Is It Worth the Effort in Call Center Outsourcing?

Today, call center outsourcing is increasingly growing worldwide.

Yes! You heard right. But, why?

The service business has grown substantially in recent years. Better customer service is important to a company's ability to keep its customer base. As a result, deciding whether or not to outsource customer service has become even more challenging.

One may argue that such a change would lead to a major drop in service quality. Others may argue that this is a straightforward strategy for lowering customer service costs and increasing profits.

Well, call center outsourcing is the topmost strategic business decision among all. These days, whether it is a small, medium, or large business, everyone seeks an outsourcing partner who can manage their call at a nominal cost. Additionally, they provide outbound dialing, address high-volume difficulties, and also can access experts for customer relationship management (CRM).

Call center outsourcing is a strategy for extracting real value from a non-core competency to boost strategic competitiveness and profit margins.

In today’s blog, we have gathered enough data to present you about is it worth investing in call center outsourcing or not? Well, you will find it useful in determining whether or not to outsource customer service. So, let’s get started!

What Do You Understand by The Term Call Center Outsourcing?

To be in an easy word, call center outsourcing refers to a process when a company chooses to outsource call center functions to a third party rather than building an internal call center department.

Well, over the years, several industries leveraged call center services. Some of them are the following. Have a look at them!

• IT and telecommunication
• Manufacturing
• Accounting
• Marketing
• Travel and tourism
• Insurance, banking, and finance sectors

Call center outsourcing is continually growing. This sector is expected to grow by 3% in 2023, according to Technavio. Furthermore, customer service outsourcing is becoming increasingly popular, especially in North America.

According to Gartner, 26% of service leaders anticipate investing in digital channels shortly. They view it as yet another way to save money on customer service. So, what's the best way to proceed?

In fact, both options may be good and even complement one another.

What are the Services that are Managed by Call Center Outsourcing?

Call center outsourcing is classified into the two main categories that are mentioned below -

• Outbound call center
• Inbound call center

Well, these call centers are based on the on-site call center as well as virtual. Whereas on a cloud-based call network, agents may work from numerous locations or from home. The differences between outbound and inbound call centers are as follows:

1. Outbound Call Center:

Agents call prospects to promote or sell a product or service, and this service is frequently utilized for marketing and outreach. Outbound call centers can be used for a range of purposes, including lead generation, database verification or information collection, telemarketing, customer follow-ups, surveys, and more.

2. Inbound Call Center:

This involves answering phones, providing technical support, answering customer queries, monitoring client accounts, reporting and resolving complaints, processing orders, and other responsibilities. Inbound agents are taught how to put customers at ease and provide them with what they want as quickly as possible.

How Does Call Center Outsourcing Operate?

Call center outsourcing services aim to reduce costs while raising profits for your organization, all while maintaining and improving customer satisfaction on a regular basis. (This appears to be a win-win scenario.)

The expectations aim and aspirations of your firm will influence the outsourcing solution you choose. Examine your expectations before choosing a supplier to guarantee you're choosing an outsourcer who can satisfy your company's particular needs.

Let's pretend you want to eliminate your whole customer support department. To suit your workflow and SLA requirements, you should flexibly distribute client calls.

Outsourcing is most effective when it can be tailored to your unique needs while still keeping to contact center trends that users have come to expect.

How Investing in Call Center Outsourcing is Worth?

Well, there are several key gains that prove to invest in the call center outsourcing will be worth it. Some of them are the following. So, let’s come to the points directly!

1. Cost-Effectiveness:

Outsourcing customer service might be cost-effective. Especially if your client base has grown to a considerable size and customer service accounts for a substantial amount of your revenue.

Additional infrastructure, manpower, and training expenditures may not always be warranted. If not, partnering with an outsourcing company could be a good idea.

Perform some easy calculations to see if it would be beneficial. All usual remuneration for customer service agents, team leaders, and managers should be included. Add in the cost of infrastructure and technology, such as call center software, to support their operations. Then compare this cost to the average outsourcing provider's pricing.

2. International Growth:

Many call center outsourcing companies are equipped to provide services in multiple languages. This might be advantageous to you. Especially, if your product or service is sold internationally or if you don't often recruit new customer support representatives.

Furthermore, call center workers that speak the local language help the customer form a favorable impression of the company. Just remember that whether you use an agency or freelancers, you must know how to pay international workers. Make sure you're not breaking any laws by doing your homework.

3. Zero Waiting Time:

Hiring in-house support workers takes time. There is also the option of additional training. They must get a better understanding of products and services, as well as customer service expectations. External workers should also be familiar with the most effective problem-solving techniques.

Finding a reliable and skilled contact center takes time. Your anxieties about hiring and organizing training sessions will evaporate once you've discovered the right partner. Of course, the company that outsources customer support must plan for initial training. Nonetheless, you'll save a lot of time.

4. Available 24/7:

As a result of the introduction of various on-demand services to the market, service delivery expectations have risen. Customers have grown accustomed to obtaining help at any location and at any time. This forces firms to provide customer service 24 hours a day, seven days a week, both offline and online. They are concerned about more than just falling customer satisfaction.

They're also worried about possible public relations problems. Nowadays, everyone is a critic, and everyone has access to powerful social media. A negative reputation may be easily produced and transmitted more quickly than ever before.

5. Instant Support:

An outsource customer service provider should be able to respond to a client's requests swiftly.

As a result, your customer will not have to wait for half an hour to talk with a customer service representative. The client will be less frustrated and have a better experience as a result of this.

6. Scalability:

Flexibility is critical, especially in today's fast-paced business environment. Customer support workers may be required to handle fewer or more calls as a result of changes to the client database. To benefit from it and save a few cents, you may immediately amend the agreement with the customer service contractor.

Best Practices for the Call Center Outsourcing

Once you decide to outsource customer service to a service provider then there are a few best practices that you need to keep in your mind. Some of them are the following. So, let’s have a look at them!

1. Find Flexible Service Providers:

Well, when it comes to call center outsourcing then there are several organizations that specialize in the outsourced call center work. So, you must choose only that company that has a proven track record of flexibility and it is also easy to work with.

2. Difficult Tasks Should Be Kept In-House:

Honestly, at the end of the day, your company will be completely responsible for the success or failure of your customer service efforts. Frankly speaking, customers will make no distinction between your company and the people that conduct your outsourced call center services when leaving a bad review for poor service. Therefore, business-critical decisions on customer service should take in-house.

3. Explain the Procedure in Detail:

Well, you and your colleagues know very well about your company and that matters rather than anything else. Therefore, when you decide to outsource customer service to a service provider then you must brief them about your company’s procedures, priorities, and values as well.

4. Customer Satisfaction Should Be Your Top Priority:

Truly, customers are the lifeblood of every organization. Therefore, you should take care of them more when you outsource customer service to a third-party vendor or a service provider. Well, we would like to suggest you conduct a regular audit of the quality of the customer service that is provided by external customer service providers. Else, there is another option to send feedback or a survey email to your customers about the quality of their customer service experience.

Bottom Line:

At this age, call center outsourcing is on-demand in approx. almost every business. This is because it provides a better customer experience at a nominal cost. Besides, it is also true that today customers want better customer support and they are ready to pay for it. In that case, managing an in-house call center is difficult for several organizations because it requires lots of time, investment, hiring, and training processes.

Therefore, businesses are not able to focus on their primary tasks which affect their business growth and revenue as well. Hence, empowering your business with outsource customer service is an ideal way to deliver better customer support. Additionally, outsourcing offers various leverages to the customers as well as organizations that lead your organization to the top in the competitive market.