Virtual call centers (VCC) have become the modern way to receive telephone calls from customers and leads. This type of service enables businesses to enjoy the benefit of an in-house call center without the overhead and hassle of hiring and training employees, installing the technology, and tracking hours.
In this article, we’ll go over what a virtual call center is, how it works, why it’s better than a traditional answering service, and more. Additionally, our experts share the top 10 virtual call center software for 2024.
Table of Contents
- What Is a Virtual Call Center?
- 4 Types of Virtual Call Centers
- 10 Best Virtual Call Center Software Solutions in 2024
- How Does a Virtual Call Center Work?
- 7 Reasons Why VCC Services Are Better Than Answering Services
- 5 Benefits of a Virtual Call Center Service for Businesses
- Choosing a Virtual Contact Center: What To Look For
- How To Start a Virtual Call Center Business
- Which Virtual Call Center Outsourcing Strategy To Choose
- Virtual Call Center: Final Thoughts
What Is a Virtual Call Center?
A virtual call center is an outsourced service that offers an array of telemarketing, customer care, and sales assistance services remotely. Third-party businesses operate VCCs, contracting with other firms to handle inbound customer calls. These VCCs enable employees to handle your company's phones and provide comprehensive phone services.
Ultimately, this setup enables employees to respond to calls without being physically present in the call center — hence the term virtual call center. You can implement virtual contact center services for inbound or outbound customer service calls, sales calls, telemarketing calls, and more.
Virtual Call Center vs. Virtual Receptionist: Main Differences
The main difference between a call center and a virtual receptionist is the scope of work. Namely, a call center only deals with a business’s calls — it answers them and delivers the message.
On the other hand, a virtual receptionist does much more than take calls and messages. They remotely handle phone calls, bookkeeping, appointments, voicemail deliveries, customer support, etc.
Because of the broader scope of daily work tasks a virtual receptionist handles, a virtual call center is faster and more direct. On average, a contact representative handles a call in 6 minutes and 10 seconds while the industry average speed answer (ASA) is 28 seconds.
Additionally, there’s a difference in the scale of operations. A virtual call center usually entails a group of agents distributing calls and answering customer inquiries. In contrast, a virtual receptionist is generally a single individual tasked with all previously mentioned assignments.
4 Types of Virtual Call Centers
These are the types of virtual call centers:
1. Inbound Virtual Call Centers
Inbound call center companies focus on receiving calls from clients. Their goal is to respond to customer concerns and inquiries. This type of VCC typically offers product or service support, addresses questions, processes orders, and administers call transfers.
2. Outbound Virtual Call Centers
Outbound VCCs focus primarily on reaching out to and attracting potential customers. Their main services include market research, marketing outreach, making outflow sales and follow-up calls, acquiring qualified leads, and welcoming new clients, and educating them on business information.
3. Blended Virtual Call Centers
Blended VCCs combine inbound and outbound call center services. These top call center companies cover everything outlined in the previous two points — from support to sales.
4. Omnichannel and Multichannel Virtual Call Centers
Multichannel and omnichannel VCCs facilitate agent-customer conversations on different platforms, including phone, email, chat, social media, and SMS. These are united all in one place, enabling agents to easily reach out and follow up when getting in touch with customers. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Contact Center Survey, 1 in 3 companies has used omnichannel integration tools, lowering the cost of assisting a customer by 9%.
10 Best Virtual Call Center Software Solutions in 2024
If you’re looking to utilize a top call center software, here are 10 great options:
1. Dialpad Ai
Dialpad is one of the best virtual call center options for 2024. It has built-in AI-powered features that function in real time. Some include:
- AI coaching
- AI chatbots
- AI messaging and voice
- Hyper-accurate voice transcription services
- Sentiment analysis
These enable you to access all agent-caller interactions across different channels using a single application that is retrievable on any device in any location. In addition, Dialpad allows integration with many apps such as Zendesk, Salesforce, Google Workspace, and HubSpot, tying them all together in one place.
Dialpad is an excellent choice for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as mid-market enterprises. It is best for:
- CRM integrations
- Outgoing calls
- Call rerouting
- Workforce engagement
Pricing:
- Standard: $27/user, month
- Pro: $35/user, month
- Enterprise: Available upon request
2. Aircall
This virtual call center software can help you evaluate agent performance, both as a team and as individuals. The top features of Aircall include:
- Interactive voice response (IVR) in various languages
- Call routing and skill-based rerouting
- Cloud-based calling
- Call queuing and queue callback
- Call whispering
- Live call monitoring
- Reporting and analytics
Moreover, this virtual call center software can help you evaluate agent performance, both as a team and as individuals.
