Call centre experiences can make all the difference to the loyalty of your customers.
Research has shown that 60% of consumers have switched brands due to a single negative contact centre experience — so investing in a high-quality call centre is crucial.1
And, as you’re no doubt aware, the two main types of services often discussed are outbound and inbound call centres.
But is there a specific type that you should be investing in?
The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. Every business is going to have particular needs that its customer service function will have to match. And whether that happens through an outbound or inbound call centre is just one of many important pieces of the puzzle.
Here, we’ll explore what both outbound and inbound call centres have to offer — giving you the expertise you need to make the right choice for your business.
Want some deeper context? Check out our eBook, ’The State of Customer Service’, for a more comprehensive look at the current CS landscape.
What is an outbound call centre?
Outbound call centres are — you guessed it — used to reach out to potential customers as part of your sales and marketing efforts.
This could include individually searching for potential leads, or using automated dialling systems to reach a large number of customers. Examples of outbound call centre activities include:
- Telemarketing
- Cold calling
- Customer follow-ups
- Market research
Outbound call centre agents should have skills and knowledge in sales, customer nurturing, and the demographics of your target market, so that they can effectively promote your business and its products.
Outbound call centres are proactive and are all about seeking out prospects and existing customers. It’d be rare for an outbound call centre to deal with inbound calls unless a prospect was doing a follow-up.
There are also a number of critical metrics for you to consider to assess how successful your outbound call centre is functioning:
- Conversion rate
- Call success rate
- Calls per agent
What services do outbound call centres deliver?
Outbound call centre services will be a good fit for businesses that want to invest in sales and lead generation.
Outbound calls can help you reach a broad audience, share your brand message, and encourage prospect engagement. But considering the high importance of customer satisfaction, outbound services have to be approached in the right way. Agents must be:
- Informed: They understand your brand and what you are trying to achieve.
- Experienced: They don’t come across as overly pushy, but listen to prospects and address their concerns.
- Approachable: Call agents represent your business, so it’s important that they are approachable and friendly with potential customers.
If you do decide to go for an outbound approach, there are several key things that you should keep in mind:
- Target audience and objectives: Research and understand who you want to reach, what information you want to distribute to the world, and what the desired outcomes for the outbound calls are.
- Technology and infrastructure: Ensure that robust technology and infrastructure are supporting outbound call centre operations. This includes CRM software, dialling systems, and data management tools.
- Training: Provide comprehensive training to your outbound call centre agents to improve your overall customer service. Develop well-crafted scripts that guide agents through conversations and help them speak with your brand’s voice.
- Monitoring and feedback: Find ways to track key metrics such as call conversion rates, average call durations, and sales outcomes – or request weekly reports if you’re outsourcing. Schedule regular feedback sessions for agents to improve their performance.
- Outsourcing potential: Many businesses will struggle to meet the capacity requirements of outbound calling. Before you get started, consider whether outsourcing could be a good choice for you — and, if it is, whether you want to go with an onshore or offshore team.
What is an inbound call centre?
Inbound call centres are the base of contact for customers to go to if they have a question or problem. Customers may call for various reasons, including:
- Product enquiries
- Technical support
- Billing enquiries
- Order tracking
- Or general assistance
Inbound call centre agents must have skills in conflict resolution, problem-solving capabilities, and a technical knowledge of your products. This will ensure they are able to deal with upset customers quickly and tactfully — improving overall customer service efficiency.
The important thing to remember about inbound call centre services is that they only focus on incoming, non-sales-related calls. Even if an interested prospect gets in contact through the helpline, more often than not they should be redirected to the sales team. The performance of an inbound call centre should instead be measured based on:
- First contact resolution (FCR) rates
- Customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)
- Average handling times (AHTs)
- Average wait times
What services do inbound call centres deliver?
Inbound call centre services are especially geared towards businesses that:
- Have a large or international customer base
- Need to deliver a range of omnichannel customer services
- Have complex product offerings that require technical expertise
Inbound calls allow you to directly engage with your audience, resolve their issues, and strengthen your brand reputation. Given the critical importance of customer satisfaction, inbound services need to be handled thoughtfully. So if you opt for an inbound approach, here are a few key things to prioritise:
- High-quality agents that can be quickly trained to speak with your brand’s voice and knowledge.
