Call Center Services

By Sylvia Rosen

There is no magic time line to begin outsourcing your customer service needs. However, there are a number of situations where you may feel that your business is ready to start the process. A new product launch or major event can bring a huge volume of customer service calls to even a small business. Outsourcing customer service operations can eliminate the added stress of trying to ramp up dozens of new employees or investing in major equipment upgrades, while maintaining your day to day tasks.

When your business reaches call volumes that demand a significant capital investment, like new business phone systems, customer relationship management (CRM) software, dedicated call center space, or many new employees, outsourcing may seem like the obvious choice. Call center service providers are able to keep their costs much lower by spreading the cost of employees and technology over many customers.

Solutions for small business

Smaller businesses with less experience may want to start with outsourced customer service. Once they have learned what it takes to run a call center, and they have built up enough capital, they can consider bringing the operation in house. Larger companies interested in testing new technologies or programs may find it easier and more cost-effective to use a customer service call center rather than retrain current employees.

Businesses with steady call volumes generally have an easier time predicting, planning and budgeting. Overall, they aren't the best candidates for outsourcing their customer service needs. Conversely, businesses that see significant seasonality or unpredictable changes in volume could benefit from the extra capacity that an outsourced customer service call center provides. These businesses focus on spot overflow, where the service provider is used to cover sudden surges in phone calls, or seasonal assistance.

The decision to outsource customer service can be triggered by a variety of major business decisions. If your business has made a sudden leap to 24/7 tech support, there may be a need to outsource your customer service tasks. A change in direction for your business can often lead to a need to implement support in multiple language. An outsourced call center is equipped to handle your changing needs.

Outsourcing your customer service needs works best for general office tasks and support. Products and services that involve complex sales cycles and customer support lines may not be well suited to outsourcing. Many businesses that choose to outsource their customer service, do so because they lack the resources necessary to handle the task, in house. They feel the money is well spent on hiring a separate entity to focus solely on this rather than create another business within a business. With so many call centers available to businesses, why reinvent the wheel?