Your Guide to Call Center Outsourcing in 2021

Call Center | 5 minute read

When you first start a business, everything is on you – from accounting to customer service to sales. However, as you grow your business, you can’t focus on everything internally.

This is especially the case with customer service and customer care. Outsourcing customer service can potentially save your business money while allowing you to focus on other areas of the business.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the reasons why businesses outsource their customer service strategies to call center companies. We’ll also explore some of the pros and cons that come with call center outsourcing and customer service companies.

Reasons to Outsource Customer Service

Outsourcing your customer service allows you to focus on other areas of your business, and it can also be cheaper in the long run. This is a very common practice – in fact, many companies choose to align with customer service organizations or call centers — whether inbound or outbound — to handle the area of the business in which they’re weakest. Rather than hiring employees to perform an uninformed strategy, they simply communicate their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to outsourced services who can take over these operations.

Here are some great reasons to consider outsourcing your customer service operations:

Cost Savings

There is a reason why major telecommunications and technology companies outsource their customer service operations — it’s cheaper. Major markets in India and the Philippines can hire workers at a much lower hourly rate, which can save you money in the long run.

Time Efficiency

Outsourcing can allow you to redirect your main focus to other areas, such as growth and innovation. Creating strategies for your business takes a lot of time and planning. Outsourcing your customer service operations to call centers will free up your employees to focus on the tasks for which you ought to be paying them, and save you time on extensive interviewing and hiring.

In addition, hiring a customer service organization or a call center service may enable you to provide 24/7 customer service. If you hire a call center located abroad, depending on the time zone difference, you can provide round the clock service for your customers. This is a factor that sets many businesses apart; customer care and support is expected and if it can’t be delivered, it could deter customers from engaging with your brand in future.

Budget

Just because you’re leading your business doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the best person to interact with your customers. Engagement, time of response, and handling complaints are all key aspects of a businesses’ customer service goals — however, it costs time and money to execute them properly.

A good call center service will understand how to deliver results at a lower cost. You can establish a set of goals or deliverables over a certain period, and for a set price, you’ll get a set of results and access to data that will help you stay in line with your budgetary targets. Keeping on top of your budget is important for any successful business, and outsourcing customer service can help you maximize your efforts.

When to Outsource a Call Center

Depending on the type of business you have, you might not need to outsource a call center. But if you’re growing at a rapid rate, it might be time to change things. These outsourcing deals don’t have to be a permanent part of your business. If you work a seasonal business where calls are likely to overflow during a certain period, outsourcing can help you manage that demand.

This is especially true for holidays, summer trade work, and repair work during natural disasters and other crisis-related emergencies. Having a response team in place to deal with customers at a time of freneticism will get you through the grind so you can keep focused on your overall objectives.

Things to Consider When Center Outsourcing

If you’re currently looking for a good company to outsource to, it’s important to consider the product and services they’ll be supporting your customers with. You’ll want to find a cost-effective solution, but it’s also important to consider the quality of customer support. In addition, you’ll want to glean from outsourcing companies or market research, while being able to rely on their organization for lead generation and technical support.

Here are some key factors to consider:

Language Barrier

While there are many excellent businesses abroad that can handle your outsourcing needs, you need to be realistic regarding their ability to communicate with your customers. Agents who have strong accents and different levels of language fluency will be something to consider. Keep an open mind while putting yourself in your customer’s shoes to ensure that the team you hire will be able to effectively engage with your customers and provide the level of service you require.

Training and Ramp Up

Regardless of whether you hire an in-house or external team, there will be a learning curve involved. You’ll want to think about this before you choose a company. Having a more experienced call center service or customer service organization in your corner might be beneficial to avoid a product learning curve. Outsourced call centers rarely specialize in any one industry and will serve a range of companies. Customers will get a faster, more comprehensive response with a well-trained agent, and ultimately be happier with your service.

Opportunities for Feedback

Your customers will be calling for support with their product or services, but their feedback can get lost in the shuffle. That information is valuable for growing a business, so make sure you have a way to learn from your mistakes. Create channels, whether on social media or through an email service, where customers can deliver direct feedback without having to call in.

How Much Does Outsourcing a Call Cost?

Outsourcing your call center operations is not a decision to be made lightly. But if do it correctly you can save a ton of money. An in-house operation in North America could run you more than six figures, but you’ll be able to spend a lot less money by hiring a business in places like Latin America, Asia and India.

Your product and service will dictate the right path to take – remember to take that into consideration along with the above pros and cons, and it will become clear whether outsourcing is right for your business.

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