Call center outsourcing is the contracting of an external service provider to manage and operate a customer contact center. A customer contact center typically handles customer inquiries via telephone, email, or chat. It may also include other customer-facing channels, such as social media. A call center outsourcing provider is a company that specializes in providing contact center services. The best customer experiences are providers with omnichannel contact center outsourcing solutions.
Despite the growing popularity of digital channels, call centers remain a vital component of any company’s customer service offerings. In the U.S. alone, phone calls are still the #1 channel used for customer service and support, edging out email, live chat, chatbots and even social media.
Customer service, at least reliable customer service means quick resolutions. No other customer service channel can provide the instant peace of mind you gain from speaking with an empathetic human agent. Call center services offering available and human agents are the best option for customers who need resolutions fast. Empathetic customer service agents provide a feeling of understanding and support. They can help customers feel more at ease, especially when they are experiencing a problem. Empathetic customer service agents can also help to resolve customer problems more quickly.
The problem is, call centers are costly. The reason companies have been so focused on adding digital channels is to deflect customers away from pricey phone support, and while it has helped offload some costs, call centers will never go away.
What’s a company to do? Provide call support around the clock? Most can’t afford that. Provide support only during peak hours? Your customers won’t appreciate that, and in this day and age, upsetting them can cost you. Numerous studies have found that poor customer service costs companies billions – yes billions – each year, not only from lost business, but from word of mouth. One customer’s bad experience can now spread like wildfire and prevent others from even considering doing business with you in the future.
For most companies, the best way to balance costs with customer expectations is to outsource their call center services to a trusted vendor.
When online self-service fails, 75% of customers escalate to more expensive channels.
~ Forrester
You may have heard the saying, “The customer is always right.” This saying is especially true when it comes to customer service. A top-notch customer experience is key to any business’s success.
One way to ensure that your customers have a great experience is to outsource your customer service operations to a call center. By doing so, you can offload the responsibility of providing great customer service to a company that is experts in the field.
7 key benefits of outsourced call centers include:
1. Focus on your business’s core competencies: When you outsource your customer service operations to a call center, you can focus on what you do best–running your business. This allows you to streamline your operations and increase your efficiency.
2. Cost savings: Outsourced call centers can often provide significant cost savings compared to in-house call centers. This is due to the fact that outsourced call centers are able to leverage economies of scale, as they typically have a large pool of agents to draw from. In addition, they may also have lower overhead costs due to their use of technology and remote work arrangements.
3. Improved customer service: By outsourcing your call center, you can often get access to better customer service. This is because outsourced call centers typically have more experienced and qualified agents, who are trained in providing superior customer service.
4. Improved efficiency: Outsourced call centers can often help improve your company’s efficiency by taking on some of your call volume. This allows your in-house call center staff to focus on more complex and high-value tasks, rather than dealing with routine customer inquiries.
5. Increased scalability: Outsourced call centers can help you easily scale up or down your call volume as needed. This can be especially helpful during periods of high or low demand, such as during the holiday season or during a product launch.
6. Enhanced flexibility: Outsourced call centers can be very flexible, and can easily adapt to your changing needs. This allows you to quickly respond to changes in your business, without having to make significant changes to your call center operations.
7. Uncover new opportunities: Contact center outsourcing will help you realize savings using agent-based support services, making the next possible step you consider be adding conversational AI chatbots into the mix to further boost results.
By outsourcing your customer service operations to a call center, you can save money on employee salaries and other associated costs. This can help you reduce your overhead costs and improve your bottom line.
[24]7.ai combines contact center expertise, people-centric technology, and industry-leading conversational AI to create an excellent customer experience. We deliver significant cost savings and measurably better outcomes than competitor solutions by boosting customer satisfaction and reducing cost per resolved contact (CPRC). 90% of our clients rank us #1 in BPO agent services with our leading contact center outsourcing services. Explore [24]7.ai Agent Services.
There are three main types of call center outsourcing:
If you’re looking for a way to improve your customer service operations, outsourcing to a call center may be the right solution for you. Contact [24]7.ai to learn more about our contact center solutions.
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