Fielding calls can take up a lot of valuable time that you and your staff could spend managing day to day operations. Still, customer service is essential and, for some businesses, the phone lines are a major channel for lead generation and even sales.
If you're having trouble managing the phones effectively, or if you want to improve outreach without burdening your staff, you need a call center service. These services often specialize in both inbound and outbound services, such as customer support and lead generation. The best services will boost customer satisfaction, retention and help generate new leads that will eventually become customers as well.
To find the call center services you can trust with your business in 2018, we reviewed about three dozen companies that offer inbound and outbound calling services. Here is a roundup of our best picks and an explanation of how we chose them.
Best Call Center Services
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- Services
- TeleDirect offers comprehensive inbound and outbound services, including lead generation and customer support.
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- Minimum Requirements
- TeleDirect requires a low monthly minimum call volume of 29 minutes, which is easy to meet for most businesses.
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- Customer Support
- 24/7 customer service is available via phone and email. Clients also have access to a real-time reporting dashboard.
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- Services
- Xact Telesolutions offers affordable inbound and outbound solutions, including customer support, targeted lead generation, and customer feedback calls.
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- Minimum Requirements
- Low volume plan is 75 minutes.
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- Customer Support
- 24/7 customer support is available via phone, email, and live chat.
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- Services
- Specialty Answering Services medical services are HIPAA compliant and secure, and include scheduling and annotated call transcripts.
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- Minimum Requirements
- There are no contracts or call minimums required.
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- Customer Support
- Specialty Answering Service offers 24/7 customer support via phone, email, and live chat.
Best Call Center Service for Small Business: TeleDirect
TeleDirect was selected as our best overall call center service for small businesses primarily because it boasts a complete selection of both inbound and outbound services, including some of the harder-to-find features like cold-calling services. TeleDirect's services are also available 24/7/365, meaning your customers will always have someone to speak with, even on weekends and holidays. Depending on your particular needs, you can select shared agents, who conduct multiple campaigns, or dedicated agents, who will be focused solely on your business. TeleDirect also supports English and Spanish, as well as a number of other languages depending on the requirements of your clientele. Find out more about TeleDirect on the call center service's website, or see our full review for more information.
Best Affordable Call Center Service: Xact Telesolutions
When it comes to bang for your buck, it's important to find a solution with low requirements and reasonable rates. Xact Telesolutions has packages featuring low monthly invoice requirements or call minimums, making it an affordable solution for even the smallest businesses. Xact's agents are prepared to answer calls 24/7/365, and the company enables you to monitor any phone call in real time using a supervisory tool. Xact also offers one of the most comprehensive language services, with agents fluent in English and Spanish, and a third-party translation partner that can support more than 100 additional languages. Find out more about Xact Telesolutions on the call center service's website, or see our full review for more information.
Best Answering Service for Medical Practices: Specialty Answering Services
Not only do medical practices have to ensure security in their communications, but they also have to do so in accordance with the federally required HIPAA standards. Specialty Answering Service offers a HIPAA-compliant answering service at affordable rates. There are a number of plans to choose from based on your expected call volume, from the pay-as-you-go economy plan all the way up to the massive 10,000-minute plan. Specialty Answering Service also offers an extremely effective appointment scheduler, complete with follow-ups, which adds a layer of redundancy to your practice-management system's scheduler. Find out more about Specialty Answering Service on the answering service's website, or see our full review for more information.
Our methodology
We take the process of recommending vendors seriously, so we invested substantial time in researching various call center services and their features. We gave each vendor equal consideration.
We started the process by coming up with a comprehensive list of vendors that offer call center services. To do this, we searched the web and consulted other lists and reviews of the most popular vendors. We ended up with a list of about 35 call center services to examine further.
From there, we visited the websites of each vendor to compare pricing and features. We looked at all the details, including inbound services, outbound services, invoice requirements, call minimums and additional features. We used this information to narrow down our field of candidates to 14 finalists.
Next, we contacted all the services we were considering, posing as a customer. We wanted to go beyond the marketing rhetoric and get a feel for how the companies handle actual customer interactions. We asked each customer service rep the same set of questions about features, options and pricing, and we noted our reactions to the experience. Company representatives who were friendly and forthcoming got higher marks, and those who were less than helpful or too pushy scored lower.
For our overall best picks, the decision came down to which company offered the best balance of affordability, useful features and effectiveness of call center agents.
Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the call center that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our sister site BuyerZone provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free.
Vendors list
Here is a list of call center services we reviewed and a summary of what each company claims to offer. The alphabetical list also includes our best picks.
