Increase your company’s profits by selling more. That’s one way to outperform competitors. A smarter way to increase profits is by outsourcing some of your business activities. If you rely on a large volume of customer interactions, it may be time to consider outsourcing customer care.
Customer interactions could mean inbound phone calls. It could also mean messages through email, web chat, or SMS/text. No matter what the communication channel is, you can improve your customer experience, increase customer loyalty, and reduce client turnover with contracted contact center services. Before you choose to spend funds on a contact center solution, here’s a short list of important questions to consider when sourcing a provider.
What should I be looking for when it comes to choosing a contact center to provide technical support?
Make sure the company you choose has a good track record of providing stellar technical support. If you hire a company to handle customer inquiries on your behalf, they should be able to show that they can provide support at all levels… from small issues to the more complex.
Can an outsourced call center provide IT help desk support?
This is a great thing to ask about if your company has a software offering. Users need to know that if they have questions when something goes wrong with your software product, they have a way to get in touch. If you have a software product that has lots of users, expect that they will need support. Support could be in the form of password resets, unlocking accounts, or diagnosing connectivity issues. Whatever the case is, an outsourced call center should have this kind of hands-on experience. Their agents should possess empathy, critical thinking, active listening skills, and hardcore technical skills.
What are good examples of other ways I could benefit from outsourcing my call center?
One of the many benefits of a good outsourced call center is that they provide skilled agents who require very little or no training. Often, they can cover a wide range of tasks and services on your business or government agency’s behalf. Whether it be taking orders, answering questions regarding products or services, or managing customer service complaints a lot can be said for choosing a versatile company.
Does my agreement with an outsourced call center have to be long-term?
Absolutely not. Companies that provide call center services should offer flexibility in a way that caters to the needs of the organization. Perhaps your organization is going through a downsizing of staff. Or, perhaps your organization is relocating to another physical location and needs a short-term solution. The company you choose to outsource your call center should be responsive to your needs and goals.
Are there any metrics or performance benchmarks I should be aware of?
Yes, though often these will depend on your goals. The only way to know how well these services perform is by looking at benchmarks. Whoever you outsource your call center to, they should constantly be aware of their numbers and monitoring them for great efficiency. You should ask about the average speed to answer, call abandonment rate, and call duration to start.
For a more thorough list of these metrics, see DiRAD’s article on call center benchmarks. This is by no means an exhaustive list of what you should look for when outsourcing your call center. One of our representatives would be happy to answer more of your questions about this service.
Start here by completing this short form.