If you ask how many types of call centers there are a lot of people will say two inbound and outbound. Some people however will say that is more complicated and may give you as many as six not to mention the subgroups.

First let us start with inbound call centers. These obviously are ones that take calls instead of calling people. All the contracts I have worked at have been inbound. Many different industries use inbound call centers.  Here are some of the subtypes of an inbound call center.

Technical Support

General information

Sales

Dispatch

Answering service

Reservations

The other type of call center that most people think of is the outbound call center. Some people have a bad view of outbound call centers because these are the ones that have telemarketers and collection agents.

Telemarketer

Lead Generation

Surveys

Data Mining

Announcements

Fundraising

Reservations

Virtual call centers are call centers without a common physical location. They can be inbound or outbound.

How Virtual Call Center Jobs Operate
By Ling L. Tong

The face of call centers is changing and as a result many call center owners are changing as well. Today the call center industry is moving towards a more advanced look and more and more people are beginning to start what is called a virtual call center. These call centers work in the same way as normal call centers, calls and made and received at the call center and handled by the employees that have been hired.The number and types of virtual call center jobs are the same as they always were. However the employees are now just able to work at a faster rate and the calls are handled more efficiently and effectively.

There are a number of advantages to having a virtual call center over the more traditional type of call center. The biggest advantage is that of reduced costs. This is something that business owners are always looking to do without sacrificing the employees and other sectors of the company, and with a virtual call center they don’t have to make any sacrifices. The biggest cut in costs comes when the system is installed and up because the operating costs of the coordination and administration associated with the day to day running of the business is eliminated or is made more effective.

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