Not all types of customer service are the same. In today’s digital age, there are multiple ways businesses can work to retain current clients and even attract new ones.
Despite the popularity of digital communication, call centres remain some of the most trusted partners by companies across all customer service-related industries.
According to a report, the global market for call centres was estimated at almost $340 billion in 2020. To put that into perspective, if the global call centre market were a country, its gross domestic product would match Singapore’s. This isn’t surprising, given how vital call centres are in a customer’s experience.
About 83% of customers feel more loyal to brands that can resolve their concerns and complaints. You must understand the services call centres can provide your company to make the most of your partnership with them.
In general, call centres take and make two types of calls: inbound and outbound. The infographic below will provide everything you need to know about what inbound and outbound calls are, what sets them apart, and how you can maximise your use of them.
What Is an Inbound Call?
Inbound calls are when customers themselves contact the call centre regarding a concern. Support teams often monitor these to ensure quality and to see which customers are repeat callers.
An effective inbound call strategy is essential in every business, as 89% of customers say they would buy from a brand again if they had a positive customer service experience.
Types of Inbound Calls
Customers will reach out to call centres for various reasons. There are five types of inbound calls.
- Customer service
Customer service is the most common type of inbound call. Here, customers call inbound call centres if they’re concerned about a company’s product. Then, the agent provides them with a solution.
Representatives can also redirect customer calls to the ideal department where they can better help solve the problem.
- Technical support
Technical support is a type of customer service, but not all customer service calls are technical support. Companies typically provide this type of inbound call if products or services are more complicated and require multiple steps before use.
Fashion brands, for example, don’t necessarily need technical support.
Technical support can include changing account information or resolving bugs in the service. If the problem gets more complex, agents can reroute the customer to the brand’s IT specialists.
- Inbound sales
Inbound call centre agents aren’t only there to help existing customers. They can also potentially close new ones.
Interested customers are known as “warm leads” since they’ve already “warmed up” to the idea of using the brand’s product or service. Here, call centre agents can persuade them into finally making a purchase.
- Subscription renewal or upgrade calls
Businesses that offer subscriptions, such as internet providers or software, will often receive customer calls asking to renew or upgrade their current plan. It’s also possible for clients to call to cancel their subscription plans. In these cases, inbound call centre agents can retain them and direct the caller to a better plan.
- Product or service inquiries
These are calls by clients who typically want to know more about a brand’s offering. However, they aren’t necessarily ready to make any purchase yet. Automated answering services or chatbots can typically answer these inquiries. These tools allow callers to avoid waiting for an agent, ensuring a quicker response time.
What Is an Outbound Call?
Outbound calls are when call centre agents reach out to potential customers or clients through what is known as “cold calling.” They typically do this to close sales or generate further brand interest for the company.
Despite technology limiting human interactions for specific sales processes, cold calling remains one of the top five most effective prospecting tactics companies can utilise.
Types of Outbound Calls
There are several reasons outbound call centre agents would reach out to potential customers; it isn’t always about closing a sale. Here are five different types of outbound calls you should be aware of.
- Lead generation
Often, call centre agents work closely with a company’s sales team to qualify and generate leads. This type entails cold-calling contacts that the sales team has collected and identifying possible opportunities to close a sale.
Agents also collect information to ensure that the leads are qualified, whether they even have the purchasing power for the company’s offering, or if they have to stick to a certain budget.
- Telemarketing
Telemarketing usually comes with a bad reputation. However, data shows that telemarketing can still be an effective practice for businesses to adopt. According to RAIN Group, 82% of buyers are willing to accept a meeting with sellers who reach out initially.
In essence, telemarketers cold-call leads to pitch a company’s products to them. These calls generate interest in the company’s products, nurture prospects further down the sales funnel, or create a lead. A deal doesn’t necessarily need to be closed during telemarketing calls.
- Market research
Outbound calls aren’t always about closing deals. Cold calling is also a great way to gather insights directly from the target audience.
In this outbound call, agents will typically ask a series of prepared questions to understand customer behaviour, interests and brand perceptions. The information agents gather here will inform and improve the company’s marketing strategy.
- Customer feedback surveys
Similar to market research, you can also use outbound calls to gather customer feedback. Insights from these outbound calls can help you improve services for your customers and prospects. You can also learn how to enhance and nurture relationships with your customers.
According to Microsoft, 53% of consumers believe their comments and suggestions are left unaccounted for. With such a high number, brands must start working on applying customer feedback to improve their business operations and customer relationships.