Pricing:
- Essentials: $40/month
- Professional: $70/month
- Custom
As part of the list of the best virtual call center software, Aircall also has an AI add-on that provides AI-generated call summaries, transcript search, sentiment analysis, etc. You just need to request access for $9/license. Additionally, there is an analytics add-on for $15/license.
3. Avaya
Avaya is a heavyweight, enterprise-level omnichannel virtual call center software product. It is available as a cloud-based and on-premises solution.
Avaya comes with these functionalities:
- Omnichannel support
- Call rerouting
- AI digital automation
- Sentiment analysis
- Desktop and mobile compatibility
- Facial and voice biometrics
- Toll-free support
- Call monitoring
- Reports and analytics
Pricing:
- Available on demand
4. Nextiva
Nextiva is an easy-to-use voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) virtual call center software solution that enables you to communicate with more customers with fewer agents in less time. Boasting zero downtime, it can help optimize the call flow and automate interactions through virtual agents to streamline client experience.
Get these features with Nextiva:
- Call recording
- Call forwarding, routing, and queuing
- IVR
- Automatic call distribution (ACD)
- Cloud-based calling
- Reporting and analytics dashboard
Pricing:
- 3 plans:
- For all teams
- For sales, services, and support teams
- For marketing teams
- The sales services, and support team prices:
- Essential: $99/user/month
- Professional: $119/user/month
- Premium: $139/user/month
5. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is also part of our best virtual call center list because it provides several customer care channels, such as live chat, email queues, and rentable telephone lines. All these can be integrated into customer relationship management (CRM) tools and task management software products. Furthermore, it offers an on-site solution for companies capable of hosting and managing their own data storage.
These are the top features of Bitrix24:
- Internal team collaboration
- IVR
- HD video conference calls
- Task automation
- Call rerouting
- CRM support
- On-cloud and on-site options
- Omnichannel availability
Pricing:
- Basic: $61/month (5 users)
- Standard: $124/month (50 users)
- Professional: $249/month (100 users)
- Enterprise: $499/month (250 users)
6. Dixa
Dixa runs entirely on a web browser-based cloud. This makes it a simple-to-set-up virtual call center software program that’s among the best virtual call center options. With caller recognition functionality and advanced call distribution algorithms, Dixa is a modern solution designed to enhance customer and call center administrator experiences.
It is best known for these features:
- Skill-based and priority-based call routing and call barging
- Call monitoring
- Customized quality assurance (QA)
- Internal team collaboration
- Application programming interface (API)
- CRM and other software integration
Pricing:
- Essential: $49/user, month
- Growth: $109/user, month
- Ultimate: $169/user, month
- Custom
7. LiveAgent
LiveAgent is designed for multichannel helpdesks. This means your agents can assist clients via any platform. What makes this software one of the best virtual call center options is the fact it does not charge on a per-minute usage basis. Hence, LiveAgent is cost-efficient for startups, small operations and medium-sized enterprises that constantly rely on customer support.
LiveAgent is used for:
- 24/7 client support
- Outgoing calls
- Automated callbacks
- Advanced reporting and analytics
- APIs and integrations with numerous other web-based business tools
Pricing:
- Small business: $9/agent
- Medium business: $29/agent
- Large business: $49/agent
- Enterprise: $69/agent
8. 8×8
8x8 provides collaboration and cloud-based communication solutions, including:
- Inbound and outbound calls
- Multi-channel support
- Call distribution and routing
- Agent performance tracking
- CRM integration
- Integration with sales and marketing automation
Pricing:
- There are 5 plans, but you must talk to sales for a quote
9. VoxDesk
Another best virtual call center software is VoxDesk. It helps organizations manage and optimize inbound and outbound call center operations through its wide-ranging features and tools, like:
- Advanced algorithms
- Machine learning technology
- Call recording
- Soundboards
- Call logging
- Call disposition
- Reports and analytics
Pricing:
- Cloud: $14.99/month
- Enterprise: $74.95/month
- Hoster: Contact for pricing
10. Five9
The AI-powered and cloud-based Five9 system offers inbound and outbound call functionalities, plus an administrative platform, helping customize the user experience. It can also provide hundreds of varying reports.
