What Is The Difference Between an Answering Service & a Call Center?

Alizabeth Shooster

Written by Alizabeth Shooster on July 15th, 2023

As you embark on the journey to enhance your phone services, it’s crucial to understand the differences between two omnichannel services in the call handling: answering services and call centers. While both are able to manage incoming calls, understanding their unique characteristics and functionalities is essential for choosing the right solution tailored to your business needs. 

Join us as we delve into the nuances of telephone answering services and call centers, unraveling their distinct roles and capabilities to empower you in making informed decisions for your organization’s communication strategy.

What do you know about call centers and answering services? How can you tell the difference between an answering service vs. a call center? How can answering services or call centers help your business? Let’s break it down:

What Is an Answering Service?

Imagine having your very own 24/7 call assistant, appointment scheduler, and tech support at your fingertips. That’s what an answering service is like. Their job is to handle your incoming calls efficiently and respond promptly to any queries you may have.

A phone answering service works by quickly processing and sharing information. They have real people on hand to cater to various caller needs such as answering general questions, sorting out basic customer issues, setting up appointments, and making sure messages get to the right person or department.

Here are a few services that answering services offer:

  • Handling general inquiries with ease.
  • Resolving simple customer service issues.
  • Coordinating appointment schedules seamlessly.
  • Ensuring messages reach the right recipient or department.

Lots of different businesses benefit from using professional call answering services. Whether you’re running a medical practice, a law firm, a real estate agency, or a small business, having live operators to handle your calls can make a big difference in how smoothly things run.

These operators are equipped with clear guidelines on how to assist callers, which frees up your other staff to focus on more complex tasks or provide top-notch service. Calls to an answering service are usually short and sweet, ensuring you get the help you need without any unnecessary delays.

Do Businesses Still Use Answering Services?

Absolutely! Businesses still rely on answering services to handle their incoming calls efficiently. They serve as a vital communication link between businesses and their customers, ensuring that inquiries are promptly addressed and messages are relayed accurately. From medical practices to legal firms, real estate agencies to small businesses, a wide range of industries continue to utilize answering services to streamline their call management processes and enhance customer satisfaction. With the convenience of 24/7 availability and the expertise of live operators, answering services remain a valuable asset for businesses seeking to maintain a professional and responsive image.

What Is a Call Center?

In contrast, omnichannel call centers, although sometimes confused with answering services, serve distinct functions and exhibit varied setups based on clients and locations. For example, rather than simply answering calls, omnichannel call centers also assist businesses with live chat online, email, and SMS texts. While interactions with answering service operators aim to assist with administrative duties, calls with call center representatives may delve deeper into issues, resulting in longer call durations.

Call centers often handle a broader scope of tasks, including sales and conducting in-depth research to address caller queries. Typically staffed by large teams, some call centers feature numerous workstations where multiple agents work at once.

Employees at call centers may serve multiple clients or specialize in handling queries for a single client. Their interactions with callers often involve detailed customer service and may include sales initiatives. Each call is meticulously logged in a report, providing clients with comprehensive insights into call activities, often on a daily basis. For more complex issues beyond the initial scope, calls may be escalated to specialized agents.

Do People Still Use Call Centers?

Without a doubt, call centers remain one of the cornerstones of modern business operations. They serve as dynamic hubs where skilled agents handle a variety of tasks, ranging from addressing customer queries and concerns to facilitating sales transactions and providing technical support. Call centers play an indispensable role in ensuring seamless communication between businesses and their customers. Their ability to efficiently manage high call volumes while upholding service excellence makes them essential assets for organizations across various industries, driving customer satisfaction and fostering long-term loyalty.

So What Is the Difference Between Call Centers and Answering Services?

In short, while both answering services and call centers manage incoming calls and interact directly with clients, they serve distinct purposes tailored to different business needs.

Call center services typically handle a broader range of tasks beyond basic call answering, including sales and more in-depth customer service inquiries. They often have larger teams of employees and may utilize specialized software to manage calls and track customer interactions.

On the other hand, answering services focus primarily on handling incoming calls, scheduling appointments, and relaying messages, serving as a virtual receptionist for businesses seeking to manage call volumes efficiently.

Armed with this understanding, you can confidently select the solution that aligns with your business requirements.

Want to improve your customer service and grow your business

Phone Image