Call Center

In general, a call center is defined as an office equipped with the technology and hardware to handle and process a large volume of incoming or outgoing phone calls.

Call Centers today have expanded from simple telecommunication to all forms of communication, including online customer support and live chat features and the use of VOIP, including video calls.

Initially, call centers were designed for selling or taking orders and for customer support. Call centers of yesterday were the precursor of the e-commerce world.

Call centers range from a company call center handling the calls just for the company to colossal call center operations that take all calls for many brands.

Who Uses Call Centers?

Online merchants use call centers as well as, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, mail-order organizations, polling services, charities, and any large organization that uses the telephone or other communication service to sell and provide products or services or enhance the customer experience.

Of note, call centers are a valuable tool for forex brokers for procuring business or leads. Cold calling is still a popular form of marketing, though sales at brokerages are often reliant on call centers.

Calls Centers can be divided into two categories; inbound and outbound. These are increasingly located offshore, in consideration of lower labor costs.

Call centers also are becoming more virtual, as ISDN and especially IP networks have enabled agents to telework, i.e., work from home.

This trend has been further realized since the outbreak of Covid-19 or the Coronavirus in 2020 as companies look to move towards more virtual or online frameworks.