Call center workers, rise up!
It's time for another day of calling a customer and praying that it goes to voicemail or putting a customer on hold for a long time, just hoping they'll give up and hang up.
Ok wait, that's not actually what a call center rep is supposed to do.
Jokes aside, working in a call center might not be the most forgiving job out there, but call center workers are still super important for effective sales and customer service.
That's right, there's still a reason to have dedicated people available to accept customer calls even in today's day and age. Even with a plethora of other communication options available, like web chat and email, the phone isn't going away anytime soon as a valuable tool for customers to reach companies and vice versa.
And it's not just call center reps that are beholden to the phone.
Depending on how long it takes them to conduct pre-call research (e.g., checking previous customer conversations, investigating the status of an ongoing sale or support issue) and how long it takes the customer to answer the call, a typical sales rep could be dedicating several hours a day chatting with customers as well.
And that's definitely not a bad thing. Making sure that existing customers are happy and nurturing prospects is important, and a lot of that can be done over the phone. In fact, a recent survey found that the majority of Americans prefer to talk to an actual, live agent over the phone over other cold email or live chat (although the latter two were the next preferred methods aside from phone).
But with so many different types of calls flying around your business each day, it's important to understand which calls your employees are receiving and ensure that they have the right tools and support to handle each one effectively.
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Inbound calls |
Outbound calls |
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When a customer calls your business directly to talk to a sales rep or receive support |
When an employee calls a customer, e.g., to nurture a potential sale or to follow up on a support ticket |
With the above table in mind, an inbound call center would have employees responsible for receiving incoming calls from customers, and either dealing with those customers directly or routing them to the appropriate person. In other words, inbound call center reps can handle sales, customer service, or both.
On the other hand, an outbound call center makes external calls to prospects and existing customers as necessary. Those who work in an outbound call center typically make cold calls to a list of leads using cold calling software. Outbound call center reps are typically exclusively responsible for making sales.
It's not always possible cost-wise for every business to have a dedicated team to handle inbound and outbound calls. Like with other aspects of business, call center operations can be outsourced to a third party to handle.
Aside from the cost, there could be several reasons why outsourcing is a potential option for your company:
But before you decide on whether outsourcing is right for your business, it helps to weigh the pros and cons and decide whether you want to outsource both your inbound and outbound calls or just one or the other.
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Pros |
Cons |
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Often less expensive compared to managing an inbound or outbound call center |
Outsourced reps may not be as well-versed in your business compared to in-house reps |
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Allows you to potentially offer customer service and sales to your customers 24/7 |
More difficult to ensure that in-house teams and outsourced teams are on the same page in terms of policies, and procedures, and providing consistent customer service |
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Allows you to potentially offer sales and support in different languages |
Language barriers could potentially be an issue if outsourced reps speak multiple languages (or their native language is different from the majority of your customers) |
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Scaling up or down depending on business needs is often easier |
More external sources accessing your cloud call center software means more potential security breaches |
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Outsourcing your call center efforts results in a reduced workload for your internal employees, so you can redistribute efforts elsewhere |
Less control over operations when compared to an in-house call center |
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More flexibility to quickly scale up if there's a period where call spikes typically happen (e.g. a sale or special event) |
There may be a lack of devotion from outsourced call center reps, especially if they are doing call center work for multiple businesses at a time |
Understanding the differences between inbound and outbound calls is crucial for businesses seeking to optimize their communication strategies. Each type has its unique advantages that can significantly impact customer interactions and overall business efficiency.
The following benefits highlight why inbound calls are essential:
Outbound calls involve reaching out to potential or existing customers. Here are the key benefits associated with outbound calls:
Optimizing your outreach strategies to make outbound calls more efficient is the way to go. One of the ways you can do this is by implementing a sales CRM with robust calling features. With Ringy, you can easily manage outbound calls for each agent by assigning lead lists to call and increasing call success with local caller ID, click-to-call dialing, and much more.
To optimize communication and maximize effectiveness in both inbound and outbound calls, it is essential to implement best practices tailored to each type of interaction. These practices can enhance customer experiences and improve overall call outcomes.
Effective management of inbound calls is crucial for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Here are key best practices:
For outbound calls, adopting best practices can significantly increase engagement and conversion rates. Here are the essential practices:
Understanding the difference between call barging and call barring is crucial for businesses managing inbound and outbound communication strategies.
Selecting the right communication strategy—whether focusing on inbound calls, outbound calls, or a balance of both—is key to achieving business goals and optimizing customer interactions.
Businesses that prioritize customer service, technical support, or issue resolution should heavily invest in inbound call tools and processes. Key factors to consider include:
For businesses with a focus on sales, outreach, or lead generation, outbound calls are essential. The following tools and strategies can enhance outbound call performance:
Most businesses can benefit from a balanced approach to inbound and outbound calls. Key considerations for balancing both strategies include:
When it comes to outbound vs inbound calls, it's not so much a question of which is better but rather which is better for your specific business. Over time as your business scales and grows, you might see the focus of your outbound vs inbound calls strategy change to match the current state of your company and sales.
To summarize the difference between outbound vs inbound calls:
Businesses of all sizes deal with both inbound and outbound calls, and should develop strategies to manage both types of calls to be successful effectively. However, which type of call will receive more attention and effort, once again, depends on your specific business and your sales and customer service goals.
To manage your calling strategies, whether primarily focused on inbound calls vs outbound or vice versa, you'll need a sales CRM with calling features to support your sales and customer support staff.
For a robust solution, look no further than Ringy. Request a demo today, and we'll show you what our software can do for your business.