- Trusted expertise and experience. Agents should be trained in customer service and have sector-specific specialisms. Otherwise, you could suffer the significant costs of poor customer service.
- Fully agile scalability that gives you the flexibility to increase and decrease the number of customer service agents and services you provide against demand.
- A pay-as-you-use pricing model that lets you pay only for the services your business actually uses. This will help to cut long-term costs and make your CS as efficient as possible.
What are the differences between outbound and inbound call centre services?
Lucky for you, we’ve consolidated the main differences between the two in this handy table!
| Outbound Call Centre Services | Inbound Call Centre Services | |
| Definition | These services involve agents making outgoing calls to customers or potential customers. These calls are generally related to sales, marketing campaigns, or customer information updates. | These services handle incoming calls mainly from customers. They’re usually related to enquiries, support requests, or complaints. |
| Main objective | Acquire new customers, retain existing ones, or increase sales. | Resolve customer queries and provide exceptional customer service. |
| Type of calls | Telemarketing, sales calls, debt collection, product or service promotion, surveys, and appointment scheduling. | Complaint handling, helpdesk, technical support, order taking, after-sales service, and customer care. |
| Customer interaction | Agents initiate contact, typically following a predetermined script or call plan. | Customers initiate contact. Agents provide responses based on the customer’s enquiry or issue. |
| Performance metrics | – Conversion rate – Call success rate – Calls per agent | – First contact resolution rates – Customer satisfaction scores – Average handling times – Average wait time |
Outbound Call Centre Services
These services involve agents making outgoing calls to customers or potential customers. These calls are generally related to sales, marketing campaigns, or customer information updates.
Acquire new customers, retain existing ones, or increase sales.
Telemarketing, sales calls, debt collection, product or service promotion, surveys, and appointment scheduling.
Agents initiate contact, typically following a predetermined script or call plan.
- Conversion rate
- Call success rate
- Calls per agent
Inbound Call Centre Services
These services involve agents making outgoing calls to customers or potential customers. These calls are generally related to sales, marketing campaigns, or customer information updates.
Acquire new customers, retain existing ones, or increase sales.
Telemarketing, sales calls, debt collection, product or service promotion, surveys, and appointment scheduling.
Agents initiate contact, typically following a predetermined script or call plan.
- Conversion rate
- Call success rate
- Calls per agent
With the above covered though, there’s one thing that’s really important to keep in mind: outbound and inbound call centre services can co-exist together. You don’t necessarily need to choose one or the other.
It’s clear that both services have a lot to offer. And you wouldn’t want to close yourself off to the benefits that either can bring to your business. The best way of seeing them through is by partnering with a customer service provider that can curate a solution that suits your needs.
Take what we do at Odondo for example. We have helped our clients increase their efficiency during quiet periods by deploying inbound agents to complete outbound activities. Their skills and abilities don’t get underutilised, productivity is maximised, and customer relationships are effectively managed and enhanced.
It’s all about finding the right use case — and the right partner for your customer service function.
Want more information on how to outsource your inbound call centre services? Check out our 6 step guide for finding the right provider.
How Odondo can help you see the benefits of both
Both outbound or inbound call centre services are equally important for different reasons.
By investing in both, you can not only increase customer satisfaction, but also gain a strong understanding of how your market operates. You can then use that data to better tailor your products and marketing strategies, and improve your brand’s reputation.
Odondo is committed to the best call centre services for businesses of any size. We deliver:
- High-quality agents that can be scaled up and down alongside your daily demand.
- A personal account manager who works with you to ensure brand consistency, and delivers regular reports on call centre performance.
- Pay-as-you-use pricing that allows you to easily monitor costs.
Want to find out more? Talk to one of our customer service experts today.
Bobby Devins
Bobby spent 11 years as an Investment Banker before going on to co-found his own e-commerce start-up, where Customer Service was one of the core functions that fell under his remit.
He has spent the past 9 years in and around the start-up space, most recently co-founding Odondo with the aim of reimagining the delivery of Customer Service. Bobby has pursued a very traditional career path for someone who ultimately aspires to be a hardcore gangsta rapper.
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