24-7 InTouch – 24-7 InTouch offers both dedicated and shared call center agents, as well as an option for social media management. As the name suggests, 24-7 InTouch's call centers are open 24/7/365. The company can also integrate a live-chat option into your business's website. http://www.24-7intouch.com/
AbbyConnect – AbbyConnect, formerly TelAssistant, is an inbound/outbound call center service that provides dedicated agents who understand the nuances of your business. It is available 24/7/365 to support your customers on holidays and weekends. http://www.abbyconnect.com/
Advanced Marketing Solutions – AMS is a Massachussetts-based domestic call center offering both inbound and outbound services within the U.S. In addition to these services, AMS offers consulting and brand loyalty programming, as well as other ongoing marketing campaigns. http://amsperforms.com/
Ambs Call Center – Ambs Call Center is a service that focuses on tailoring a custom plan to fit your specific requirements. The service is accessible 24/7/365 and can include an answering service, virtual receptionist, appointment reminders, secure text messaging and automated attendants. http://www.ambscallcenter.com/
Americall – Americall has been in the call center business for 75 years and offers both inbound and outbound services. Americall's offerings include conducting surveys, processing orders and providing answering services for specific industries. http://www.americall.com/
Ansafone Contact Centers – Ansafone is a domestic call center service provider offering 24/7/365 live support. Ansafone maintains a staff of specialists with experience in a number of industries and includes multi-channel services such as phone, email management, live chat, social media monitoring, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR). http://www.ansafone.com/
AnswerConnect – AnswerConnect offers a 24/7/365 call center service and specialized answering services for a number of industries, including e-commerce, finance and health care. In addition to inbound call center services, Answer Connect is also able to design websites for your business. http://www.answerconnect.com/
AnswerForce – AnswerForce bills itself as a "scalable call center solution," particularly for medium-size businesses looking to expand. AnswerForce engages in customer service functions, order processing, appointment setting and virtual-office functions. http://www.answerforce.com/services/call_center
AnswerNet – AnswerNet call centers offer both inbound and outbound services, including order processing, customer support, telemarketing and lead generation. AnswerNet also offers delegation services for "virtually any business process that can be done by phone, fax or email." http://www.answernet.com/
BPO American – BPO American is a full service contact center that offers services surrounding customer retnetion and satisfaction, brand loyalty, lead nurutring and company reputation. BPO includes a simple answering service, inbound call center, outbound call center and chat and email services. http://www.bpoamerican.com/
Call Center Pros – Call Center Pros boasts a strong selection of both inbound and outbound services, including lead generation and customer support, and can also embed a live-chat support system on your website. In addition, Call Center Pros offers email support. http://callcenterpros.com/services/
Call Center Sales Pro – Call Center Sales Pros offers a ful slate of services including answering services, inbound call center services, and outbound call center services. Call Center Sales Pros also offers call center consulting and IT/Programming support services, vendor management, and support for mergers and acquisitons, making it a versatile solution. http://www.callcenter-salespro.com/
Call Experts – Call Experts offers a customizable service designed to scale with your business. The company's 24/7/365 service includes encrypted messaging, order processing, lead generation, help desk services and appointment setting. http://www.callexperts.com/
CallNet – CallNet offers general call center services as well as industry-specific answering services. Some of the major functions Call Net performs are order processing, lead generation, appointment setting and application services. Services operate 24/7/365. http://callnetservices.com/services/call-center-services/
Callsbo – Managed by A1 Small Business Marketing, Callsbo is a call center that offers telesales, appointment scheduling, answering services and more. Callsbo featured some of the more expensive pricing plans we reviewed and included a "setup fee." http://www.callsbo.com/
Callzilla – Callzilla is a "nearshore" call center based in Colombia that focuses on customer satisfaction and first-call resolution. Callzilla also offers talent acquistion and retention services, voice, email and chat-to-social services. A full slate of both inbound and outbound services are available. https://www.callzilla.net/
Continental Message Solution – CMS Call Center is focused on inbound call services and supports over 200 languages, the most out of any call center we reviewed. CMS operates 24/7/365. https://www.continentalmessage.com/
Contact One – Contact One call centers accommodate large and small businesses alike. The 24/7/365 call center includes a 24-hour help desk, appointment scheduling, order processing, surveys and dedicated agents, to name a few. http://www.contactonecallcenter.com/
Enablx – Enablx is a customizable call center that primarily engages in tech support, order processing, customer follow-ups and help desk services. Enablx supports both English and Spanish and also offers text and email services. http://www.enablx.com/
Five Star Call Center: Five Star Call Center offers one of the most comprehensive outbound services we reviewed and demonstrated exemplary customer service. It's prices are also competitive within the industry and the company offers both shared and dedicated agents. http://fivestarcallcenters.com/
