What Is an Inbound Call?

An inbound call is a call made by a customer or client to a business to address their concerns. These calls are fielded by inbound contact centers that provide tech support, customer service, product assistance, order taking, inbound sales, and a number of other services to help keep their clients happy. The majority of these calls are either answered immediately or handled through a variety of other channels from live chat and emails to texts and social media. Inbound call centers that operate 24×7 are important because without them businesses stand to lose all customers who are not serviced at their own convenience. Handling inbound calls is a key function of customer service departments that are looking to enhance customer experience and improve their customer retention rates. 

Let’s go over some specific inbound contact center services to understand the concept of inbound calls as a whole:

1. Customer Service

Customers make inbound calls to businesses to get questions about their product answered, to have call center executives alleviate their concerns or complaints, or to receive account assistance. Customers are the ones who reach out to the business, which means that the chief aim of inbound call centers is to generate customer satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Technical Support

When customers purchase products or services, they expect to be able to use them right away. However, in cases where the product is defective or the customer has limited knowledge of how to operate the product, calling in for technical support is advised. Calling the helpline can assist customers in resolving any technical issues that may arise, thus keeping them satisfied.

3. Inbound Sales

In some cases, businesses might provide inbound call center solutions like inbound sales to help convert prospective users into loyal customers. Rather than make sales, lead generation, or marketing calls, it is prospective clients that call in to gain more information about the product they are looking purchase. This call then falls under the inbound sales category.

4. Virtual Receptionist Services

A virtual receptionist is basically a live, remote agent that specializes in providing receptionist services from handling incoming calls to taking messages and transferring calls. They are trained in professional phone etiquette and serve the customer in a way that gives them the best impression of the business because of their personalized customer experience.

5. Upselling and Cross-Selling 

One of the smartest ways a business can increase revenues is by blending sales with service through upselling and cross-selling. Upselling by inbound contact centers involves encouraging customers to buy a product that is of comparatively higher value with premium features while cross-selling informs them of other products that might complement their purchase.

Inbound calls are calls that customers make to a business’ call center for immediate assistance with their complaints, technical issues, requests, billing issues, enquiries, and accounts. These calls are largely not sales-oriented in nature, but rather serve to enhance customer experience and increase customer retention and satisfaction. If these calls are not handled effectively and immediately, customers are no longer impressed with the business and so choose to work with other service providers or purchase alternative products to meet their needs. In this way, inbound calls are essential to a business’ revenue generating strategies and profits.