Want to know what your call center has in common with all the others?
They’re looking to cut costs.
Want to know what you can do to surpass your competitors?
Optimize your call center costs to deploy seamless customer experiences.
Today, tomorrow, and forever, the challenge to lower operational costs will always be a priority. And with a looming recession, that challenge has only intensified. But no matter where you’re at with your customer service and outsourcing efforts, whether remote or on-premise, you must do more than simply cutting dollars from your budget — you need strategies that make sense.
After all, 90 percent of customers will pay more for companies that offer personalized customer service.
In this blog, we’ll cover tips for cost-effective strategies that will bolster your customer experience.
Call Center Technology That Reduces Agent Burden
An easy win to trim costs is implementing call deflection strategies by adding technology that removes the basic call types that can be automated.
By automating processes that require painstaking detail and repetition, and by adding more customer-driven self-service, you give your agents greater efficiency and help them focus on deeper and more complex customer challenges.
As the need to work-from-home has increased, more cloud solutions have emerged to give remote agents the same technology advantage as their on-premise peers.
Here are just a few call center tools to consider and how they can help:
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
IVR systems empower customers to self-serve much of their engagement (such as product tracking or call routing) with personalized prompts they can quickly navigate via their dial pad.
IVRs are great for providing 24/7 service, increasing customer support speed, and managing high call volumes — plus, they reduce operational costs and increase customer satisfaction.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)
ACD systems take your telephony response to the next level, by offering new ways to manage high call volumes that complement IVR solutions.
A well-tailored ACD can route specific customers to pre-defined agents instead of long periods on hold. It can identify VIP callers for rapid-response routing. And ACDs can even give the caller a call-back option so they can avoid wasting time waiting on the phone.
Chatbots
More and more companies are turning to conversational bots across their phone and web presence as a way to streamline day-to-day activity through AI.
Tailored to common customer needs, chatbots are becoming increasingly sophisticated at navigating complex problems and supporting customer needs. 57% of organizations agree that chatbots deliver big ROI with little effort.
CRM Software
Instead of an agent re-learning how to assist a customer in real-time on every call, an integrated CRM collects and centralizes the most important customer data that an agent can use immediately.
Agents know automatically when this customer last called, whom they spoke with, what their issue was, and whether it was resolved. Knowledge is power — and a CRM offers insights that can lower operational costs, as a data-supported agent can handle more volume than an agent that is data deprived.
Further, customers are given a more humanized engagement at every touchpoint.
Want to learn how to lower costs with these call center tools?
Cost-Effective Call Center Experience Near(shore) or Off(shore)
The cost benefits of nearshore and offshore outsourcing have been known for more than a generation.
With many organizations considering moving to a work-from-home agent model, the gap between technology and customer satisfaction is rapidly disappearing between on-premise locations and remote BPO providers. A greater investment in training, onboarding, and remote work protocols worldwide have made now the best time to consider saving money with BPO services.
Nearshore locales in Central and South America, offer organizations over 50% cost savings over domestic alternatives in many cases. And growing economic commitments in these regions have meant call centers are elevating their services and the skills of their agents. Consider a number of the top nearshore BPO locations, including:
Offshore BPO services go even further to help lower costs, with Asia-Pacific call centers delivering cost savings of as much as 70%. Offshore BPO providers typically boast strong track records of success, retention, and expertise, as the region has long led the world in outsourcing services in leading countries like India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The Philippines has become the largest outsourcing market in the world with over 1 million agents working for BPOs there.
Want to know how much you can save by offshoring call center services?
Getting More Bang for Your Buck Across the Middle Market
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to call center BPO services. That’s why finding the right vendor typically takes a lot of time, effort, and fine-tuning before your customer experience can really benefit.
Selecting a mid-market BPO vendor is a great way to ensure your outsourcing needs are met expertly.
Choose a vendor that is too big, you risk being drowned out by their more valuable larger clients. Go too small? Well, then you’re waiting for your call center provider to mature their offering to support your growing needs.
Here are a few ways middle-market vendors will benefit your organization:
Straight Cost: If you’re outsourcing with a major BPO, you can save money by moving some of your support services to a middle-market provider.
In order to capture greater market share, middle-market vendors are eager and hungry to earn your business. They run their operations leaner and have much flatter organizations, thus they are able to offer lower, flexible pricing options to attract different buyers.
Partnership: In addition to being less expensive, middle-market providers tend to offer better support and white-glove service for you.
Partnering with a skilled and responsive partner, as opposed to a larger BPO, can unlock greater experiences for your customers, securing higher retention, and reducing the cost of customer churn.
Performance/CSAT: Larger vendors by nature are going to be less agile than their middle-market counterparts. That’s because they can afford to be, as marquee brands are able to coast on their reputation.
That said, middle-market vendors are more inclined to drive KPI performance, AHT reduction, agent productivity, and higher CSAT by implementing more hands-on management oversight with lower agent to management ratios for supervision, training and QA practices, helping organizations capitalize on higher ROI with mid-market BPOs.
Want to know the best middle-market BPO vendor for YOUR business?
Cut Costs and Grow Customer Engagement
Historically, 2020 will likely be remembered for creating the greatest business challenges the industry has ever seen, with mass migration of agents to remote offices, as well as sharp economic recessions adding instability across world markets.
But, there is a clear path to driving better customer experiences while lowering your operational costs — and Outsource Consultants can help.
By choosing the right call center partner, you’re ensuring the growth and prosperity of your organization. Contact our experts with more than 25 years of industry experience about how our proven process will work for you.
Get your free call center cost proposal today!
