Gone are the days when a successful business could close its doors and tell clients to come back tomorrow. In today’s fast-paced world, businesses must be ready to interact with customers at any moment. In fact, a 2018 study by Microsoft found that nearly 60% of respondents had higher expectations for customer support than they did a year before.
In other words, businesses can’t afford to drop the ball when it comes to customer support. This, of course, is why many business owners feel the pressure to partner with a call center.
Call centers provide a huge range of benefits, but it can be hard to know you’re choosing the right company. After all, when representatives are acting on behalf of your business, you’ll need to choose services you trust!
If you’re not sure where to turn, here’s what you should know about what to look for in a call center.
Cost Savings
For many businesses, pricing is the most important factor when considering a call center. While the bottom line shouldn’t be your only concern, it is an essential factor to keep in mind.
Always make sure to do your due diligence when you’re getting quotes from call centers. Different companies will offer additional services—which you may or may not need—so be sure to factor the full ecosystem of their support into your decision.
Years in Business
One factor to weigh with care is a prospective call center’s years in business.
With plenty of experience under their belts, established call centers can offer subject matter expertise that newer companies may not be able to compete with. This may be a critical factor if your company is part of a niche industry.
That said, newer companies with solid reputations are often worth considering as well. Provided that they are willing to spend time learning about your products, services, and industry, they may become a great partner to grow with.
Additional Services
One of the benefits of call center outsourcing is that some vendors will offer additional services that can help your business.
For example, while the traditional call center may offer audio-only support, modern call centers may offer alternatives for today’s customers. This may include supporting customers via email, webchat, text, and more.
State-of-the-Art Call Center Software
As mentioned above, the modern call center should be able to provide an array of helpful services beyond phone support. To do this, the office will need to have access to the right technology.
For example, the best software will allow call center representatives to pull up all of a customer’s previous interactions with your company at once—no matter the contact method—to help solve their current issues.
In addition, many offices harness the power of call center reporting. This means that the call center can offer analytics assistance, allowing you to track various details about your customers, from the problem type to the customer’s location. This data may be useful when making strategic decisions about your products and services in the future.
Additional services may include speech analytics, chatbots, and workflow management tools to help address the volume of calls you receive.
The Right Representatives
The representatives who answer your customers will become the voice of your company. As a result, you’ll want to choose a company that fits your brand well!
On a surface level, this will mean partnering with a call center whose representatives are experienced enough to help your customers without sounding as if they’re reading from a script. They should also be knowledgeable enough to address the common issues your customers see.
Beyond this, you may also want to consider partnering with a call center whose representatives match the personality and demographic of your brand. When customers need support, they’ll feel more comfortable if they’re working with a true extension of your team!
One last note on this point: the call center’s company culture will have a major impact on the quality of your representatives. Employees who are motivated to work will offer you better service. Be sure to do what you can to understand your potential team’s dynamic, training, turnover, and incentives.
Scalability
Finding the right outsource call center can be like finding a needle in a haystack: it’s work you don’t want to have to do multiple times!
As a result, it’s a good idea to consider a call center’s ability to support your needs both now and in the future. How can the company support you as you grow? Are they flexible enough to tackle your dynamic business cycles?
Make sure you feel comfortable knowing that the company can support your business no matter what’s around the corner.
Security
Because call centers often must work with customers’ personal information, it’s important to understand their security practices.
This means call centers should follow basic cybersecurity measures like frequent backups and authentication requirements.
However, many of today’s call centers also have strict cell phone policies and are paperless—even in the call center booths. These practices can enhance information security. In addition, most are PCI compliant to safeguard your customers.
Partner With the Perfect Team
Though you’ll need plenty of planning and forethought, partnering with the right call center can make all the difference in terms of business. Backed by representatives who can offer support and expertise, your brand will earn the trust of your customers in no time. It’s just a matter of navigating your options to find a reliable team!
Looking for more tips on the services your business needs to succeed? Check out our other posts for additional insights.
