When you’re running a call center, managing calls effectively is of the utmost importance. But, to successfully manage calls, you need to determine the type of call center you are running. Specifically, will your call center focus on inbound or outbound calls?
Call centers with inbound and outbound services serve different purposes and therefore need different approaches. Let’s compare inbound and outbound call centers by discussing definitions, features, and differences. This will help you determine what call center software and solutions fit your needs.
Understanding Inbound and Outbound Call Centers
It is essential to understand the type of call center you run — this will help address communication needs, implement new protocols, measure success, and more. Additionally, inbound and outbound call centers require different cloud-based call center software and features to communicate with callers effectively.
Let’s dive in!
What is an Inbound Call Center?
“Inbound” refers to incoming calls — calls coming into your business. Inbound call centers focus on receiving incoming calls from customers and prospects. In other words, agents wait for users to contact them instead of vice versa.
Most call centers with inbound services specialize in customer support, as the majority of calls come from existing buyers. These typically involve questions about the service, troubleshooting assistance, or product issues. But, they sometimes also include inbound sales, where interested prospects call to learn more about a business’ products or services.
Inbound Call Center Features
Successful customer service at inbound call centers occurs when agents respond to customer situations and quickly identify the best possible solution. So, what types of tools help teams achieve this?
Let’s take a look at these 3 essential inbound call center software features:
1. Advanced IVR (Auto-Attendant) – This cloud communication tool automatically answers all incoming calls and routes callers to their desired department or agent. It can also assist callers with simple tasks and provide general company information.
Cloud IVR systems increase your inbound call center’s efficiency and help avoid customer frustration, by reducing repeat calls and hold times.
2. Call Flow Builder – Use this tool to visualize and build call flows according to your call center’s evolving needs. This feature enables complete control over the way inbound calls travel through your system. So, you can manage your incoming calls more efficiently and improve the caller’s experience. You can even create custom call flows for different clients and offer more personalized experiences.
3. Routing Strategies – With advanced routing capabilities, you can effectively manage and distribute your call center’s inbound calls. Since these preset strategies or “rules” are managed in the cloud, you can modify or scale them to your call center’s growth as necessary.
Integrate strategies like Round Robin routing and Time of Day routing to improve customer satisfaction and balance your team’s workload. Or, use techniques like Failover Forwarding or Find Me Follow Me to ensure you never miss calls again.
Related: Call Center Trends in 2023
What is an Outbound Call Center?
An outbound call center is essentially the opposite of an inbound one. “Outbound” refers to outgoing calls. Outbound agents proactively call consumers and prospects instead of waiting for customers to contact them.
Typically, call centers for outbound services specialize in quality sales, brand awareness, and effective cold-calling. And, these calls usually revolve around prospecting, upselling, offering upgrades or renewals, and promotions. Sometimes representatives also use outgoing calls to conduct surveys and collect market research.
Related: 11 Tips to Improve Your Outbound Calls Strategy
Outbound Call Center Features
The main goal of agents at call centers with outbound calls is to generate leads, target users, and drive sales growth. So, are there any features that help outbound agents reach their goals?
Here are 3 beneficial features for outbound call centers:
1. Caller ID Management – This cloud telephony feature allows you to hide or mask your outgoing caller ID with another phone number. You can also choose to display a country-specific caller ID when making calls to customers around the world.
By displaying a familiar, local caller ID, you encourage users to answer, increasing sales and revenue. Caller ID management also protects an agent’s caller information when working remotely or on the go.
2. GCF Softphone – A softphone is a web-based dialer that enables you to make outbound calls from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world. Most softphones are compatible with PCs, tablets, and smartphones. They make connecting teams across multiple locations or reaching out to international customers effortless. Additionally, they include features like in-network calling, attended call transfer, and voicemail. If your call center needs a cost-effective solution with UC capabilities and a quick installation time, consider using a softphone.
The GCF softphone is also capable of receiving calls. However, most providers only offer this service if you have an outbound calling plan.
3. Call Detail Records – Call detail records log important details about the calls on your system. Learn more about your customers’ calling behavior, pain points, preferences, and more using call records.
This information allows you to craft a more personalized and enhanced customer experience, leading to a growth in sales. Additionally, you can analyze call data to identify quality leads and new target markets.
Call Centers with Inbound vs Outbound Services: 3 Major Differences
The difference between call centers with inbound or outbound services comes down to three primary functions – call direction, overall goals, and call center software.
1. Direction
Of course, the first major difference is how most calls in your center travel. Inbound call centers have a majority of incoming calls. And, call centers with outbound services have mostly outgoing calls. The types of services you want to offer determine your call flow. Sales and outreach will need an outbound call center solution to manage outgoing calls and cold-calling. On the other hand, customer service will require an inbound call center to handle incoming calls.
2. Purpose and Goals
Second, the main goal and purpose of call centers with inbound services differ from those with outbound services. Inbound call center agents primarily offer support to existing clients. Whereas outbound reps usually concentrate on generating leads and targeting customers for sales. So, strategies, prompts, software features, and success measurement will vary at either call center.
3. Call Center Software
The third significant difference between call centers with inbound and outbound services is technology and software requirements. For instance, inbound call centers need features like advanced IVR or auto-attendants for call management. And, outbound call centers require dialers for placing outgoing calls.
But, simply supplying inbound call centers with a dialer or outbound centers with an IVR makes these tools less effective. This is because they don’t fit the primary purpose of each call center. That’s where you will need a solution that combines services of both types of call centers.
Enter: blended call centers.
Blended Call Centers
If your business requires both inbound and outbound call center capabilities, you don’t have to choose one or the other. Blended call centers, also known as hybrid centers, help your company provide both incoming and outgoing communications through one channel. By centralizing your business communication in one call center, you create a more consistent customer experience.
In addition to the features previously discussed, blended call center reps benefit from cloud call center features — like recordings, integrations, and analytics — that work for both types of calls. For example, call recording can improve productivity and works as a great training tool, which is useful for sales and support teams. And CRM software integrations can also open your system’s functionality and efficiency.
Choosing The Best Call Center Software for Your Business
Whether you’re running a call center with inbound, outbound, or blended services, you need the right call center software. Consider your communication goals and budget when choosing the best call center services for your business.
A reliable VoIP provider, like Global Call Forwarding, offers your call center access to advanced call features and tools to create a phone system that fits your needs. Call center software for inbound and outbound services comes with any of our cloud phone number plans.
Call us at +1 (561) 908-6171 or request a demo to learn more about our services and what we can do for you!
