What are the differences between a contact centre and a call centre?

If many of you use the terms “contact centre” and “call centre” interchangeably, it’s important to note that they are not the same thing. Indeed, call centres and contact centres are two distinct models designed to improve company communication. Here’s how to distinguish these two solutions in order to avoid any harmful missteps or business mistakes.

The difference between a contact centre and a call centre

The call centre and a contact centre do not practice the same methods of communication and have their own overall experience. What do you need to remember:

The call centre

The call centre is a platform that brings together agents whose main mission is to answer incoming, outgoing or mixed phone calls. Typically, they are on-site and use equipment connected to a telecommunications infrastructure specifically developed for automatic call distribution (ACD), in order to send and receive a high volume of calls.

Call centre agents communicate mainly by telephone

Some examples of call centre trades are:

• Enquiries and survey officer;
• Travel advisor;
• Technical support agent;
• Customer service representative;
• Debt collector;
• And others.

Call centres are recognised by their model which is focussed on:

• Cost reduction;
• Reducing the number of agents;
• Rapidity of phone calls/issues resolution, and
• The high number of calls taken per day.

The contact centre

Just like the call centre, the contact centre handles incoming and outgoing calls while also passing through digital service channels. The contact centre offers the same advantages as the call centre, but has much more advanced technologies (voice over IP (VoIP), SMS, online chat, video chat, social networks, email, etc.).

The contact centre also allows the client company to have predictive and proactive customer service! Thanks to new tools and ever-evolving analytical methods, outsourced customer service is becoming a powerful tool which is able to observe consumer behaviour, thus personalising the answers even before the questions arise. In summary, the contact centre has all the tools to allow customers to choose their communication mode in a spirit of proactivity, cost reduction and loyalty.

Did you know?

ProContact is the first Francophone Contact Centre in the Indian Ocean! Our systems are based on the latest generation Dialogic-Vocalcom platforms offering a high level flexibility and reliability. The solutions used also allow us to offer advanced management of calls. Your company, therefore, has all the functionalities necessary for the activity of a general contact centre. Finally, Vocalcom is secured by a Vicidial solution running permanently in the “cloud”, which means that it is able to resume operations instantly. Thus, the whole process is totally secure.

At ProContact, we offer a wide range of services:

• B2B / B2C Prospecting ;
• Remote secretary services;
• Customer relations;
• CRM tool and software;
• Satisfaction surveys and
• Human resources

To achieve such a result, we have a unique approach in the offshore sector:

• A highly qualified and positive team which is able to ensure a tailor-made follow-up of each operation;
• Demanding recruitment processes;
• Dense and continuous training, incoming calls, outgoing calls, marketing, web marketing, etc;
• Motivating and human managerial management, supervisors being attentive to employees’ needs and to your needs;
• An independent quality department with a single goal: customer satisfaction

We work daily in the market, use the most relevant measures and practise continuous training in the areas in which we offer our services. Unlike the internal resources of companies, we remain competitive.

Zoom on Interactive voice response-IVR

Many call centres and contact centres have turned to automation with interactive voice response (IVR).

Specifically, the interactive voice server is a form of digital assistant that allows callers to use their phones by giving voice commands or using their keyboard. Today, IVR has become one of the mainstays of contact centres to such an extent that it is part of the customer experience. By outsourcing to a contact centre, the company offers its own customers a tool that can predict their intention, thus directing them to the most appropriate agent.

Also as part of the contact centre, this form of self-service can also be programmed to work by two-way text messaging through a keyword system or with a chatbot. As a result, agents spend less time on the phone, costs are reduced and customers are satisfied with shorter wait times.

A modern customer experience, in line with the needs of our time!

Whether it is the call centre or the contact centre, employees have effective training so that everyone can deliver a quality service. Both models brilliantly practice customer profiling in order to continuously model an advanced CX strategy, in accordance with the needs of our time.

Contact us!

Outsourcing is our business! ProContact will assist you at every step of the way to include outsourcing quickly and easily in your business strategy. Be one step ahead of the competition by adding skills and technologies that are not in-house.

ProContact is more than a contact centre or a call centre. Our agents are trained, qualified, handpicked and multilingual and we allow companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers regardless of the situation in complete transparency.

Outsourcing is a concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To learn more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.