Every March, even the most casual of sports fans turn their attention to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Maybe they’re in a bracket pool with their family, co-workers, or local bar. Maybe they simply can’t escape the (virtual) water cooler conversations and television coverage of buzzer-beater victories and monumental upsets.
These amateur fans are often surprised by the unbalanced matchups in the early rounds, as they watch a tiny school from a rural area face off against a team packed with potential NBA draft picks. This is because, of course, the tournament field is not made up of the 68 best teams in the country. Not by a long shot. Conference champions – including those from comparatively weak conferences – are given automatic bids to the tournament, frequently punching their ticket while superior teams are forced to watch the games from their living rooms. These underdogs tend to drive the best storylines, and the simple fact that any team can win its way in regardless of record or point differential gives the tournament a sense of purity that’s unique among major sporting championships.
That doesn’t change the fact that you’re not starting with the best of the best. In a sporting event, this adds flavor and excitement. But for important business decisions – like selecting an outsource call center partner – it’s probably best to skip the excitement and stick to pragmatism.
Many companies unintentionally mirror this model of including inferior options when they are searching for an outsource call center partner. Not because those companies won their way into the mix, but because their superior counterparts were never even on the radar. While vetting every single option isn’t realistic, skimping on due diligence and research is foolish.
Here are some tips to create your perfect call center bracket when selecting a new BPO partner:
Don’t settle for “close enough”
If you start with a small pool of BPO options, it’s unlikely that all of them will perfectly meet your key requirements. More likely than not, you’ll end up considering a partner that has experience in an industry similar to yours or KPI numbers that hover around your goals. It’s tempting to assume they’ll perform as hoped, but it’s still a gamble that may have a negative impact on your customers and your brand. You will greatly increase your chances of meeting and exceeding performance goals by limiting your options to call centers that have direct, proven experience in the types of campaigns they’ll be running.
Bigger isn’t always better
Massive call center operations are massive for a reason. They can typically fit any need and have experience with any service or campaign type. They have the marketing clout to keep the competition on the sidelines and to create trust through name recognition. But, they’re expensive…and they’ve got mammoth clients they’ll prioritize over you unless you’re outsourcing over 1,000 agents.
Unless you require a small army of agents, you’re almost always better off partnering with a mid-market call center. They tend to offer service that’s equal or superior to the big guys, but they do it with white-glove service, drive better performance, and produce better CSAT at a considerably lower price point.
Keep your location options open
Setting your sights on a single country might seem like a good way to focus your call center search, but it may mean eliminating your best prospects for no other reason than the color of their flag. The call center industry is fluid and markets ebb and flow as certain areas become saturated while others are experiencing massive investment and growth.
What’s more, industry expertise is typically tied to the call center itself, not the country or even the region. Failure to consider several areas may cause a lower-cost BPO with your desired experience to go unnoticed.
Seek guidance from an industry expert
No one expects a call center executive to double as a call center scout, exhaustively researching, vetting and monitoring prospects around the globe. If you want to be certain you are being diligent when creating your BPO shortlist, it makes sense to enlist a call center advisor with its finger on the pulse of the industry and a thorough understanding of partners – large and small – throughout the world.
The right partner will use their expertise to present several options that are truly a perfect fit for your needs, allowing you to focus your time on your expertise – selecting the best partner from the list.
The elusive perfect bracket
Millions of people fill out millions of brackets every year, basing their picks on everything from free throw percentage to ferociousness of mascot. Sports professionals, number crunchers and novices all give it a go, but no one has ever gotten the whole thing right. Not even close, really. A 2019 bracket made it through the first 49 games before Purdue ended the record-breaking run with a Sweet 16 win over Tennessee. But basketball is a funny game, as they say. Data and past performance may help set the betting lines, but everyone knows that March is a time when anything can happen. Just ask the Virginia Cavaliers.
Selecting the perfect outsource call center is considerably easier – provided you are filling your bracket with the right players to begin with.
Are you looking for an outsource call center? Don’t search alone!
If you’re looking for an outsource call center partner, Outsource Consultants will help you find a BPO that perfectly fits all of your key requirements. Our database of over 500 meticulously vetted and heavily monitored call centers is the biggest in the industry. With an unmatched partner network, we can present a side-by-side cost comparison of BPOs that meet all of your key requirements – and we do it at no cost to you!
To get started, request your free call center cost proposal.
