Contact Center Outsourcing: Everything a Business Needs to Know

Contact Center Outsourcing: Everything a Business Needs to Know

Table of Contents

1.      Introduction

2.      What is a Contact Center? The Definition

3.      Types of Contact Centers

4.      What is Contact Center Outsourcing?

5.      Why do Companies Outsource Contact Center Operations?

6.      Contact Center Services in India

7.      When should You Choose Contact Center Outsourcing?

8.      Benefits of Contact Center Outsourcing Solutions

9.      3 Steps to Find the Best Contact Center Solutions Company

10.   Contact Center KPIs You should Know

11.   Contact Center Vs. Call Center 

12.   Modern Contact Center Services & Current Trends

13.   Conclusion

Introduction

From matters related to AADHAR updates to failed payment transactions, from learning about the flight schedule to complaining about network coverage issues, your customer today rely on contact centers like never before. 

Customers, with heightened awareness and a bit less patience, are emphasizing personalized experiences at every touch point in the buyer’s journey, that too in the quickest time possible. 

Given how customer experience is fast emerging as the key differentiator, numerous brands are investing in contact centers, fostering innovation and pushing limits to achieve customer satisfaction goals. 

The question is – Are you using contact center outsourcing to support customers and maximize business success in 2023?

Because if you don’t, the perpetual call waiting will reflect poorly on your brand and deeply impact the bottom line.

Irrespective of whether you are a start-up, small business or multinational corporation, contact centers promise a multitude of benefits. Plus, your company could put effort and energy into core company objectives while experts handle the calls. Soon businesses start using professional contact center services, the better will be the outcome.  

As India remains one of the largest business process outsourcing destinations in the world with a young workforce, businesses have the unique opportunity to leverage contact centers to boost customer satisfaction and capture brand loyalty. 

In this blog, we aim to provide you with the definitions, types, benefits, tips, best practices and other valuable information about contact centers. Find everything a business needs to know about contact center outsourcing right here. After reading this guide, we hope that you will be able to make the right decision to partner with a contact center service provider like Calibehr, a leading business solutions company offering national and international contact center services.

What is a Contact Center? The Definition 

Simply put, a contact center is a department within an organisation that deals directly with customers. It can be understood as a service center that leverages communication and information technologies to offer customer-related functions such as technical support, product information, service guidance, troubleshooting, marketing, sales and more. In effect, contact centers help business organisations 24X7, 365 days and at any location. 

Today, contact centers use various communication channels to connect with customers: 

Ø  Voice

Ø  Chat

Ø  Email

Ø  SMS

Ø  Social Media

Contact centers consist of call agents who are highly skilled in effectively communicating with customers. They connect with customers on behalf of a business and provides best customer experience. It is easier said than done. Customers today have become demanding and wants quick resolution. Call agents therefore are on their toes most of the time.  

On a working day, the contact center agents usually do the following:

• Answer customer queries
• Solve customer complaints
• Provide product/service-related guidance

Besides, agents also reach out to customers for the following:

• To make a sales pitch
• To conduct surveys
• To perform market research

Types of Contact Centers 

There are two types of contact centers: Inbound and Outbound.

Ø  Inbound: Inbound call centre involves receiving calls from the customer. The call agents generally deal with the existing customer having problems or issues related to the product or service.   

Ø  Outbound: Outbound call centre services include reaching out to customers, focused on sales calls, customer surveys/feedback to telemarketing, order status updates, lead generation and more.  

What is Contact Center Outsourcing?

Call centre or contact center outsourcing is an innovative strategy where an organization use the help of a third-party service provider to take care of the call centre operations in its entirety or according to the business requirement.  

The skilled, dedicated and experienced team of contact center agents like that from Calibehr handle customer communication professionally and effortlessly. Modern contact center outsourcing involves the latest technology and advanced solutions that open up opportunities for businesses to transform the whole process, boost customer service quality and drive growth.

Why Do Companies Outsource Contact Center Operations?

Organisations often opt for outsourcing contact centers for multiple reasons listed below:

Contact Center Services in India 

In the past two decades, a large number of global corporations have set up their call centers in India. Why India is regarded as the preferred destination for call center operations can be attributed to three key reasons:

• Cost-effectiveness
• Technology
• Communication/Language Capabilities

Other factors that have helped India emerge as a call center hub include supportive government policies, rapidly developing telecommunication infrastructure, a young workforce, office space solutions, economic incentives and a business-friendly environment. For a long time, Indian contact centers have provided high-quality services to clients nationally and internationally. Businesses worldwide trust BPO companies as well as contact centers. Therefore, India’s call center outsourcing industry is growing at a significant rate and the trend will continue in the future.

