What is the difference between a Call Center and a Contact Center?
By Katie Charles
Does it even matter? Well, yes. Though often used interchangeably, there are some important similarities and differences between the two terms. Some similarities include using customer relationship software (CRM), providing customer service, and using interactive voice response systems (IVR) for their telephone services.
Call Centers use phones as the primary mode of communication and historically were considered the “gold standard” of customer service. They can be affiliated with online merchants, telemarketing companies, help desks, mail-order organizations, polling services, charities, etc. Call Centers often handle a higher volume of calls that are more straightforward, such as general questions, technical support, and billing help.
Contact Centers handle customer service through various channels, including email, telephone, live chat, social media, text messages, etc. This way, customers can interact with agents in their preferred method of communication, which also provides a more seamless customer experience. Contact Centers can handle more complex tasks, are newer, and are more prevalent since the pandemic.
Regardless of which type of center is used, they have value beyond customer service as it is often one of the best opportunities to connect with customers on a personal level. Call Centers and Contact Centers exist in nearly every industry, and customers have high standards for the customer service they receive. Having high standards for customer service can have amazing benefits in the long term. By building trust with customers through great customer service, sales increase from customer retention, brand reputation increases, and loyal customers are more likely to generate referrals. All of this creates a competitive advantage and makes brands more valuable.
Katie Charles is a Content Specialist for Amtelco
Featured Sponsor: : Amtelco
Amtelco is a supplier of communications applications and software solutions to call centers in all vertical markets, as well as system developers. They’re known for their innovative ideas, patents, integration capabilities, and call center solutions.
Amtelco is in call centers in all 50 of the United States and in more than 40 other countries either operating a solution locally or from their cloud-based infrastructure. Millions of telephone calls, text messages, and secure communications are instantly and accurately processed by Amtelco software throughout the world each day.
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