Every customer interaction matters, and in the ever-growing digital world we live in, staying available is essential. Using a skilled outsourced contact center is a great way to bridge the gap between you and your customers.
However, finding the best contact center outsourcing companies and providers isn’t an easy task. With so many offerings, the scope of your business and its needs are all critical to providing excellent customer service.
In this article, we’ll cover the what and why of contact center outsourcing, followed by what you should be looking for when trying to find the best contact center outsourcing companies and providers.
Outsourcing is a means of transferring the day-to-day duties of a contact center to an external organization. Generally, this can be anything from specific tasks to your entire customer service or tech support divisions.
It’s pretty standard for companies to outsource some (or all) of their customer service or communications channels to an outsourcing partner that specializes in the services they provide and can often come as a more affordable solution than in-house teams.
There are many benefits that come from outsourcing your contact center, such as:
It’s natural to have concerns when considering big operational changes like outsourcing. It often comes with a stigma of poor quality and other common misconceptions. Still, the line between fact and fiction can blur. Let’s cover a few of the most common beliefs about outsourcing.
One of the largest misconceptions about outsourcing is the idea that your overall service standards will drop. While this could still happen if you don’t adequately vet your outsourcing vendor, it’s generally the opposite—they offer highly trained and experienced employees who often bring unique expertise and effective methods to your support team.
Handing over your customer service operations doesn't mean losing control. In reality, many outsourcing partners offer detailed reporting systems and call center quality assurance protocols to keep you in the loop. You set the expectations, standards, and KPIs, and the outsourced team works towards achieving them.
While many large businesses choose to outsource, it’s not exclusive to them. Outsourced contact centers can handle businesses of any size, from megacorporations to startups. Regardless of your company's size, you can deliver professional, round-the-clock customer support.
Data security is a valid concern for our increasingly digital world, and so is compliance with data privacy regulations. Proper vetting of your outsourcing vendor should cover how they handle regulations like GDPR to manage business and customer data properly, and how they follow best practices with encryption and regular audits.
Opening up your business to outsourcing opens tons of doors and is far more than simply a way to save a buck. Outsourcing can expand your brand’s reach to a global audience, support customers 24/7, and offer specialized agents that can handle the unique needs of your business and its customers.
When picking an outsourcing vendor, there are many factors you should keep in mind. You’ll want to do your due diligence, establish a baseline for what your company needs in its contact center, and ensure your chosen vendor fits that QA framework.
While your business needs may vary, here are some important aspects to remember when finding the best contact center outsourcing companies and providers.
When you’re weighing your options, you’ll want to keep in mind how experienced a vendor is and what they can bring to the table. Depending on your industry, you’ll want to ensure they know any industry-specific knowledge essential to your business.
They should also be able to follow any regulations and comply with standards within your industry. See if they offer case studies or client success stories to demonstrate their skills and expertise.
Most importantly, you’ll want to ensure a vendor can support the services your contact center covers. Check to see if they support only inbound or outbound service, what languages they can offer, and what time zones they can cover to best match your business needs.
Additionally, you should check whether they support the communication channels you use most—or expand into multichannel or omnichannel support across phone, chat, email, and social media.
Keeping up with modern trends and technologies is essential for any business. It’s even more important when you’re looking to integrate with an outsourcing vendor. Ask potential vendors what tools and software they use and how they can integrate with your existing infrastructure.
Depending on where you (or they) are located, you may also want to find out what is included with their service level agreements (SLAs) for business continuity or in the event of a disaster.
Additionally, you’ll want to know what measures they take for data privacy and security and ensure they comply with industry-specific regulations.
While there isn’t a Yelp for outsourcing vendors, you can still do your due diligence to see how they’re viewed among previous clients, and their general reputation. Research to see any online ratings for potential vendors, verify any client testimonials if possible, and check any available references.
Using vendors with a poor reputation can quickly spell disaster for your customer support experience, making this a critical factor in working with the best contact center outsourcing companies and providers.
Financials also come into account when working with outsourcing vendors, as it’s not as always simple as a flat monthly fee. Find out their pricing model and what factors come into play alongside it (such as billing per call, hour, or month).
You’ll also want transparency for billing and reporting to ensure there are no hidden fees or costs that can affect your budget. Setting these standards in your SLAs and contracts is essential to smooth operations.
There are a ton of options when it comes to picking an outsourcing vendor, each with its own unique offerings and services. While we can’t list them all, we want to mention the top four contact center outsourcing companies today.
Helpware describes itself as a “People as a Service” provider, supporting contact centers with various services. They have offices across the globe, including the US, Philippines, Ukraine, and Mexico. In addition to contact center operations, they can provide data entry, content moderation, fraud prevention, and more.
As an omnichannel contact center provider, XACT supports various industries through its excellent customer service. They take a unique approach that leverages AI, automation, and data analytics to improve business operations instead of just supporting them.
While they mainly advertise as a virtual assistant service, Wing Assistant offers fully managed contact centers as well. By combining human expertise with cutting-edge technologies, they ensure efficient, empathetic customer interactions. Like many other providers, they offer inbound or outbound support, lead acquisition, and multichannel support for your customers.
From AI-powered automation tools to tracking key customer journey touchpoints, Trinter is built for the demands of modern customer service. They set a high benchmark in the outsourced contact center space, prominently noted for its investment in training and technology. They offer globally competitive, round-the-clock support services perfect for cross-industry businesses.
Sometimes, maintaining a top-notch customer service operation internally can be a challenge. Luckily, outsourcing your contact center can serve as a potent solution. But with all the options in the next-gen customer experience landscape, how do you pick the right partner? Let’s break down what you’ll need to do to find a fit for your business.
First, you should define what you want to achieve by outsourcing your contact center. Do you need to minimize costs, scale up your operations, or prioritize a better customer experience? Answering these questions can help point you in the right direction for a provider that can fit your business needs.
Work with potential vendors and see what their typical SLA and contracts cover. Your business may need additional support or specific regulations for the industry you operate within, so your outsourced vendor might also need to.
Additionally, ensure that your vendor has the right technology stack that aligns with your existing one. This includes omnichannel support, AI and automation, CRM tools, and more.
Naturally, you’ll want to speak to potential partners to get a feel for the company and employees. Vetting these partners helps you get a better idea of their company culture, details about their workforce, security measures, and any industry experience they have.
When you find a vendor that aligns with your needs, reach out and submit a request for proposal (RFP). With that, you can get an idea of the services they can offer, the support coverage they provide, and budget details.
Ideally, this RFP should include any selection criteria you want to compare, the scope and objectives of the work needed, and any contextual information they’ll need about your business or industry.
As we edge closer to 2024, it's turning out to be an exciting era of technological revolutions and evolving customer expectations in the world of contact center outsourcing. Let's dive into key trends to keep an eye on:
The thought of outsourcing your contact center can be daunting, as the landscape is rapidly evolving alongside technological innovations and changes in the way customers interact with businesses. Staying ahead of the game means not just keeping pace but using these changes to your advantage.
Whether you’re considering outsourcing for the first time or optimizing your existing strategy, understanding how to pick the best contact center outsourcing companies and providers is vital for the future of your customer service.
If you want the best solution that boosts agent engagement, customer experience, operational efficiency, and more, Scorebuddy can deliver. Sign up for a free trial today to see how it works.