Other features of Five9 are:
- Call routing, queuing, and recording
- Omnichannel support
- Reports and analytics
- Agent management
- Quality management
Pricing:
- Digital: $175/month (digital only)
- Core: $175/month (voice only)
- Premium: $235/month (digital + voice)
- Optimum: $290/month (digital + voice + WEM)
- Ultimate: $325/month (digital + voice + WEM + analytics)
For more options, make sure to check out our complete list of the top outsourced customer support companies.
How Does a Virtual Call Center Work?
At its core, a virtual contact center is an outsourced call center. The company you hire to handle your inbound customer calls employs agents who work in a call center environment, using a computer and headset to access your business's contact information and customer data.
The company’s owner sets up a network of computers and telephone lines to route the calls to your business or another business. They use technology to manage the call flow and provide call stats to the business owners.
Agents can transfer calls to other employees or departments, or even to customers, based on the particulars of the conversation. The call center software has built-in features that allow the agents to handle various types of calls, including sales calls, inbound customer service calls, and outbound marketing calls.
Many virtual call centers are now leveraging advanced technologies developed by enterprise software development companies to enhance their customer service capabilities. For example, if you're a company dealing with AI solutions for small businesses, your call center might receive customer service calls related to items that customers want to return.
7 Reasons Why VCC Services Are Better Than Answering Services
Answering services and virtual contact center services both allow you to receive calls when your business is closed. However, there are some critical differences between the two, making one potentially better than the other.
Here are seven other reasons why you may want to consider a virtual call center over an answering service provider:
- More opportunities for growth: A VCC can offer additional services, such as customer service and web chat, whereas an answering service can only answer a call.
- Personalized services: A virtual contact center provides a more personalized customer experience that allows agents to handle multiple inquiries and close questions quickly. It's imperative as one report showed that 86% of customers prefer agents that show empathy and understanding since they can share a positive connection with them.
- Cost-effective pricing: Answering services often charge by the minute, which can be expensive for clients with large volumes of calls per day or week. Agents at a VCC work on salary, which means their hourly cost never changes regardless of how many calls they take in an hour or day.
- High-quality telemarketing services: Call center agents can answer questions, provide support, and handle customer service issues. They can also take on various situations, including offering product information and solving problems. They usually undergo ongoing training, so they continue to hone their skills as needed.
- Scalability: Answering services often limit how many calls they can take each day, which can be problematic for companies that receive high volumes of calls during peak times. A virtual contact center has no limitations and will automatically scale with you.
- Resiliency: If your answering service experiences any issues with its service, it can mean disaster for your business. Answering services rely on landlines and voicemail, which aren’t always reliable or are sometimes down altogether. With a VCC, you know that calls will be routed to agents so your customers can get their questions answered and inquiries resolved.
- 24/7 Services: Unlike an answering service, virtual contact center agents can take calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so you’re always available to your customers no matter what time they contact you. It gives you a more professional image and shows your customers you’re ready to handle their needs anytime.
5 Benefits of a Virtual Call Center Service for Businesses
Getting a call center in a virtual capacity has many advantages for your business, mainly:
- Reduced overhead: You can save money by not paying for office space and equipment costs, such as computers.
- Lower hiring costs: Hiring employees through an outsourced company has fewer benefits and administrative costs compared to direct employment.
- Location flexibility: You can choose your call center location based on rates, labor cost (language and skill set), and available technology.
- Global reach: If your business has a global customer base, you can select a call center in a different part of the world where your customer’s language is spoken. This enhances communication and service quality.
- Advanced technology: You can also select a call center based on the technology they use.
Keep in mind that low rates may indicate a lower level of service or quality.
Choosing a Virtual Contact Center: What To Look For
Virtual contact center providers offer many benefits to companies, but they also come with some drawbacks, and it's essential to know what aspects to look for before making your choice.
Here are the steps you can follow:
- Evaluate your situation
- Research providers that meet your criteria
- Look for companies with previous similar experience
- Consider the associated costs
1. Evaluate Your Situation
The first step in choosing a VCC is evaluating your current situation. Ask yourself:
- Are you currently outsourcing your call center needs?
- Are you looking for a new provider?
- Is this just a part-time venture or a full-time move?
2. Research Providers That Meet Your Criteria
Once you've evaluated your current situation, research different providers so you can find one that meets all your needs. In your research, don't overlook nearshore outsourcing companies; they can offer a balance of cost-effectiveness and time zone compatibility.
Ask these questions:
- Which services does the VCC provide?
- What is the provider’s call center SOP?
- What is the virtual call center’s reputation?
- Do you need a 24/7 call center, or can your business operate with an evening/weekend support team?
