Call Centers. Telemarketing. Purchasing Advice.

Is Outsourcing Right for My Company?

If your company is getting too large to handle the influx of phone calls, outsourcing your call center needs is a great way to bridge the gap. It allows you to handle large amounts of phone calls and emails without investing great deals of time and money in growing your internal staff.

Here are just some of the reasons why outsourcing your call center needs is worth considering:

Financial savings – That’s right. You’ve heard how “you need to spend money to make money.” Well, sometimes that spending can have an indirect impact on savings. By spending the money now on call center services, you save later by improving employee efficiency and avoiding the need for new full-time employees.

Start small – You don’t need to start setting aside space for an in-house call center. That’s what makes outsourcing so attractive. Outsourced call centers allow you to test if call center services are right for your business. If you’re able to grow your company, you can then establish an internal call center. But outsourcing is the perfect solution for getting off the ground immediately.

Get what you need – Depending on the vendor, you may be able to outsource call center services that specialize in your industry. Outsourced call centers can also offer other services such as multiple language support and emergency staff replacement if needed.

Know your business volume – Most companies know (or have a general idea) how many customer calls their staff fields on a regular basis. Getting a more precise number helps because you’ll be able to budget properly for the expense. Moreover, when you get seasonal or situational increases in call volumes, an outsourced solution can help manage the increased workload.

Streamline staffing needs – If your company needs 24x7x365 call support, it’s very expensive to get reliable staff for all shifts. The turnover can be excessive and employees have a hard time getting into the flow of the job. Outsourced call centers make sure the most experienced agents handle incoming calls and they have the resources to instantly replace workers that leave.

While it’s easy to see what outsourcing can bring to your business, your customers, partners, and perhaps fellow employees may view consider it an unpopular decision. Some feel that the company you outsource to won’t have enough knowledge of your business and may not be able to sufficiently work them through potential problems. This is why meeting with multiple vendors is so important. You’re not only able to relay what you’re looking for, but can also provide the proper information and training for the agents so they’re up to speed on your customers and business.

For small to medium sized businesses that need call center services for sales, information, and call screening, outsourcing is the appropriate solution. However, if you run a large company or need very focused, company-oriented staff to take calls, you might want to reconsider managing an internal call center staff.

Inland or offshore?
Once you decide if you will outsource your call center, you then must wrestle with the idea of taking your call center operations offshore.

The top reason businesses send aspects of their business, such as call centers or tech support, overseas is to save money. It is far cheaper to have an offshore call center than one within the U.S. If your company is focused on paring down expenses, it’s hard to write off offshoring as a viable option for your business. 

In addition, there are a few issues you need to keep in mind when you offshore call center needs. The first is the language barrier. If English is the second language in a country you’re considering, their accents may be difficult to understand, particularly over the phone. You also have to take their services at face value since you’ll likely never meet them in person and won’t be able to dedicate as much time to proper training.

In the end, you have to do what’s best for your business. If you need the benefits of a call center, but can’t afford the expenditure, offshoring will afford you that ability. If you’re more concerned with how existing and future clientele will perceive you, it may be worth finding a solution in the states. As long as you can provide top notch products and services and uphold the values of your company, the location of your call center operations shouldn’t matter.