Call Centers

Having personal experience with inbound call centers, both as an employee and as an independent consultant, I thought I'd put together some resources to help you figure out what exactly is available from call centers that can help you grow your business cost effectively.

However, if you already know you are looking for an inbound onshore call center, then please click here. Some basic definitions are provided below...

Call Center Definition
A call center is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing, clientele, and debt collection are also made. In addition to a call centre, collective handling of other methods of communication, such as letters, faxes, and e-mails comprises what is known as a contact center.

Inbound vs Outbound
Obviously, a calling center that deals only with inbound calls would be called an inbound call center. A calling center that deals only with outbound calls, or both inbound and outbound calls, is called an outbound call center.

Offshore vs Onshore
For the purposes of this overview an onshore call center is one that is located in Canada or the USA. While Mexico is not truly offshore it also does not have the same ability to provide multitudes of native english speaking citizens without accents.

Call Center Scale
Most major businesses use call centers to interact with their customers. Examples include utility companies, mail order catalogue firms, and customer support for computer hardware and software. Some businesses even service internal functions through call centres. Examples of this include help desks and sales support. Major businesses of this type may require very large call centers to handle the volume of calls generated.

Small to mid-sized companies (i.e. not multinational conglomerates) are also able to benefit from call centers, or call answering services, but they would be well advised to work with an appropriately sized service provider. A smaller provider will be able to offer customized 24x7 call answering services. Generally, smaller companies that want to provide 24x7 call access or that wish to outsource lead collection, will use small to mid-sized call centers.

Do You Need A Call Center?
Does your company want to provide live services 24x7 without having to add additional staff? Does your company want to collect leads and orders while an online reader is visiting your web site? For many the answer is yes, as there is no guarantee that an interested customer will return at a later point.

If you need an inbound call center, click here, to have an onshore provider contact you about your needs. No obligation or high pressure sales tactics. Simply discuss your needs and see what type of solutions are available.