Communicating with customers is a crucial part of doing business. That sounds straightforward, but businesses can become overwhelmed by surges in customer contact that can tax resources.
Large enterprises with customer-focused business lines have understood the importance of clear and consistent communication, and have traditionally invested in call center systems. These enterprise-grade solutions are robust, with the ability to not only facilitate incoming customer calls but also analyze performance and use metrics to gauge customer experience. While in-house call centers provide a solid link to customers, many smaller businesses cannot afford the cost of maintaining and training personnel. This is where outsourcing call center services and solutions enters the picture.
Enterprise-grade call center solutions for small to mid-sized businesses
Thanks to the availability of outsourced call center services and an ever-increasing array of cloud solutions, today’s businesses can ensure optimal customer service regardless of their size. Two solutions available to businesses looking to operate their call systems like a large enterprise without the expense and management hassle are to outsource their call center or to use a call center as a service (CCaaS) solution.
Both options provide businesses with the ability to connect with customers, provide support, and respond to the ebb and flow of business in an efficient and cost-effective way.
Outsourcing your call center
The first option is to contract with an outsourced call center provider to handle all or some of your customer calls. This option is commonly employed by businesses of all sizes. Since businesses plug into an existing multi-channel contact center infrastructure, costs can be contained. The cost of an outsourced call center varies depending on several factors. The geographic location of call center agents is a major determinant, with US-based agents generally costing more than those that are located outside of the country.
Outsourced call centers provide flexibility and scalability. If a business has seasonal surges of call volume, such as during a holiday retail season, it can dial in the right number of agents. This benefit relates closely to costs, as businesses pay for the number of agents and call volume, but it also can make an organization more efficient and responsive. With an outsourced call center, high call volumes are less likely to result in long waiting times.
In addition, an outsourced model can provide 24/7 service for businesses that may not have the structure or resources to handle “always-on” responsiveness. Call centers often provide specific skill sets and specialized industry, too, so there is less concern about the loss of continuity in customer experience. Properly designed, an outsourced call center can be essentially invisible to the customer. Also, businesses can have access to a broad range of tools, such as cost management, data collection and analysis, and quality monitoring and control. With these tools, businesses are kept completely in the loop of their customers’ journeys.
Outsourcing technology with CCaaS
In a similar way, businesses can optimize customer experience by outsourcing the technology relating to how they communicate with customers. Call center as a service, or contact center as a service (CCaaS), is a solution that gives businesses of any size the technological tools and resources to efficiently communicate with customers, without necessarily outsourcing the call handling. CCaaS creates seamless and effortless customer experiences that respond to customers’ wants and needs.
Today’s customers want options. Sometimes, they do not want to speak to a representative, but rather are happy to obtain automated support or direction in finding the answers themselves. Some business contact centers can become bogged down with customer support requests that can be easily resolved without human interaction. CCaaS helps businesses dole out automated responses when they are all that is needed, with additional support and human connection being provided when necessary.
CCaaS provides the cost savings, scalability, flexibility, and the ability to tap into analytics, just like outsourced call center solutions. With CCaaS, businesses can align their processes, people, and applications for better collaboration and more effective information sharing. The result is a customer-first experience that helps businesses turn customer support into a vital component of customer relations. And with access to analytics, businesses can have real-time insights into customer and employee behavior. For example, if there are numerous calls about the same concern, quality control initiatives can be better targeted with the goal of reducing these calls or anticipating them through the use of automated or self-service support options. In addition, customer wait times, call duration, and employee call agent performance can be monitored — even as the call is in progress.
Technology allows today’s businesses to be responsive to their customers’ needs. Customer communication, support, and experience can all be optimized through outsourced call centers and CCaaS solutions. No matter how small your business is, or how vast your enterprise may grow, these solutions enable successful customer journeys.
Benefits of outsourcing your call center services include
- Its turns out to be a lot cheaper. Having own call center has huge equipment, infrastructure, facilities, staffing and training costs. You can better utilize those funds for other improvements and growth.
- Professional call center services offer lot more flexibility and variety of communication solutions for your customers. You can conveniently add or reduce the headcount as your business expands or if the demand picks up during certain months only.
- They provide accurate breakup of each call made including the call duration, time zone of the customer, type of customer and a lot more. This data can help you to reinvent your business strategy for higher success, better customer service and improving sales.
- Since call center services is their primary business, they make the whole process extremely streamlined, protect your brand image, legally complaint and employ latest technologies such as Automatic Callback for maximum efficiency.
References:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasdichter/2019/03/30/call-centers-return-to-the-u-s-more-companies-get-the-link-between-customer-service-and-profit/#6e81c68a14ff
https://searchcustomerexperience.techtarget.com/definition/contact-center-as-a-service-CCaS