The Top 3 Differences Between a Call Centre & Call Answering Service

The majority of businesses will eventually look to outsource their telephony. Frustratingly, the hunt for the perfect service can lead you down unnecessary rabbit holes, and nobody’s got time for that! What you will find is that there are two prominent services available to you, call centres and call answering services. To help you choose what’s best for your business, we’ve broken down the main differences between the two so that you can get help with your calls sooner rather than later!

Rabit Hole — Avoid the rabbit holes of outsourcing service research!

1. Call direction

Both call centres and call answering services are third-party companies that handle calls on behalf of a business. The main difference lies in the direction of the call. Traditionally, a call centre makes outbound calls for sales or market research, for example. A call answering service will pick up incoming calls to satisfy the needs of the customer telephoning in.

2. Call format

You’d be forgiven for thinking that both call centres and call answering service providers only deal with phone calls, and for the humble call centre, that’s certainly true. However, the forward-thinking call answering service has branched out. Most now deal with website live chat and social media direct messaging in addition to incoming calls.

3. Call scripting

The majority of call centres that deal with telemarketing and the like are tied to what they say via a script. They tend to know very little about the company they are making the call on behalf of, which is limiting for both agent and customer. A call answering service is flexible and more knowledgeable about the business they are taking calls for. This allows for a more personal and human interaction between both customer and call agent.

Reading Script Recording — Reading from a script is restrictive & impersonal.

Is there a company that deals with both outbound & inbound calls?

100% yes! There are a few out there that offer both services to their customers. One of those providers is us here at Pocket Receptionist. We offer a multifaceted service that flexes with your business needs. You can choose and switch between services such as,

Answering all calls, overflow calls, out-of-hours calls or holiday cover.
Transferring calls, taking messages & blocking spam or unwanted sales calls.
Helping customers with FAQs, taking orders, taking payments or updating details.
Answering web chat and Facebook messenger messages.
Nurturing your customers & qualifying your leads.
Outbound calls to chase up quotations or ask for feedback & reviews.
Diary management, inbound & outbound appointment scheduling & confirmation.

A real service by real people

The call answering service we provide at Pocket Receptionist is conducted by professionally trained agents. Their aim is to treat your customers exactly as you would by getting to know you and your business and offering a friendly, compassionate tone to anyone who calls your company. All calls are recorded to ensure we’re providing your customers with quality service and to give you peace of mind.