Companies would have all the resources they needed to operate a BPO contact center in-house in a perfect world. Unfortunately, the reality is that most businesses don’t have the budget or the expertise to do so. A business process outsourcing can be the perfect fit for your company if you need more than one support channel.
Many companies migrate to BPO contact centers for their customer service needs. But, if you know what you’re looking for and choose the right BPO contact center for your company, the benefits expand beyond standard customer service. BPO contact centers help businesses increase productivity, grow their customer base, and improve customer experience.
What Is a Contact Center?
No matter what industry you’re in, you want to make sure that customers are happy with your company, and one of the best ways to do this is to offer them excellent customer service. While companies may have employees who can handle customer service calls and questions, it’s not always cost-effective or practical to have everyone on your team handle these types of tasks.
That’s why many companies decide to utilize a BPO Contact center. A call center handles various customer service tasks for all types of businesses. Solutions can include answering phone calls, forwarding important messages, creating a FAQ help desk, on-call management, and more. When you work with a BPO contact center for your customer service needs, you’ll access professionals who specialize in those areas. They can ensure that your customers are getting the help they need when they reach out to your business 24/7/365.
How Does BPO Work?
The idea of outsourcing is to delegate non-core activities to an outside specialist who can provide services at a more efficient cost than you could yourself. Business process outsourcing isn’t just for big companies. It can be a strategy for smaller businesses, too. When a company utilizes outsourcing, they hire another company to perform a task. Business process outsourcing is similar in that it involves hiring another company to achieve specific business tasks or functions in place of its internal departments or employees.
Businesses often hire other companies to handle information technology, customer service, human resources, and other administrative functions. The primary benefit of business process outsourcing is that it can help companies save money. It also allows businesses to reduce costs and offers more incredible future growth or change flexibility.
For example, if a company has an internal customer service call center, there are significant costs associated with paying and training employees. The company also has to manage the facility and ensure that phone lines and computers work correctly. However, when the same company outsources its customer service needs, it no longer has to worry about providing employee benefits or maintaining a building. Instead, they can focus on managing their core competencies while leaving the customer service function in the hands of an expert.
Typically, a company will pay an outsourcing firm based on a monthly fee or per-transaction rate. These rates vary depending upon the type of service provided and how much work is involved in completing each transaction. Business process outsourcing can effectively reduce costs when used correctly while maintaining high-quality levels.
What Is the Difference Between an Inbound and Outbound Call Center?
When it comes to running a successful business, customer service is critical. Customers want to feel appreciated and valued, and they expect businesses to listen to them when they have questions or concerns. As a result, most hire call centers to ensure that companies provide their customers with the best possible experience. In addition, call centers give shoppers another way to interact with companies and solve potential problems.
So what’s the difference between an inbound and outbound call center? Which should you choose for your business?
Inbound call centers focus on providing customer service for existing customers. Standard inbound calls include questions about products or services, billing inquiries, or requests for technical support. Customers contact these call centers when they need help, and companies need agents to answer those calls.
Outbound call centers focus on sales and marketing. These call centers make outgoing calls to potential customers to sell them products or services. They might also make outbound calls to survey shoppers or collect market research.
Inbound and outbound call center agents deal with many phone calls, requests, and messages, so their workload is heavy. To determine what is best for your business, it is essential to understand your business needs and where you want to focus most of your time. For instance, are you tired of making sales calls but don’t mind supporting your customer? You might want to look for an outbound call center and continue to support the inbound customer service yourself. Please remember that a BPO contact center may support both inbound and outbound calls.
Advantages of Outsourcing to a Contact Center.
Outsourcing to a contact center can be a significant boon for your business. Here are some of the advantages to consider as you make your decision:
Outsourcing is a cost-effective option for companies looking to provide better customer service and support. Generally speaking, bringing all of these services in-house will be more costly than outsourcing them to a call center that specializes in providing this type of assistance. Not only do you save on labor costs, but you also don’t have to worry about the infrastructural costs such as training, equipment, technology, and physical space.
It can improve your speed to answer and handle time. For many companies, having a BPO contact center means that there will be more live agents available at any given time. This is especially helpful for companies with a fluctuating call volume or who receive calls from all over the world. In addition, outsourced call centers can be located in different time zones, so agents are always there when customers need them.
You can leverage its scalability when outsourcing your customer service and support needs to a contact center. For example, you’ll be able to adapt the number of agents on duty based on the volume of incoming calls or other communications. This allows you to maintain short wait times and reduce overall call duration – this translates into a better customer experience.
A contact center that specializes in providing customer service and support for businesses like yours will likely have the resources necessary to create a highly customized experience for your customers.
How to Find the Best Outsourcing Company for Your Business?
Every business has unique needs that can’t be met by a cookie-cutter approach to customer service and sales. So a good call center partner will work with you to build a custom program that aligns with your goals and priorities. Here are six questions to ask when evaluating the fit of a call center partner:
How Many Agents and Managers Does Your Project Need to Maintain a Strong Team?
The primary benefit of outsourcing your customer service or sales is to gain access to a large pool of qualified talent. In addition, an outsourced team needs to have the correct number of agents and managers to maintain a high level of quality as operations grow or fluctuate in volume.
How Often Can You Expect Updates and Reports?
Make sure your call center partner understands what metrics matter most to you and can provide timely reports that enable you to make strategic decisions. Examples include average handle time, transfer rates, sales conversion rates, and first-call resolution.
Do You Offer Live-Listening?
You need more than just numbers on a page. Be sure any prospective call center partner offers live listening so they can evaluate the quality of your customers’ experiences firsthand. The right BPO contact center provides your customers with seamless, multi-channel experiences.
A business process outsourcing company generally offers its clients a variety of back-end services in the form of a call center, such as customer service, sales, telemarketing, and technical support.
Are Your Agents Supervised In-Person, Remotely, or Domestically?
Outsourcing companies often have remote agents who are not under direct supervision. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’re less effective or less trustworthy than those who are supervised in person. However, you should ensure the company monitors its activities to ensure quality control and compliance with your standards. You should also make sure that the company’s IT system is secure enough to prevent hackers from stealing data.
How Will You Ensure Your Agents Properly Convey My Products or Services?
The overall quality of your BPO company’s work depends on how it trains its agents. They must accurately convey your brand’s message and comply with any compliance regulations that apply to your industry. Ask potential vendors how they train their agents and what policies they have in place to enforce compliance and quality standards.
How Do You Monitor Program Results and Incorporate Needed Changes?
A BPO vendor should track the results of their work and incorporate necessary changes over time. The vendor should show you how they will monitor their work, including the most important metrics to you and your organization. They should also have a system in place for identifying potential problems or obstacles that could affect the success of your program and provide solutions to address them. Finally, your BPO vendor should be proactive and make recommendations to ensure that the program runs smoothly and meets all expectations.
