You’ve heard of call center outsourcing. This is the process of entrusting your customer care and support to a third party – an external vendor – to handle some or all customer interactions on your behalf. This guide will review the definition, benefits, and services call center outsourcing can provide your business.
Definition
Call center outsourcing is a business service solution aimed at customer communication and engagement. Call center outsourcing is a cost-effective way of delivering exceptional customer service. Companies hire an external service provider to manage customer interactions rather than hiring more employees in the customer service department. This helps companies focus their time and resources on other aspects of their business.
Why call center outsourcing?
If your company cannot handle the call center requirements in-house, either because you’re understaffed or you simply do not have the time, that is where outsourcing those tasks to a third party can really help. However, there are many other reasons to outsource your call center.
It ensures exceptional CX (assuming you go with FrontLogix or a reputable BPO). And believe us – this is very important for any business. This blog has explained why CX is so important.
It saves money. By outsourcing the call center, you can cut the cost of in-house employees, training, offices, equipment, and infrastructure. You can reallocate those funds to other business areas like development, production, marketing, and sales.
It saves time. How much more could you do if you weren’t dealing with recruiting and hiring, training and onboarding, or setting up offices and equipment?
The advantages
If the reasons we already mentioned weren’t solid enough, we would now explain many advantages of outsourcing your call center for your company and business growth.
Better call handling times & improved customer service:
Today, customers have higher expectations for customer support. They do not like being on hold and want all their queries handled quickly and seamlessly. When outsourcing the call center, your company gains a highly trained dedicated team to control your high-volume customer calls and inquiries.
You can hire teams that will cover all time zones allowing you to extend working hours to evenings, overnights, and weekends.
Option for 24/7 or at least weekend or evening coverage, especially if you outsource offshore.
You can hire teams that will cover all time zones allowing you to operate more working hours, evenings, and even weekends.
Access to an international & highly skilled talent pool:
Call center outsourcers already have talented, experienced, and, most importantly, trained people on board. By outsourcing your call center, you’ll get access to those experts, often at a fraction of the price.
Improved customer retention & lowered churn:
The happier your current customers are, the more likely they’ll make repeat purchases and become loyal to your brand. And this is the power of CX. Offering a good product or service is only the first step. Providing a seamless purchase and post-purchase process, exceptional customer onboarding, and support during usage will make your customers love your products or services even more.
Better customer acquisition & conversion rates:
Call center outsourcing services can help increase your sales reach and customer acquisition. This is the most challenging process in every business. Still, call centers can provide customer service to a larger group of people, generating more leads and converting them into paying customers!
Call center outsourcing services
Call center outsourcing can include outbound and inbound call center services. Depending on your needs and goals, you can choose to employ one or both.
Outbound outsourcing services
Outbound services are client-facing and mainly focus on sales and marketing. They can help you grow your leads and attract a more extensive customer base. The most widely used outbound services include:
- Cold calling
- Follow-up calls
- Surveys
- Reviews
- Market research
- Scheduling appointments
- Updating contact list information
Inbound outsourcing services
While outbound calls focus more on sales, inbound calls are more support-oriented. Inbound calls often focus on providing high-quality technical support, customer service, and quality assurance while handling all inquiries from both prospects and customers. Some of the services that the inbound call center includes are:
- Onboarding new customers
- Answering all customer queries
- Resolving customer complaints, issues, and disputes
- Payment processing
- Order processing
- Upgrades and renewals
- Scheduling appointments
6 simple yet powerful strategies to improve customer retention
Can you remember the last time you re-engaged with your customers and tried to win them back?
These strategies will do exactly that and more.
The conclusion
If your company cannot handle call center services in-house because you’re understaffed, lack knowledge or interest, or simply do not have the time – it’s best to outsource them. Outsourcing the call center will save you time and money and connect you with a skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable workforce.
But, more importantly, it will help you achieve and deliver an exceptional customer experience. And improving the company’s overall CX will ultimately lead to improved customer retention, less churn, and better customer acquisition and conversion rates. Also, you’ll achieve improved call handling times and customer service by outsourcing the call center. As a result, you might even be able to offer 24/7 support coverage (if you choose an overseas CX provider.)
Offshore outsourcing will also give you access to an international and highly skilled talent pool while allowing you to reallocate your funds into different business areas like marketing or product development. And as far as services go, you can outsource only outbound call center services, only inbound call center services, or both – depending on your business type, needs, and goals.
Either way, sending your customer care and support to a third party (an external vendor) to handle all customer interactions on your behalf will benefit your business. FrontLogix is a boutique offshore BPO that offers inbound and outbound call center services. See our services and how we can help your business grow.