Global Response – Global Response partners with a lot of large brands, including Toyota, Lane Bryant and Anthropologie. The call center offers inbound and outbound services, as well as social media management and a branded customer care program. http://www.globalresponse.com/
Go-Answer – Go-Answer call centers offer both inbound and outbound services, as well as an internet answering service that completes the same functions as the call center. Go-Answer offers order processing, customer service, help desk services and appointment scheduling. https://1888goanswer.com
Infinit Contact – Infinit Contact offers inbound, outbound and social media services, including customer service, tech support, order processing, surveys, lead generation and customer retention. The company also offers back-office data-management services in addition to its call center. http://www.infinitcontact.com/
LiveOps – LiveOps is a cloud-based call center service that provides exceptional reporting quality and analytics. The company provides both inbound and outbound services, including lead generation, customer service and inbound sales. http://www.liveops.com/agents-on-demand
NotifyMD – NotifyMD specializes in the health care industry, meeting HIPAA-compliance regulations and offering the major functions a medical practice requires, such as patient scheduling and follow-up. The company offers a 30-day free trial. However, NotifyMD has no outbound services. http://www.notifymd.com/
OnBrand24 – OnBrand24 provides both inbound and outbound call center services, including customer service, help desk services, order processing and live-chat support. OnBrand24 also offers lead-generation services, appointment setting, customer "win-back" and database scrubbing. http://www.onbrand24.com/outbound-call-center
Reps Direct - Reps Direct is a unique solution for your contact center needs. They provide dedicated customer support reps that only work for your company, which provides a higher level of inbound/outbound phone, live chat and email support. http://RepsDirect.com
Signius Communications – Signius Communications offers 24/7/365 answering and call center services with both live agents and a virtual receptionist. The U.S.-based call center also offers medical specific answering services and technology solutions. https://signius.com/
Specialty Answering Service – Specialty Answering Service is our best pick for answering services for medical practices. This secure inbound/outbound call center service provides 24/7/365 coverage for your business. Features especially useful for a medical practice are appointment setting, patient follow-up, emergency hotlines and solicitation of customer feedback. However, Specialty Answering Service does not offer lead-generation or cold-calling services. Read our full review here. http://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/
Solid Cactus – Solid Cactus is a customizable call center service that allows you to create a plan based on your business's needs and budget. Choose from features like inbound sales, return management, after-hours support, customer service and live chat. http://www.solidcactus.com/call-center-services
TeleContact Resource Services: TeleContact Resource Services is a multilingual telemarketing service with a strong slate of both inbound and outbound services. The company will work with you to create a custom campaign that suits your needs. https://www.econtactlive.com/
TeleDirect – TeleDirect is our pick for best overall call center service for small business. It was chosen for its wide range of both inbound and outbound services, exceptional customer service, and availability of dedicated agents. TeleDirect is also able to provide support for a variety of different languages, making this company a versatile option for small business owners no matter the industry. Read our full review here. http://www.teledirect.com/
The Jay Group – The Jay Group offers 24/7/365 live support for a full array of services, both inbound and outbound. These include call center services for specific industries, including ecommerce retailers, healthcare and insurance providers, government, higher education, equipment manufacturers and more. https://www.jaygroup.com/contact-center/
Transcosmos America Inc.: Transcosmos America offers call center and answering services, and it supports both inbound and outbound needs. It also offers back-office support services and social CRM support in addition to its lineup of inbound and outbound services. http://www.transcosmos.net/
USA800 – USA800 call centers operate in a number of different industries, from health care and insurance to government and education. In addition to inbound and outbound solutions, USA800 offers disaster-recovery services, live web-chat support, email engagement and automated services. http://www.usa800.com/CallCenterServices.aspx
Xact Telesolutions – Xact Telesolutions is our best pick for call center services for small businesses interested in affordability. Because Xact has low monthly calling requirements, it is a great flexible service for small businesses. Xact offers most core inbound and outbound services, as well as support for more than 100 languages. The company also offers a supervisory tool, so you can monitor calls in real time to ensure you're receiving quality service. Read our full review here. http://www.myxact.com/
If you'd like your company to be added to this list and possibly considered as a best pick for our next round of reviews, please email your request to: b2bconsiderrequest@purch.com.
Editor's note: If you're looking for information to help you choose the call center that's right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our sister site BuyerZone provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free.