Major Segments Where Contact Centers are Used

Ø  Banking

Ø  Insurance

Ø  Telecommunication

Ø  Healthcare

Ø  Technology

Major Industries Where Contact Centers are Used

Ø  BFSI

Ø  Telecom

Ø  Airlines

Ø  Tourism

Ø  IT 

When Should You Choose Contact Center Outsourcing?

Outsourcing completely depends on your business objectives. Before partnering with a contact center service provider, study the functions that need support. For example, your core customer group speak the South Indian language and needs engagement 24x7. Outsourcing can offer multilingual round-the-clock call agents to help you with the specific function.  

You don’t have to be an established business or a large corporation to outsource call centre operations. Any business unable to provide customer support in a productive and cost-effective manner should take the help of contact center services. Because climbing customer queries and complaints and unattended customer calls cause financial loss for businesses. 

Benefits of Contact Center Outsourcing Solutions 

Outsourcing contact center operations has many benefits, precisely the reason why a large chunk of companies opt for the service today. If you decide to outsource contact center operations, you will experience the following: 

1.      Cost Effective

For a business of any size, managing an in-house contact center team can prove to be costly. For example, you are an insurance company. Your core strength lies in developing insurance products and services to attract customers. Plus, you may invest in technology solutions that speed up the processes involved in the industry. 

However, handling the wave of customer calls every day seeking information about your insurance offer may not be your cup of tea. If you persist, the pressure on the in-house team will lead to burnout, loss of productivity and ultimately business loss. 

Instead, professionals with experience and expertise like that of Calibehr can make the process easy, cost-effective and worth the investment.  

2.      Flexibility and Scalability

Expanding and growing businesses need the support of contact center outsourcing services. Why? Because of multiple reasons. Let’s go back to the insurance example. Suppose you open a new branch in Mumbai and launch a new insurance product exclusively for the white collared professionals. You are expecting a surge in calls for a few months and thus need resources for short-term work. Outsourcing thus becomes your go-to option. It allows flexibility and scalability at all levels and helps businesses save costs too. 

3.      Faster Call Answering and Handling

Fast call answering and handling are the pillars on which a contact center’s success stands. Dedicated contact center companies will always provide better outcomes than say an in-house team. This is because of the availability of a large talent pool who are vastly experienced in dealing with customers of all types. Once the efficiency increases, the customer experience improves and businesses enjoy more profits. 

4.      Access to Latest Technology and Tools 

Any business would not want to invest in the latest technology and tools without fully comprehending how to leverage them in the best possible manner. Often, lack of in-house experts hurt businesses as they are unable to benefit from the technology investment. Plus, it is too expensive. By partnering with contact center outsourcing experts who are up to date and skilled, your business gets access to the latest technology and tools and is assured of better process efficiency.  

5.      Better Monitoring and Analysis

Data and analytics have become an important cog in the wheel for every business. By analysing contact center processes and call agent performance, businesses can gain valuable insights and do a better job at monitoring. Once you find out what’s working and what’s not, changes can be implemented.     

 3 Tips to Find the Best Contact Center Solutions Company 

Once you are sure that your business needs contact center outsourcing services, it can seem like a gargantuan task to find one. Take it easy, we have simplified it for you. Just follow these expert tips.

1.      Understand Business Requirements

The first step is to do assess internally the business requirements pertaining to contact center operations. Multiple discussions with all the stakeholders such as decision-makers and managers can help. If you are already have a team, consulting with the contact center managers, team leaders and call agents can help unearth the needs. Moreover, it will help you to define priorities and implement changes. 

Document the business requirements and the short-term and long-term objectives you desire to achieve by outsourcing contact center operations. 

2.      Research

The second step is to do extensive research to identify the top 5 call center service providers. This can be done in many ways. Referrals from colleagues and corporate networks who are in the same industry, web searches about such services and social media groups are some of the mediums that can be explored. 

A simple background check can reveal important information such as experience, national and regional presence, case studies, success stories, customer testimonials, a list of additional services and much more. This groundwork can lay the foundation for a long-lasting and profitable business partnership. 

3.      Ask Right Questions

Once you decide on the top contact center companies that align with your goals, asking the right questions can make the deal for your business. Here are some of the potentially valuable questions you can put forth:

·         Which are the communication channels offered (Details about Omni-channel support)?

