What’s the Difference between a Call Center and a Help Desk?

Some people may be under the impression that a call center and a help desk are one and the same, but there are actually quite a few differences between them. If you think your business may be in need of one of these services, it’s important to note the difference between a call center and a help desk to select the one that’ll best suit your needs.

What Is a Call Center?

Call centers typically deal with customer support or issues on behalf of a business and sometimes even conduct sales. Businesses typically have call centers to help address customer service issues like product questions, returns, and maybe even sales. Phone-based support remains one of the most relied-upon methods of customer service and support, despite the availability of the Internet. Call centers often end up being outsourced, and aren’t always handled by the business directly; outsourcing is a common solution since it’s an effective way to manage costs.

What Is a Help Desk?

A help desk, on the other hand, is typically focused on IT and technical support rather than customer-related services. A help desk works to resolve technical issues, like password resets or network and software issues. Help desks are also commonly outsourced for largely the same reasons that call centers are: cost-effectiveness.

Call Center vs. Help Desk

The main difference between a call center and a help desk is that they address different issues. A call center is designed to handle customer concerns and provide customer support while the purpose of a help desk is to offer IT or technical support. When it comes to deciding on a call center vs. a help desk, your choice depends on the specific needs of your business and which option would best suit your needs. If you require both customer service and IT support, you may need to contract both services.

Outsourcing both call centers and help desks can help businesses cut down on costs as well as address customer service and technical issues more effectively and efficiently. It’s often cheaper to outsource call center and help desk support rather than doing it in-house. You don’t necessarily need to go overseas to take advantage of this, since there are many agencies that offer these services in North America. You can even improve the quality of service that your customers and employees receive since you’ll be able to hire outsourced employees that have extensive knowledge of your industry.

Whether you’re looking for a partner to handle customer service, technical support, or data verification processes, 3C Contact Services can help you. Providing business solutions to a variety of clients with diverse markets, we are dedicated to expanding each of their businesses quickly and efficiently while maintaining a long-term growth pattern. If you want to learn more about how 3C Contact Services can help grow your business, contact us today.