Call center models are inbound, outbound, blended, and offshore. These models have different specializations, benefits, limitations, and, most importantly, areas of strength.

However, you must have a preconceived understanding of what you need before you even get to the stage of choosing out of the four models.

It’s our understanding that many business decision-makers fail at this point, and it has become a decisive factor that ruins their call center operations. This article serves as a guide that helps you decide which call center model is right for you.

What is a Call Center

A call center is an essential arm of your business operations that oversees all customer telephone inquiries. The core function of the call center is to make telephone inquiries through inbound, outbound, blended, and others. However, time is changing, and we are witnessing the incursion of broader communication channels into call center operations.

This evolution has further reinforced the importance of call centers as the representative figure of organizations and business operations. The work function of the call center is all about providing solutions to customer complaints using all the available channels.

For example, a customer may call to make inquiries or get more information about the product pricing plans and how to upgrade. Your call center team must handle this and provide adequate product information to such customer beyond their expectations.

The big takeaway from the traditional model of call centers is how it gives a chance for the human touch that customers can not get from using digital tools.

Why is the Call Center Crucial for Your Customer Experience

Customer experience has become another key metric that makes you understand how your customer feels at the end of every conversation. Customer experience can be classified as a lamp that sheds light on your entire customer experience game plan through timely measurement of customer experience through metrics like customer churn rate, customer satisfaction survey (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), customer feedback, and others.

However, to get your customer service on the positive side of these metrics, you must ensure your contact center team always gives their A-game every time. There are various reasons for this, and we will uncover why call centers are crucial to meaningful customer experience.

Providing the Necessary Human Touch

Despite the multitudes of digital tools, most customers preferred speaking to contact center agents to solve complex issues. This is a chance for your contact center agents to exude high-level knowledge of your products and professionalism in handling customer issues.

One thing we can not take away from people is their love for personal touch in all our endeavors. This is the case with customers who expect some degree of compassion from your call center agents to listen, show empathy, and de-escalate their problems. This, in turn, fosters solid long-term relationships and customer loyalty.

Access to Valuable Customer Data

Remember, your contact center team is your customers’ first contact point. So, they are exposed to all levels of information like customer preferences, feelings, pains, and others through interactions. As a forward-thinking company, you are responsible for picking up these customer insights and using them to improve your products and services.

Also, call center agents can utilize such insights to predict future issues and proactively evaluate the proper way of eliminating such occurrences. Another way call center agents can use this customer data is by creating personalized customer service that addresses each customer’s issues and gives them what they want.

Build Quality Brand Loyalty

Building brand loyalty ensures customers only want your product and services despite having other options. This is an elusive concept that most companies have sought after for years without actualizing. There is only one way of building brand loyalty: through exceptional customer service operations.

It’s very well normal for things to go wrong. Products might malfunction, or an unforeseen situation might frustrate your ability to deliver optimal service. This is where the contact center comes in to save the day.

The contact center must showcase professionalism and go above and beyond to solve customer concerns regarding business operations. Turning a customer’s negative experience into a positive one is critical to building customer loyalty to the brand. This is because a customer who finds timely solutions to their problem automatically turns into a repeat buyer.

What Are the Most Common Call Center Models?

Call center models or types are multidimensional entities catering to various business needs. There are two dimensions we will classify call center models based on your direction of communication and locations. The following are the most common call center models to help you choose the best one for your business.

Call Center Model Based on Direction of Communications

Each call center model under this category ensures you are ready to communicate with your customers irrespective of the direction of the communication.

1. Inbound Call Centers

The inbound call center is like the receptor organ of your business operation that is obligated to receive all calls from customers who require assistance. This is like the focal point of your operation, ensuring a smooth interactive presence between your company and customers.

The primary function of an inbound call center includes order fulfillment, technical support, complaint resolution, booking and appointment processing, etc.

An inbound call center is excellent for companies looking to build long-term relationships, collect feedback, and gather insight through customer-centric support.

2. Outbound Call Center

The outbound call center focuses on customer outreach, where call center agents proactively approach targeted customers for various purposes such as sales, telemarketing, lead generation, etc.

Outbound call centers have been a viable tool for businesses that plan to optimize their revenue, increase customer base, seek customer options about their products, and others.

The only underside of outbound call centers is the constant intrusion of customer privacy, which many might find unwelcome ks.

3. Multichannel Calls Center

This is an advanced model call center where call center agents communicate with customers via all the available mediums. The multichannel call center is an extensive model that includes social media, live chat, and the core telephone service for flexible customer engagement.

Call Center Model Based on Location

This is another selection of call center models that account for location-specific operations, such as in-house and outsourced models.

1. In House Call Centers

This call center model gives you complete authority over the day-to-day running of your call center operations. In-house call center operations can be regarded as a pioneering example of this category before the advent of more seamless alternatives.

In this call center model, the company handles agent recruitment, establishes all the infrastructure and technology, and manages staff training and other tasks. This can provide security, but the capital outlay required to set up one is too much for companies to bear.

2. Outsourced Call Center

An outsourced call center, a strategy employed by business process outsourcing companies, entails hiring another third-party company to manage your call center operations. This method represents a modern approach to conducting call center operations and has proven to be highly effective. For instance, if you are a British company, you can partner with business process outsourcing companies in America or other parts of Europe for your call center needs.

The use of business process outsourcing companies for outsourced call center services is a cost-effective strategy that businesses have leveraged over the years to gain specialized expertise in their call center operations.

Helport is a reputable AI-powered contact center company that you can partner with for call center operations to enjoy seamless and effective service delivery.

Which Call Center Model is Right For You?

Which call center model is right for you is a question that has become persistent over the last couple of years. This question emanated after a series of unproductive choices of call center models from business leaders.

The selection of a call center model that is right for your business requires an adequate show of intents and strategies that you curated after analyzing your business setup and customer preference.

Most business leaders think since they are familiar with every call center model, they can skip the standard practice of choosing the right one for their business. You have nothing to be scared of. We have curated a simplified process to guide you in selecting the right call center model for your business. Let’s get to that.

1. Understand What Your Customer Wants

Understanding your customer needs is the most pivotal component of choosing suitable call center models and, most importantly, business success.

Many variables surround getting what your customer wants. The one that fits into this context is by looking at their communication preference.

If your customer wants to communicate via telephone or other digital medium, It’s advisable that you choose a call center model, such as an inbound, outbound, or multichannel model, that fits into such situations.

2. Analyze Your Business Needs and Available Resources

Another factor you have to consider is your business needs and budget. Remember, you can not go beyond your budget, and at the same time, you can not compromise on quality call center operations.

So, what you are required in this context is that you pivot towards cost-effective call center solutions such as outsourcing call center models that offer you the needed skillset without expensive overhead.

3. Matching Your Call Center Goal

Businesses have distinctive call center goals that are disseminated to the entire team. For instance, a company that prioritizes customer service excellence has to prioritize first call resolution, which can be achieved easily by choosing in-house call center models.

Additionally, outbound and blended call center models should be the option for businesses focused on reaching out to customers to expand their customer base and generate quality leads.

Lastly, outsourcing a call center model is ideal for companies that want to achieve operational efficiency through technology and artificial intelligence, as Helport’s call center solution offers.

Conclusion

The question that which call center model is right for you carries a hefty weight due to how crucial it is to the success of call center operations. However, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question. Hence, you must strategically consider your business needs, customer preferences, budget, and other factors before choosing.

Related reading: Call Center Trends for 2024