The practice of outsourcing has been adopted by multinational corporations and organizations for a long time. Organizations that outsource some of their business operations to third party external vendors have witnessed a substantial increase in their business revenue and an expansion in their customer base. Through outsourcing, organizations are not only transferring part of their operations to an external vendor – as a result of which they are able to focus and concentrate more on core business activities – but also save time and money that can be utilized in identifying the required changes and incorporating them into the business structure to provide better support to the customers.
In their initial phases, organizations and companies rely on in-house achievement of tasks. As there is a restricted budget and limited revenue, organizations believe that the practice of executing their operations in-house can be cost-effective. But studies conducted over the last few years have suggested quite the contrary; outsourcing certain operations to a specialized vendor allows organizations to save time, money and other resources, and also to enhance their operability.
Customer satisfaction and experience are two empirical assets every organization strives to achieve the highest levels of. An organization’s reputability in the commercial domain relies almost entirely on its customers. It is important that customers feel satisfied with the services they are being provided, as failing to do so can negatively impact the organization. Offering below average services can encourage customers to seek services elsewhere, which significantly hampers the organization’s business revenue generation and also affects customer retention. Poor service and support provision can also cause an organization to lose customers regularly, thereby affecting its reputation in the commercial and industrial sectors.
Through call center outsourcing, customers can be serviced on several fronts. Vendors that an organization has outsourced its call center operations to cater to the customers in regard to inbound and outbound services. Additionally, with the help of 24-hour phone answering services, an organization can be assured that its customers will be serviced round-the-clock. Through this benefit, customers are given the freedom and convenience to call with their queries and concerns as and when they need, upping customer experience. A round-the-clock service provision also prevents the phone lines to get clogged with customer calls during working hours.
Inbound services are provided to customers who call with their queries and concerns and are, subsequently, provided the appropriate support by the agents and executives. Some of the types of inbound call center services include inbound sales, helpdesk and technical troubleshooting. Outbound services are provided when agents and executives call customers to inform them about any new service and/or product that have been introduced by the organization in the market. Through outbound services, advertising and promotion of new products and/or services can also be achieved. Telemarketing, lead generation, market research and survey, and appointment scheduling are some of the several types of outbound services.
Tactic outsourcing is deployed in situations where it is difficult for certain customer queries and complaints to be resolved by internal resources. Strategic outsourcing is made use of when the queries can be handled only by experts in the particular field. This makes certain that the customers are offered the best and most reliable support. Strategic outsourcing unburdens an organization’s internal resources, allowing them to be utilized in other business operations like manufacturing and production or working towards recognizing changes and infusing them into the service provision structure.
As advantageous as the practice of call center outsourcing has become for organizations, it also presents drawbacks. There is a possibility that the employees responsible for servicing customers may not be as well-informed about the products they have been tasked to sell. There could also be a delay in the delivery of solutions to the customers. Outsourcing also exposes organizations to the vulnerability of information breach – human resources and payroll departments are most sensitive and prone to be affected in this regard.
Organizations deploy certain strategies to ensure the efficiency in their support and service provision is maintained, and that the same is being achieved without comprising customer satisfaction levels. Having employees who are skillful and able to handle customer calls with effectiveness is perhaps the most empirical of these considerations. It is important that call center agents and executives are, in addition to being knowledgeable of the products they are selling, familiar and updated with the global trends to provide better customer experience.
Organizations also use the latest technology to ensure that large volumes of customer calls are being handled with efficiency. Furthermore, backup systems allow an interrupted flow of business operations, substantially broadening the scope of revenue and profit generation while also maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. By maintaining quality and efficiency in the service provision, organizations can earn a reputable name in the international market and achieve their long term goals.
 for Business.jpg)
