Ten Reasons to Hire and Reap the Benefits of Outsourced Call Centers
Having heard cliches like “fake it til you make it” and “think big” for years, you can now put them into practice. The reason why small business owners should think big is simple. It is advantageous to outsource handling of your incoming calls in order to act like a big business and to be able to take advantage of the expertise, efficiency, and economies of scale that most large companies enjoy.
The timing and suitability of outsourcing your incoming calls to a call center service are not set in stone. If you find yourself in one or more of the following situations, you may consider hiring a service:
1. Your goal is to save money
The use of a call center service can be quite useful if your business has high call volume and requirements for infrastructure, CRM software, and in-house personnel. These services can save you a lot of money by spreading employees’ and technology’s costs over a large number of customers. Outsourcing to offshore service centers may result in additional savings since they are cheaper than those based in developed countries.
2. Customer service is not your strong suit
A call center service may be able to help you with your call volume if you do not have sufficient experience and expertise in customer service.
3. A new program needs to be tested
Businesses can easily and inexpensively test new products and programs by using call centers outsourcing before investing in training their in-house employees.
4. Call center management interests you
To learn how to run a call center and build intellectual capital, you can work with a call center partner if you don’t have enough experience and knowledge.
5. Business growth is expected to be significant
When you anticipate significant growth in incoming calls following a product launch or other major event and don’t want to spend money hiring new employees and upgrading equipment, you can outsource your incoming calls.
6. Call volume varies for you
It is often difficult for businesses to access and plan for seasonality and unpredictable changes in call volumes. An outsourced call center can help you deal with spikes and overflows in such situations. The provider can handle sudden increases in call volume with seasonal assistance or with spot overflow.
7. Providing customer service over the phone is not one of your core functions
Incoming calls can be outsourced if providing customer service by telephone is not a key objective of your current business plan.
8. Business model change is on your mind
The need for an outsourced call answering service can also be triggered by major decisions such as switching to 24×7 technical support or supporting multiple languages.
9. Various types of calls need to be handled
An answering service can take orders, provide customer and technical support, answer messages, and qualify inbound leads.
10. Customer service, sales, and support are straightforward
Call centers can handle simple sales and service requirements economically and effectively if they are simple and easy to meet. In-depth troubleshooting and complex sales cycles are rarely suitable for these services.
It is a major decision for your business to hire a call center service. Prior to making a decision, be sure to assess your needs, business plans, and resources.