What is a Blended Call Center? A Complete Guide

Is your call center capable of handling both inbound and outbound calls at the same time and place? If not, you need to know about a blended call center.

Blended call centers are revolutionizing the customer support sector by combining incoming and outgoing support calls in a centralized location.

This advanced call center technology is more versatile and flexible than other types and enhances overall client satisfaction. 

In this blog, we will discuss what is blended call center is, the advantages and disadvantages of blended call center solutions, its essential features, best practices, and the top challenges that you may face.

If you are a call center owner who wants to expand its reach and tools, this blog is for you.

What is a Blended Call Center? 

A blended call center refers to a modern customer service setup that can handle both inbound and outbound calls in a single central place.

It is a customer facility that accepts both incoming and outgoing calls, offering continuous assistance and proactive service to clients from any part of the organization, ensuring seamless customer interactions. 

A blended call center campaign allows you to switch your call center from receiving inbound calls to making outbound calls. This feature allows your business to proactively reach customer prospects and concerns while ensuring higher customer satisfaction. 

What are the Benefits of Blended Call Center Solution?

Blended call center combines the inbound and outbound call center service, hence proving to be beneficial for the business. Your business can handle both inbound and outbound calls from a single location. This enables efficient management of resources to have the proper number of agents required for managing the actual call traffic and business requirements.

It also increases flexibility where the centers can be able to address their workload differently and, in the process increase efficiency. Some of the advanctages of Blended call center solutions are listed. 

I. Increased efficiency and productivity 

Blende call center solutions automate both inbound and outbound calls, increasing agent efficiency and productivity. The availability of integrated communication channels and improved use of end-point communication tools can enable an agent to switch between sorts of calls without manually switching off and back on.

This efficiency helps in eliminating time waste and proper assessment of work, and makes sure the agents are occupied with useful duties. In addition to other features such as auto dialer software and intelligent call distribution, prioritizing the most important contacts while striving to limit the amount of work done by hand results in a more efficient and productive workforce, as well as a greater Return on Investment (ROI). 

II. Cost-effective 

Integrating an inbound and outbound call center can greatly reduce the cost of operations since the two can integrated into a single system. Combining the two eliminates the need for separate systems and infrastructure for different sorts of calls, lowering maintenance and training expenses.

Furthermore, the use of technology and an effective agent agenda requires fewer agents to handle the same amount of calls, which increases the cost savings. In the long run, operational simplification and optimal resource use result in less expensive call center operations. 

III. Enhanced customer experience 

An integrated call center environment improves communication flow by allowing a client to communicate with the business through the next best channels. Customers have a smooth and integrated service pursued for follow-up service or have a compliant address. It is designed so that agents may examine the whole client history, including details from earlier interactions.

This continuity allows customers to lower their frustration, limit the time required to resolve issues, and so boost customer happiness. Thus, by implementing numerous means of communication and sticking to a unified plan, businesses may provide a more personalized experience to their customers. 

IV. Increased sales opportunity 

Outbound calling enables agents to proactively contact clients, follow up on leads, and run sales campaigns. It can boost your sales efforts and provide you with a competitive advantage. When a single facility offers two-way communication, your dialers are more likely to be interested in your sales pitch. In contrast, outbound marketing calls may not capture your prospect’s interest. Furthermore, call center agents specialize in both customer service and marketing activities. 

V. Data-driven decision and real-time monitoring

A blended contact center combines CRM, information systems, and analytics apps to examine and analyze data about customers who make contact. This strategy enables businesses to identify market trends, streamline procedures, and take any action they consider required or beneficial.

Information and data from such systems may lead to more cost-effective plan design and enhanced operational performance. Blended call center software allows you to monitor calls in real-time, empowering your agents with important information at the correct time. This leads to higher consumer satisfaction and more informed decision-making. Combining real-time and h historical data provides insight into real-time challenges, allowing you to tackle them on the spot.