- Are there any regulatory requirements that will affect your choice?
3. Look for Companies With Previous Similar Experience
Third, look for companies that have worked with small businesses like yours — they know how important it is to get things right from day one. The questions you should ask are:
- What technology do they use?
- Does the virtual contact center provide customer satisfaction guarantees?
- What do customers say about them?
- Is the company willing to work with your unique needs?
4. Consider the Associated Costs
Finally, consider the costs associated with each option. Ask yourself:
- What does each provider charge for their services?
- Are there any hidden fees or extra charges?
- How do these prices compare to other providers in the industry?
Once you’ve identified the best virtual contact center for your business, contact them to set up a consultation. During the consultation, ask the following questions:
- What is your customer satisfaction rate?
- How will my business benefit from using your services?
- What will it cost to use your services?
- What do you offer in terms of warranties and guarantees?
- What is your technology setup?
- How do you handle data security?
- What is your implementation process?
How To Start a Virtual Call Center Business
If you’re looking to start your own call center business, follow these steps:
- Choose your specialization
- Invest in call center equipment and software
- Create a call workflow
- Find your clients
- Onboard a team of agents
1. Choose Your Specialization
Find the industry and niche for your virtual call center. Figure out whether you will be providing inbound or outbound call services or both. Then, set your goal for long-term communication with the customers you plan to cater to.
When you have a vivid picture of these, you will find it easier to obtain the resources you need and achieve the objectives you envision. Also, it will make your business more enjoyable, fruitful, and productive.
2. Invest in Call Center Equipment and Software
Call center companies should utilize reliable equipment and exceptional software solutions for seamless operations.
These will help the agents manage calls, emails, and chat messages more efficiently, improving their overall performance in the process.
Get the software and tool integrations that are best fitting for best fit your business requirements and up-to-date equipment and operating systems to ensure the quality of services. You will also need fast broadband internet, firewall, anti-virus, and malware protection for cybersecurity.
3. Create a Call Workflow
Use planning tools to organize and manage workflows. They can be task management software, flow charts, or mind maps.
Plotting a definitive call workflow is vital for the next steps when you are putting up a virtual call center business. It can be simple or complex, depending on your client's needs and the calls you will be receiving or making.
Realistically, a call or email will require branching options for the upcoming interactions based on how it is received or handled by the first agent.
4. Find Your Clients
It is imperative to target the right markets and audiences if you want to make your business a thriving investment. Determine the key players in your niche and identify the products and services they offer. This insight will help you position your virtual call center services to effectively address those needs.
Get the word about your company out there. List your enterprise on online databases and directories, leverage social media, and use other marketing channels.
5. Onboard a Team of Agents
Build a team of skilled and trustworthy agents to establish a strong reputation for your brand among clients.
Since you’re starting a virtual business, it’s recommended to find employees who are willing to work from home in the long term. Ensure you hire people who are highly motivated and disciplined.
Recruiting and hiring a remote workforce can help reduce the costs that on-site devices and physical office spaces may require.
Which Virtual Call Center Outsourcing Strategy To Choose
One of the factors to consider when deciding how to outsource your virtual call center provider is whether you want an onshore, nearshore, or offshore call center provider.
Here are the differences between them:
- Onshore refers to outsourcing providers based in the same country as you. In most cases, this will be your own country, but it could also be another North American country. The advantage of onshore outsourcing is that there are fewer time zone differences to worry about when communicating with your provider. Onshore outsourcing is suitable for businesses that have lower budget limits.
- Nearshore outsourcing providers are in a nearby country but not your own. It's often cheaper than offshore outsourcing but still offers many of the benefits of outsourcing, such as access to local talent and lower communication problems because of the time zone difference. Nearshore outsourcing is best for companies that wish to be closer to their providers and develop longer-lasting relationships with them; a good example is nearshore software development companies.
- Offshore outsourcing is getting tasks done remotely by a company or an individual in another country. The concept is simple: one can get work done at a location where labor costs are much cheaper than in the native place.
Virtual Call Center: Final Thoughts
Virtual call centers allow local businesses to grow and expand operations more efficiently. Rather than having to recruit, hire, and train new employees, you can outsource your call center functions to a virtual contact center company. It frees up time and money so you can focus on other areas, such as marketing or expansion.
With the help of virtual contact centers, you can also feel confident that your customers or clients will receive prompt service from well-trained agents.
Professional answering service companies can also help you with this process, so we advise looking for the right agency to partner with for your project.
