What is a Call Centre?

A call centre is a centralized department to which phone calls from current and potential customers are directed. Call centres can handle inbound and/or outbound calls, and be located either within a company or outsourced to another company that specializes in handling calls.

Click here to see a video that explains call centres' purpose and importance.

The Difference Between a Call Centre and a Contact Centre

The main difference between a call centre and a contact centre is that while a call centre is focused on incoming and outgoing voice calls, a contact centre is able to manage customers with both voice calls and data applications like e-mail, Web-based chat/instant messaging, and, in some cases will include the capability to share Web pages sent to and from the customer. The fully functional contact centre takes advantage of customer needs for text and visual communications in addition to phone calls; typically, a contact centre also uses a “blended agent” who can manage multiple forms of voice- and data-centric customer communications.