Consolidated data from several sources provides useful insights for developing customer service initiatives. Everything you discover about your clients is used for outbound campaigns and inbound support workflows. 

What are the Disadvantages of a Blended Call Center Solution?

However, it must be pointed out that blended call centers have significant disadvantages. Handling both inbound and outbound calls is possible, but it might increase agents’ workloads and cause dissatisfaction. Employers may get stressed by different call types, leading to lower performance. Here are some of the disadvantages of Blended call center solutions. 

A. Training challenges 

Blended call center solutions agents are required to boost efficiency while handling both inbound and outbound calls. This can lead to a duality in employee training, necessitating the education of the person on several systems, scripts, and customer-facing procedures.

For example, contact center agents must multitask between different types of calls. Making certain that every agent is familiar with the programs and feels comfortable using them can be time-consuming and costly, which may initially slow the company’s pace. 

B. High call volume 

Blended call centers may receive a significant volume of calls at once or during promotional or special events. A hgh volume of calls is likely to put pressure on the system and the agents, resulting in slower and poor quality of service. When receiving a significant number of calls, the customer may not be adequately managed, necessitating the need to regulate call volume.

Computational call distribution techniques are critical for reducing congestion, allowing agents to answer calls effectively,  and maintaining excellent service quality and delivery. 

C. Technical challenges and issues 

It is common that using numerous communication channels and technology in a mixed call center can cause technical challenges. System downtimes, software issues, technical problems, and compatibility issues all pose a threat to production and influence the quality of service provided. It might generate frequent technical problems, requiring a significant amount of effort to solve or maintain them, disrupting the call center’s routine operations.

These are successfully handled by ensuring that the firm receives sufficient IT assistance and timely system upgrades in order to execute its operations efficiently. However, technical issues might pose a threat to the continuity of organizational processes. 

D. Management complexities 

Dealing with a mixed call center requires handling both incoming and outgoing calls, which complicates management in terms of personnel assignment, performance, and time. Conveying a large number of different types of calls while ensuring that the agents manage them well is a challenging undertaking. As the company expands, customers will begin to approach the support staff with more sophisticated difficulties.

Sometimes, these consumer issues take longer to resolve, lowering customer satisfaction levels. Managing and allocating calls in a blended call center can be challenging due to variable call volumes and campaign goals. Ruining a two-way call center also has its complications, especially when it comes to connecting technologies for call management, CRM, analytics, etc. 

Essential Features of A Blended Call Center Solution

1. Automatic Call Distributor(ACD) 

ACD is responsible for effectively rerouting incoming calls to agents based on predetermined criteria, such as the agent’s skill level or availability. Calls are immediately routed to a specific person or sector, preventing slow client circulation. As a result, clients are satisfied since their phone calls are handled efficiently and are not passed from one extension to another. 

2. Predictive Dialer 

It is a dialing mechanism that generates and dials numbers automatically and then connects agents when they answer. This increases efficiency, as the agents no longer deal with busy signals, voicemail, or an answering machine. With genuine prospects, while also shortening the time between calls, hence increasing productivity. 

3. Interactive Voice Response(IVR)

IVR system uses a recorded human voice to direct the caller to the appropriate service or department, allowing the caller to handle, connect, or be assisted. This function makes the specific call easier to manage, reduces wait time, and boosts customer satisfaction by providing immediate information about their request. 

4. Power Dialer 

A power dialer speeds up outbound calling by dialing multiple numbers at once and then connecting the agents to individuals who answer the phone call. This reduces the time between calls and allows agents to work at their peak performance. As a result, it is useful for intensive calls, lead creation, sales, and outreach initiatives while also increasing productivity. 

5. CRM Integrations

CRM integrations enable call center systems to interface with customer retention management applications and software, allowing agents to examine customer information. This integration offers tailored customer communications, improved service delivery, and information to respond to client requests and develop positive client relationships correctly. 

