In today’s increasingly competitive business world, maintaining a high standard of customer service is very important for survival. This is why every growing organization needs to have a call center to handle everything from emails and calls, to text messages and web chats. Such operations can be run in-house or outsourced to specialized service providers. Having an in-house call center can be very costly, requiring a significant investment in technology, equipment and facilities. In addition, a lot of energy and time is spent on training staff and sustaining operations.
Here are some of the reasons you should consider call center outsourcing:
- Scalability and flexibility
It is a fact that the volume of calls varies from one day to another. As a result, agents in an in-house call center are likely to find themselves idle on some days and overwhelmed on others. Outsourced call centers are in a better position to handle the highs and lows of call volume. Such centers usually have a good number of agents that can be summoned quickly when call volumes escalate due to major marketing campaigns or holiday seasons.
- Specialized knowledge
Most providers of call center services have been in the business for a long time. As a result, the managers of such companies have solid strategies and useful insights from their experience. Outsourcing your call center operations will therefore save you the time, cost and effort required to hire and train staff. However, you need to choose an outsourced partner that will help you accomplish your specific goals. Make sure your request for proposal (RFP) clearly outlines your expectations and demands.
- Data collection and analysis
Advertising and marketing campaigns usually generate a lot of data from customers and prospects. Most outsourced call centers have invested in technologies that allow them to collect and analyze data. This will provide valuable insights that can help you improve your company’s marketing strategies.
- Quality control
Professional handling of customer messages and calls is very important for the success of any business. Outsourced call centers usually have the tools for monitoring performance and quality control. In-house call centers in most cases lack the expertise or resources necessary for consistent quality monitoring.
- Round the clock service
Your customers will want to send an email, make a call or have the ability to chat with a customer service agent on any day of the week, and at whatever time of the day. Offering round the clock services can be major challenge for in-house call centers. However, this is easy for outsourced call centers since they have many agents that are scheduled to work in shifts, even during holidays.
- Availability of latest technologies
Most outsourced call centers have invested in cutting edge technologies that allow customers to contact them via multiple channels. These tools come with features such as social media monitoring, web chat, VoIP and cloud based platforms. Having many clients makes it easy for outsourced call centers to spread their costs. However, acquiring such technologies would be too expensive for most in-house call centers.
Charles Mburugu is a professional blogger who writes for TechBlogKe. You can follow him on Twitter @techblogke