A call center is a centralized department that handles inbound and outbound calls from current and potential customers. Call centers can be located either within an organization or outsourced to a third-party service provider. There are two main types of call centers:

• Inbound call center: These call centers handle a considerable volume of calls simultaneously and then screen, forward and log the calls. An interactive voice response (IVR) system can answer calls and use speech recognition technology to address customer queries with an automated message or route calls to the appropriate call center agents or recipients through an automated call distributor (ACD) .

• Outbound call center: In these call centers, an agent makes calls on behalf of the organization or client for tasks, including lead generation, telemarketing, customer retention, fundraising, surveying, collecting debts or scheduling appointments. To maximize efficiencies, an automated dialer can make the calls and then transfer them to an available agent using an IVR system after the caller connects.

Call centers can benefit any industry that interacts with customers over the phone. Some of the main functions of call centers include:

• Providing customer care and technical support
• Answering customer queries
• Telemarketing
• Market research
• Account management
• Billing

Call centers can also be used to increase lead generation, acquire new customers, or streamline payment and order processing. Companies throughout the world rely on their call center to handle customer queries and complaints or sell their products over the phone.