6. Call Monitoring and Recording 

This capability enables supervisors to either monitor live calls or replay previous calls for quality assurance or training and development objectives. Supervisory activities such as call monitoring and recording allow agents to adhere to the correct script and set standards, highlighting areas of strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats to agents, resulting in improved service delivery. 

7. Real-time Analytics and Reporting 

Real-time analytics and reporting make data-driven decisions to improve team performance and customer experience. Analytics and reporting refer to reports on the overall operation of your call center and customer service reports that track parameters like call volume, average handling time, and customer satisfaction.

How To Set Up a Blended Call Center?

A blended call center involves several important steps. Here is a step-by-step process for setting one up.

I. Consider the Best Contact Center Software. 

First, start your research and select the contact center software that includes the essential tools for a mixed call center, such as ACD, predictive dialer, CRM integration, etc. Ensure that the software satisfies your operational budget, needs, and growth requirements and that you receive adequate support and quality service. 

II. Determine your Needs and Requirements.

Determine your requirements, such as the number of calls daily, monthly, or weekly, whether your center supports inbound or outbound calls and other essential features that your business requires. Ensure that the program meets critical KPIs and other characteristics, such as integration with other applications, usability, and reporting. 

III. Set up Skill-based Routing and Agent IDs.

Setting up skill-based routing guarantees that calls are directed to agents who have the right skills to handle them, thereby reducing the time required to resolve issues and increasing customer satisfaction. Use correct identification to monitor performance and govern workflow inside agencies. This approach allows the call to be answered by the organization’s most qualified workers, hence enhancing efficiency. 

IV. Customize the Software according to your Ease.

Customize contact center software to reflect your organization’s desired operations and processes. Some of the categories include all scripts, IVR menus, and specific reporting dashboards to make the company as efficient and user-friendly as possible. This will make the program easier to use and perform better because it will suit your organization’s requirements. 

V. Monitor and Analyze Performance

Once you have customized the user interface and dashboard according to your ease of use and requirement, you now have to monitor its performance and analyze the reports and metrics. You can analyze content control over your call rate, agent productivity, and customer satisfaction.

To assist the examination of such data, trending should be used to identify trends that may be cause for worry and make required adjustments to improve efficiency and service quality.  A routine inspection helps to fine-tune plans while also making it easier to meet defined operating objectives. 

Blended Contact Center Solution Best Practices You Should Implement

Adopting best practices for a blended call center system improves convergence and service delivery. When creating an integration plan, start by combining modern CRM and call center applications. Here are some of the best practices for your Blended contact center solution. 

A. Extensive training and coaching 

Ensure that all your agents are familiar with the system and software features that they might need while assisting customers in providing high-quality service. Make sure that agents receive substantial training on topics such as call tracking, customer support, and utilizing advanced business communication tools. You can also provide weekly training for the employees on how to use the software productively. 

B. Regularly Monitor and Analyze Performance 

After implementing a blended call center, you need to analyze and monitor its performance regularly in the initial phase. You need to check whether the system is operating properly and ensure that every agent is utilizing every feature of the software. Constant monitoring and analysis help you achieve sustainable growth in your business in the long run.

Monitor a variety of important performance metrics, such as data, average handle time, call resolution, and customer retention. Agent performance and operations should be analyzed in real time utilizing custom analytics and reporting. 

C. Take Feedback and Customer Review 

Make it a practice to collect feedback from clients via feedback forms or by calling them back after they have used your items to inquire how they feel about them. It is crucial to have a reliable client feedback method in place to assess the quality of your service. Customers can provide valuable insights to help a mixed call center fine-tune its operation. This will help you identify your agents’ areas of strength and weakness, which can help you focus on your weaknesses. 

D. Implement CRM and other Essential Tools Effectively 

Implement and install CRM systems and other essential business tools that your business requires for enhanced efficiency and productivity. Also, ensure that your agents have all the required information, data, and tools that they may need to assist clients, such as previous interactions. Leveraging CRM tools personalizes the service, increases productivity efficiency, and manages customer relationships much better. 