- Telesales
Telesales and telemarketing are often mixed up since they’re similar. However, while telemarketing calls are meant to generate product interest, telesales aims to close a deal. Agents making these outbound calls must be persuasive and committed to making a sale.
Differences Between Inbound and Outbound Calls
The most apparent difference between inbound and outbound calls is who picks up the phone to call whom. Below are a few pointers to better understand how inbound and outbound calls differ.
- Purpose
Inbound calls accommodate customers who’ve already bought into the brand, whether they’ve used the product or service or are interested in it. Agents provide answers and solutions to a customer’s problem.
Meanwhile, outbound calls engage prospects, generate their interest, and give them opportunities to purchase from the brand.
- Technology
With different purposes come different tools. Tools used for inbound calls are aimed more towards accommodating many potential callers. Meanwhile, tools for outbound calls help agents become more efficient in cold calling.
One of the most common tools for inbound calls is the interactive voice response (IVR) system. When customers call the company’s support number, they’ll hear an automated voice asking them to press a specific number on the keypad based on their concerns. Another is the automatic call distribution (ACD) system, which connects callers to the right agents for their issues.
For outbound calls, a tool often used is the automatic dialler software. It facilitates the cold calling process by automatically dialling a number pulled from an inputted list. Agents also use a predictive dialler tool programmed with machine learning to anticipate the next contact.
- Challenges
Inbound call centre agents often need to interact with frustrated and impatient customers. This situation can make the job much harder for those who have difficulty working under pressure.
Conversely, outbound call centre agents must overcome the challenge of getting their foot in the doors of customers who haven’t shown much interest in the company. They’ll face rejection and objections since it can take eight cold call attempts to get in touch with a prospect.
- Agent training
Since inbound call centre agents need to interact with customers and their concerns, they’re trained to be patient, polite and proactive. They must also be exceptionally prepared to provide callers with a quick response. According to HubSpot, almost two in three callers expect a response within 10 minutes.
On the other hand, outbound call centre agents are taught to be persuasive, engaging and determined to close a sale with cold customers.
- Business impact
The success of each type of call is measured differently. The effectiveness of inbound call centre agents is calculated by problem resolution speed and customer satisfaction rate improvements.
On the other hand, the success of outbound call centre agents depends on their conversion rate. Since they have to close deals, a successful outbound call centre agent produces more sales for the business.
Inbound and Outbound Call Centre Best Practices
Despite their differences, inbound and outbound calls can benefit from similar best practices. Here are some you can incorporate into your inbound and outbound call centre strategy.
- Utilise automated solutions
Automated solutions increase efficiency and productivity. Consider using chatbots to field frequently asked questions and allow your agents to focus on more pressing customer concerns. Customer relationship software (CRM) can also help automate repetitive processes, assisting agents in getting more things done.
- Prepare necessary information
Preparation is crucial when it comes to interacting with customers. In addition to preparing proper calling etiquette, agents must become company experts to answer questions correctly.
- Establish and track metrics
The only way to improve your inbound and outbound calls is to measure and track different metrics.
Common metrics for inbound call centres are:
- Average handling time
- Average answer speed
- Percentage of first-call resolutions
Outbound call centre metrics include:
- Calls per agent
- Conversion rate
- Answer success rate
These metrics aren’t mutually exclusive; there’s a lot of overlap when tracking the metrics of both inbound and outbound calls.
- Personalise calls
According to a Zendesk report, 90% of customers will spend more for companies that personalise the customer service they offer. Since each customer is different, each call needs to be highly personalised. Ensure that the agents’ solutions fit the customer’s unique concerns and issues.
- Use the right tools
Using the right inbound and outbound calling tools can help improve the customer and calling experience. Like automated solutions, the right tools can make the inbound and outbound calling process much smoother and more efficient. Software with omnichannel support, CRM integration, and reporting and analytics features can be great investments.
Make the Right Call with Select VoiceCom
Working with call centres can help improve your customer’s experiences. Knowing what is outbound and inbound can clear up any issues and yield operational improvements. The two types of calls have their own strengths and purposes, but both can help your company grow.
If you’re looking to partner with a call centre in the Philippines to cover your inbound or outbound call needs, look no further than Select VoiceCom! Select VoiceCom is a global name in the call centre outsourcing industry known for delivering professional and affordable services to companies that prefer to outsource their ancillary functions.
Learn how you can improve your operations in no time by contacting Select VoiceCom today!