Virtual assistant services cover a string of expertise in various aspects of your business—customer service, content creation and social media management. Meanwhile, call center agents are accomplished in effectively managing calls.

Though each one of them has its advantages and drawbacks, one simply outshines the other in terms of driving business growth.

So, which one should you use for your customer support needs? Virtual assistant vs. call center—coming right up!

Virtual Assistant vs. Call Center: Are They the Same?

A big NO! Virtual assistants and call centers are different. The former is an individual who caters to business needs by offering diverse services from a remote location. These tasks include answering calls, scheduling appointments and other administrative work.

On the other hand, a call center is a team of people who take huge volumes of calls for customer service and sales purposes.

Yes, both conduct your communication support. However an online assistant can do more than just manage phone calls. They can provide personalised services as well.

How Are They Different?

Think of a virtual assistant as a skilled helper who isn’t in the same room as you. They work on your tasks and projects outside your office in a different country.

But thanks to the internet, it feels like they are with you, sharing ideas and exchanging feedback in real time. They can do many things with just a computer and a strong internet connection.

In contrast, think of a call center worker as a phone-answering agent who speaks to customers over the phone. They help your clients by addressing their questions and issues, and sometimes, telemarketing.

Need more comparisons? Here, let’s show you a breakdown of these prominent distinctions:

Scope of Work

Virtual assistants have verdant business service offerings for you. Outside of the general admin duties, they also cater to other business-related demands like event planning and digital marketing. They may not be physically close to you, but the level of support they cover is truly astonishing.

A call center personnel’s main drive is to boost your customer service, and they do so by answering every client call over the phone. They impress with immediate assistance in finding solutions for customer issues.

Both roles are pivotal to securing seamless operation within your organisation. They just do it in different ways while answering different business needs.

Knowledge and Expertise

VAs go through various trainings in using different tools and platforms. This allows them to handle a broad range of activities from a remote location more efficiently. Their expertise is not exclusive to administrative functions but goes further to more sophisticated processes.

Outside of ensuring effective call handling, call center agents can’t do more for your business. Their expertise only extends to providing information and addressing matters over the phone without delay.

Means of Engagement

To engage your customers, virtual assistants leverage a variety of communication channels, like social media.

Due to this, they can multitask and answer multiple customer concerns at once, making them much more effective customer service agents.

Whereas, a call cent agent communicates generally using the phone. Though this might add some personal touch, it also makes them ineffective in solving problems. They cover fewer audience interactions compared to a VA due to limitations in communication mode.

Tailoring Services to Client Needs

In terms of personalisation, your virtual assistant is pretty difficult to outdo. They are more flexible than a gymnast, primed to adapt to varying schedules and communication styles. They understand and get a bit personal with the individuals they talk to.

Since call center agents work in a structured environment with standards and protocols to follow, they won’t always be able to tailor their service to client needs.

Relationship with Your Business

When it comes to your relationship with your remote assistant, everything is very flexible. They serve according to your current needs.

This can’t be said with call center agents who speak with customers using predefined scripts in a transactional way.

They don’t have the same versatility that allows a VA to be more acclimated to the operational flow of your business. You can’t just scale them up or down in the rhythm of your changing demands.

Commitment

For about a hundredth time, virtual assistants thrive in flexible contracts. This elastic agreement in your projects makes it easier for you to increase or decrease their level of involvement without committing for the long term.

On one hand, call centers are a firmly fixed workforce solution. You have to be committed to a long-term contract under a structured working style.

The Cost Factor

Contractual agreements with a virtual assistant allow you big savings in overhead and operational costs.

VAs are only engaged when needed. Unlike call center staff who work full-time, enjoying customary employee benefits.

Remote professionals are perhaps the most cost-effective approach to meeting your customer support needs without affecting service quality.

Why Do Companies Use Virtual Assistants?

The reason why companies opt for virtual assistant support is that they can save money—tons of it. Simply put, you only need to pay a remote worker a fraction of what you would pay an in-house full-time employee.

Not only will you be able to tap the most talented candidates all over the world, but work with them without breaking your budget.

Also, you get to offer flexible contracts, giving you the power to scale your remote workforce up or down without breaking a sweat.

But you’re not the only one who’s going to benefit from a VA partnership; your onsite employees too. With VAs taking over the extra tasks, your regular staff can concentrate on their important projects and breathe a little.

This can lead to more work done and a satisfying job experience.

So, Is a Virtual Assistant Better Than a Call Center?

Considering all those perks, remote workers are a much better option for a fledgling small business owner, like yourself, by a long stretch.

Delegating tasks to cheap virtual assistant services can help you save resources and make investments in promising projects.

Though remote professionals are not really your employees, they know more about your company than call center agents.

Call center employees have limited company knowledge. They are not entirely focused on your business and function with less control. You don’t really have much say-so in how they operate, sacrificing how you want your operation to function.

Moreover, your virtual assistant isn’t limited to just phone answering. They go the extra mile and handle other forms of interaction—from emails to social media.

In other words, you are getting your money’s worth working with a contractual virtual assistant rather than hiring full-time call center agents.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can a Virtual Assistant Do Data Entry?

Employing a virtual assistant for data entry is a flexible option for your company. As your data entry requirements grow, your VA can grow with it. You can scale them based on your current staffing needs without high financial consequences.

How Different is a Virtual Assistant from a Customer Service Representative?

Virtual assistants serve a dynamic role. Beyond just catering to your customer’s needs, they also manage your emails, schedule and sometimes your social media channels.

On one hand, a customer service representative is primed to do one thing to effectively handle customer interaction—address customer requests and issues.

What Is the Difference Between a Virtual Assistant and BPO (Business Process Outsourcing)?

Virtual assistant outsourcing and BPO follow a close concept of contracting an outside party to handle specific business functions. But unlike the latter, which focuses on routine support and custom processes, a virtual assistant brings variations.

VAs provide experienced service that goes beyond repetitive, mundane chores. They cover sophisticated processes that your unique business needs require.

What Is the Difference Between a Virtual Assistant and an IVR (Interactive Voice Response)?

For starters, a virtual assistant is an independent remote professional who works on behalf of a client, providing business-related services.

Conversely, an IVR, or interactive voice response, is a telephone technology that allows callers to interact and make requests without talking to a live agent.

But unlike VAs, who can offer personalised support, IVRs can’t find solutions to complex problems and converse in a highly detailed exchange. The speech recognition system of IVRs is pretty limited—made ineffective by long waits and lack of personalisation.

Takeaways

In running a business, the greatest asset is your customers. Treat them right by offering outstanding customer service.

Building that positive customer experience is not an accident. It is designed with the help of a talented virtual customer service assistant.

Remote professionals go beyond merely answering client calls. They work on your other needs to secure business growth.

Start striving to be of value. Book a consultation right now!