E. Offer Performance Incentives 

One of any business’s best practices is to offer a performance incentive system that encourages agents to meet and exceed benchmark performance standards. Rewards might take the form of presents, certificates, or advancements up the organizational ladder. When properly constructed, incentives motivate agents, increase their performance standards, and motivate them to provide great service throughout the organization. 

Top Challenges of Running A Blended Call Center 

1. Technical challenges 

One of the challenges that most blended call centers face is technical issues, such as agents needing expertise in the specific software they use. System unavailability, software application errors, and incompatibility issues are all complicated issues that can impact both business operations and service quality.

On extremely busy days, phone lines might get clogged, and the system may not function properly to optimize and manage calls. These technical issues can reduce productivity and raise customer dissatisfaction. 

2. In-depth training 

In a blended call center, agents need to understand and know how to operate both inbound and outbound calls. Every time a new Employee joins your company, they need training and classes on how to operate the software. Also, during every update on the solution, agents need to know and understand its mechanism. 

3. Management can be Challenging

Managing operations can be challenging while utilizing a blended call center, as agents need to operate both inbound and outbound calls independently. This can lead to issues with resource management and performance measurement, which isn’t always convenient. 

4. Increased workload for the employees

While the agents are deployed to handle both inbound and outbound calls, they might face a workload in their office. If a multi-person task is performed by a single agent, they definitely feel pressured and overwhelmed. Thus, manage effectively and hire an adequate number of agents for your company to handle calls. 

5. High-volume calls 

When a single call center accepts an inbound call and makes an outbound call, the number of calls is double. Calls might be sometimes high volumes and lesser sometimes. Being unable to handle the high volume of calls that may be received during peak hours is one way to overwork resources while also compromising the quality of service provided. 

Final Words 

In a modern business world, you should also adopt the latest technology and provide customer-centric solutions. Blended call center software is a great option for your brand because of its unified communication system and proactive customer engagement. Setting up software that matches your business’s unique needs and requirements is crucial if you want your contact center to foster growth and desired heights. 

Leveraging a blended call center while implementing its best practices and eliminating top challenges will definitely grow your business, eliminate high costs, and increase agents’ productivity. By utilizing every feature, your business can provide a better customer experience and gain customer loyalty. 

FAQs

What is a Blended Agent?

A Blended Agent is someone who can handle different customer or prospect contacts across several channels. This includes managing inbound and outgoing calls, emails, social media, and chats. A blended agent cal also switch between responding to customer queries and making proactive calls such as follow-up, call volumes, etc. 

What is a Blended process in a call center?

A Blended process in a call center is a combination of different modes of communication, such as inbound calls, outbound calls, emails, charts, etc. Blended agent works in a blended process as they are professionally trained to handle all types of communication mediums in a single software. 

What are the 4 different types of call centers?

The four different types of call centers are, 

1. Inbound call center 
2. Outbound call center 
3. Blended call center 
4. Offshore call center

What types of communication channels are typically blended in a blended call center?

Blended call centers typically involve multiple communication channels, such as telephone calls, emails, SMS, live chat, social media, etc. 

What is a blended account in BPO?

A Blended Account in BPO( Business Process Outsourcing) refers to the customer account provided by the service provider. This account can manage both inbound and outbound calls and receive services like comprehensive solutions, address queries, and service and maintenance. 

What is a blended dialer?

A Blended dialer refers to the combination of different dialing methods in a telephone system, such as predictive dialer, power dialer, auto dialer, and manual dialer. It analyzes agent productivity and previous interactions and automatically distributes the call based on real-time data. 

Which type of call center is best?

The best call center depends upon your business type and needs and requirements. If your business is a customer service provider, an inbound call center is best for you, and if your business is based on marketing and sales, an Outbound call center will be best for you. Moreover, if your business offers customer service, sales, and marketing, a Blended call center is the Best option for you.