
INBOUND CALL CENTER SERVICES
As mentioned earlier, inbound call center services involve handling incoming calls from customers and prospects. These services are primarily focused on customer experience – they help with customer queries, order placements, troubleshooting, helpline and more. The agents operating these services are trained to be polite, empathetic and in problem-solving mode. The technology they use includes options for call monitoring, call controls, ticketing integration and so on.
That said, they also help in sales through cross-selling and upselling in the course of their interaction with the customer.
OUTBOUND CALL CENTER SERVICES
These services involve making calls on behalf of the business to prospects and customers. These services are primarily focused on generating sales – this is done via cold calling, lead generation, customer satisfaction surveys and more. The agents handling these services are trained to be upbeat, persuasive and in selling mode. The technology they use involves dialers, CRM Integration, Outbound IVR and more.
Outbound call centers also help with appointment setting and following up on debt collections.
WHAT DOES MY BUSINESS NEED?
Inbound Call Center Services – Employ these services when your primary need is to enhance your brand reputation through exceptional customer experience, and subsequently boost sales.
Outbound Call Center Services – Employ these services when your primary need is to grow your brand/product/service awareness and build a more massive customer database.
Both Inbound & Outbound Call Center Services – Ideally, to get the best results, every brand needs a balance of both the solutions. Where outbound call center services allow people to recognize the brand, inbound call center services help make meaningful connections with it. Only by assigning targets to your brand goals, can you determine to what extent you will need each of these services.
TL; DR?
| Inbound Call Center Services | Outbound Call Center Services |
| Receive incoming calls from customers and prospects to the business | Make outgoing calls on behalf of the business to customers and prospects |
| Streamlined for the purpose of improving customer experience | Streamlined for the purpose of boosting sales |
| Trained agents handle customer queries, helpline, troubleshooting, etc. | Trained agents make cold calls to convey product/service information, take surveys, etc. |
| Agents are problem-solvers | Agents are salespersons |
| Agents are also trained in upselling and cross-selling | Agents are also trained in debt collection, customer loyalty programs |
MAKING THE RIGHT CALL
At the end of the day, when choosing a call center company for outsourcing these services, you need to ask the following questions:
- Can I tailor these services to meet my business needs?
- How can I combine both the sets of services to arrive at a cost-effective solution?
- What kind of technology setup is being offered to maximize results?
- How much of product/service training needs to be given to the agents?
- What metrics will be utilized to measure the outcomes?
To get call center outsourcing services that satisfactorily answer all the above queries, reach out to Expert Callers. At Expert Callers, we treat every phone call as an opportunity to engage with the customers in a way that inspires them to connect with your brand. By utilizing the best of technology, people and processes, we make your inbound and outbound call center process more responsive and customer-centric. From generating leads and setting appointments to resolving issues and placing orders, we employ every strategy at our disposal to strengthen your brand reputation and generate quantifiable success.
