Call Centers
Outsourcing has made its way into almost every facet of the business world — and it should come as no surprise that call centers rank high on that list.
But why?
Traditionally, enterprise-level companies outsourced because it was cheaper. They were willing to skimp out on customer support because the product or service was their bread and butter.
But today, you can’t leave the customer behind. Customer-centric goals and company visions have become the norm, and cutting corners where the customer is involved can tank a business.
So why is outsourcing call centers still being done?
Well, it’s about more than just saving up a few bucks. To provide great customer experience you need experienced specialization. You need a strategic approach that is a focal point of an entire team. You need an entire entity devoted to the customer, and you need someone interacting with customers whose main strength is delivering amazing customer experiences. Domestic outsourced call centers do just that.
Building Your Own
Lots of companies have their own call centers. If you’re not one of those organizations, you may be considering whether or not you should house your own.
The truth is that you can…but you probably shouldn’t.
Before you even get started, you’re going to need to have a robust understanding of an omni-channel approach to customer experience. And then you’ll have to implement it.
That means that your contact center will need to have:
- Multiple customer channel capabilities
- Web chats
- Email support
- Telephony equipment
- Training
- Up-to-date technology
- Tracking and reporting support
- IT
This is no small endeavor. It’s a pretty massive amount of time and resources needed to manage your own call center. Not to mention the difficulty of dealing with the internal silos responsible for each of these areas when things inevitably need to be upgraded.
Why Outsource?
Outsourcing your call center has a ton of benefits, and they definitely extend beyond just the time and energy you’ll save.
As we mentioned, the customer is at stake here. Modern call center outsourcers implement a customer-centric approach and obsess over the customer experience. They are also constantly keeping up with the times, implementing a dynamic structure to their strategies so that they are agile when it comes to change.
Specialization
Outsource call centers specialize in the customer. That’s what they do. They are able to utilize insights, data, analytics, AI, automated processes…the whole nine yards to your advantage. They’re also adaptable and able to focus on certain customers from specific niches.
Being able to migrate towards a certain customer base makes communication more efficient, smooth and relatable — making for better customer experience.
Scalable and Flexible
Call centers have a lot of ups and downs — meaning peaks and valleys of call times. It’s something that is difficult to manage in-house because, depending on the size of your company, you may have to be available in many time zones.
Outsource call centers are built for this. They create schedules for staff at the necessary rates and necessary times. This reduces the cost to you and allows your customers to be heard at anytime.
These peaks and valleys don’t just pertain to times in a day. Seasonal campaigns, promotional sales or even holidays can create a major influx of customer support need. This is where outsource call centers shine, as they are able to scale and become flexible as needed.
A Wide Variety of Tools
Call centers already have the omnichannel functionality you don’t have the time or money to implement. These tools and resources are a necessity for the current climate of the customer. It’s not enough to just be implementing multichannel approach anymore, you have to structure your customer experience in a consistent and diverse manner.
Outsource call centers already have resources such as:
- Web chats
- Email support
- Telephony equipment
- Tracking and reporting support
- IT
These are just a few of the many. Not to mention they are constantly keeping up to date with new software and tools that can be integrated into your companies vision.
There are even some outsource call centers that have cost management tools. These are great for measuring cost-per-call to give you insights on your campaigns.
Your Brand
Brand reputation is everything today. The digital landscape has created an entire arena of competing brands and standing out is tougher now than ever. Not only that, but your customers can deeply affect your brand’s reputation via this digital ecosystem. From social media and review websites to word of mouth — customers have a louder voice now than ever before.
Outsource call centers have highly trained agents that are well-versed in communication. Not just communication — but all the many avenues that customers are taking to voice their concerns.
Domestic call centers have the upper hand here — as they don’t have to worry about language variables that could negatively impact customer interaction. It goes beyond just accents — subtle social nuances are recognized by domestic agents and are able to be handled with true empathy.
Specialized Staff
Specialized call centers have specialized staff. That’s just the way it works. But what exactly does that specialization mean? Well, customer experience isn’t necessarily new — but the shifting tides it has presented is relatively current.
Customer experience is an entire journey of touchpoints and unless your staff specializes in all of them, you are falling behind. That’s where outsource call centers excel. The flexibility both in time and resources and in customer base and experience creates a new type of agent — one that extends towards new tech and the omnichannel approach we preach.
Tracking and Monitoring
Data is a call center’s best friend.
Analytics are the driving force for pretty much every company’s KPI’s and it’s no different when it comes to the customer. Because these analytics pertain to the customer, call centers obsess over these too. They understand how to turn data into insights and create actionable solutions to customer-centric issues.
Outsource call centers are also able to juggle multiple campaigns or initiatives at once because they have to. So no matter how much data you’re dealing with, your outsource call center can handle it.
These call centers are also given access to premier technologies, especially those that revolve around analytics platforms. This helps turn that data into insights for a fraction of the cost.
The Best Tech
Speaking of technology, nobody will do this better than your outsource call center option. This is often times their selling point as their software channels and telephony equipment needs to remain state-of-the-art.
With the best tech in the palm of your hands, you’re abler to give customers the very best service possible. From cloud-based software and entire suites of API’s to choose from, you won’t feel restricted with the tech options you prefer.
Like we mentioned earlier, the best tech is difficult to get a hold of and can be extremely expensive. While this may be out of budget for your business, this is what call centers invest in.
Speed and Agility
Today’s world is all about speed. So, it should come as no surprise that long answer or wait times are a huge complaint about customers. This is typically a symptom of understaffed or overworked call centers
This isn’t a problem for outsourcing solutions. These call centers make sure that they are reducing these types of complaints constantly by assessing performance and monitoring quality assurance.
Outsourcing your call center seems like a huge step, but it’s a step in the right direction for most companies. Allowing specialized professionals to take control of the wheel when it comes to the customer isn’t a bad thing — and doesn’t reflect poorly on your own capabilities. In fact, it shows that you’re willing to do what it takes for the customer.