·         Does your company offer multilingual support?

·         Do you provide training to the call agents?

·         Can you provide details about the systems, integrations and technology capabilities?

·         What is the pricing model, proposal, and terms of the contract?

·         What are the expected performance metrics during peak operation hours?

Contact Center KPIs: You Should Definitely Know

Businesses can keep track of contact center KPIs to improve the overall process and boost customer satisfaction.

1.      Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) – CSAT is the most important KPI for business and the ultimate goal of contact center service provider. 

2.      First Contact Resolution (FCR) – Measures how many times a customer query is resolved with the first contact or first call.

3.     Average Speed of Answer (ASA) – Measures the average speed to answer a call. Low ASA is crucial for a business.

4.      Average Handle Time (AHT) – Measures the time taken to take and end a call by the call agent.

5.      Average Abandonment Rate – This involves the number of customers who abandoned the call before the call agent could answer them.

6.      Net Promoter Score (NPS) – NPS measures customer satisfaction along with how those customers are likely to promote your business.

7.      Agent Turnover Rate – Measures the rate at which call agents working in a contact center leave their jobs.  

8.      Average Call Transfer Rate – Measures the percentage of calls a call agent transferred to another agent for resolution. 

Contact Center vs. Call Center: What’s the Difference? 

People often use contact center and call center interchangeably. However, there is a difference between both processes.  

In simple terms, call centers use legacy phone systems, meaning telephones or voice process to engage with customers. That is exactly the image that pops up when an individual thinks about call centers. Inbound call centers act as an information hub supplying knowledge through a wide range of services such as tech support, product info, billing and payment questions etc. Outbound call center agents make calls to customers seeking feedback, offering discounts and offers, requesting funds and more. 

Contact centers, on the other hand, aren’t limited to answering customer calls through phones. The contact center agents leverage different new-age digital channels that include SMS, social media DMs, bots, video conferencing and more to communicate with customers. Plus, push notifications, in-app-chat and CRM integrated systems have changed the whole game. 

Customers today are willing to pay more to companies who are willing to reach them wherever they are in the online world. The Omni-channel strategy is a huge advantage for businesses wanting to solve customer problems with fast response time. Companies need to evolve with time and the changing customer requirements. Contact centers with the latest technology and tools help not only to overcome this challenge but promise top-notch customer experience.   

Modern Contact Center Services & Current Trends

The latest technologies and digital capabilities have given birth to modern contact center services. The advanced tools today allow businesses to engage with customers through phone, SMS or social media messenger platforms. Real-time customer experience features today allow businesses to be flexible as well as scalable.

Here are some of the current technology trends shaping the contact center industry:

1.      Artificial Intelligence (AI)

                    Contact centers are implementing AI tools to make operations more productive, efficient and error-free. A seamless fusion of AI and human call agents is the best way forward according to experts. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can eliminate repetitive and tedious activities from a call agent’s work schedule, enabling focus on core objectives. 

2.      Omni-channel Support

Omni-channel support has become a priority for contact centers, and the trend is gaining mileage day by day. This is because customer behaviour has changed drastically, and prefer communication across multiple channels. To achieve this objective, businesses are investing in contact center solutions with advanced technology and the latest tools. Plus, CRM integration allows call agents to gain valuable information and offer the best services. 

3.      Cloud Solutions

With the rise of work-from-home and hybrid culture, contact centers are utilizing cloud solutions. It reduces costs and enables work flexibility at the same time. In addition, it takes geography and time zones out of the equation. This trend has taken flight and will continue to see growth.

4.      Web or Video Chats

Video has become the most preferred medium for customers wanting to engage with a business. The personalized form of communication increases customer’s confidence in the company, leading to brand loyalty and trust. 

5.      Reporting and Analytics

Using data analytics tool to make sense of customer data have become a huge trend. The valuable insights delivered in an understandable format help contact center managers and team leaders to make the right decisions. Plus, it helps in making detailed reports. 

Conclusion

Contact center is an essential component today for businesses to compete and succeed in the ever-evolving business landscape and changing consumer behaviour. Whether you choose to outsource contact center operations or not, excellent customer experience should be the top priority.

Want to Outsource Contact Center Operations? Choose Calibehr  

Calibehr is one of the leading business solution providers, offering domestic and international contact center services. With 15+ years of experience, Calibehr can transform your customer experience and provide all the benefits of outsourcing contact center operations. 

For more details, contact us today.