Written by Rene Mallari
Contents
A contact center is a business unit that assists customers and users with concerns about your company, products, or services. It communicates with consumers via various means, including phone calls, email, social media, and messaging applications.
Instead of in-house staff, a business process outsourcing (BPO) company can handle your contact center operations. This third-party provider can run customer service, technical support, or the help desk for an agreed price with greater productivity.
But how do outsourced contact centers boost business efficiency? Keep reading to find out.
How Contact Centers Boost Efficiency
US companies outsource to various countries to enhance their processes. But, exactly what is BPO’s role in improving productivity? Below, we explore eight ways a contact center can boost efficiency.
1. Scale Operations to Optimize Costs
Partnering with a BPO provider for contact center operations allows you to add or remove processes and options as needed. You can hire extra call center agents when call volumes increase or reduce your workforce during a downturn, all without affecting your current operations and system.
The following are ways scalability enables contact centers to boost business efficiency:
- Flexible operations structure. Scalability enables you to divide contact center tasks between your in-house staff and third-party agents. While the BPO team tackles simple inbound (e.g., customer and user inquiries) and outbound calls (e.g., market research and surveys), your employees can engage in more complex matters.
- Cost-effective services. The third-party contact center lets you adjust the number of agents to maximize operations. You pay less with a smaller team during a slowdown. In contrast, in-house operations require paying full-time employees regularly, regardless of your business conditions.
2. Offer Flexible Pricing to Avoid Overspending
Outsourced contact centers can help boost company efficiency by offering affordable and flexible service fees. A BPO provider offers pay-as-you-go (PAYG) pricing options for your operations, including inbound and outbound call center services.
PAYG is a charging method similar to how utility companies bill clients. Instead of having a fixed operating cost regardless of call volume, your usage determines the amount you must pay. The more callers the contact center service engages with, the higher the charge. The rate decreases when usage is infrequent due to slow business activity.
The following benefits show how flexible pricing enables contact centers to boost business efficiency:
- Diminished costs. Significant initial spending is eliminated since contact center solutions are leased and not purchased. Most platforms do not require expensive hardware or software to run.
- Higher revenue. Minimal initial investments lead to more available funds to support higher-value operations. Flexible pricing schemes also help you control expenditures while increasing overall income.
3. Contact Existing Customers Anywhere for Nonstop Interaction
Omnichannel support is one of the BPO services that provides complete and unified communication. The technology integrates various communication modes. It also focuses on interactions between callers, as contact is continuous despite switching from one channel to another.
The omnichannel capability allows contact centers to boost operational efficiency since customers can reach your company on any device and communication channel at any time.
Examples of omnichannel channels include the following:
- Voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephony. Customers can reach BPO companies and call centers through an internet-based VoIP phone.
- Social media. Customers receive service through social networks, including Facebook and TikTok.
- Self-service portals. These platforms let customers resolve product or service concerns independently.
- Live chat. Users can contact human agents on your website and receive answers immediately.
- Email. Customers send complex questions and attach large files via electronic messages.
- Standard phones. Consumers use fixed-line phones to call you for product questions or concerns.
4. Obtain a Highly Reliable Communication Solution to Avoid Losses
Contact centers can boost business efficiency with high reliability and uptime. They ensure continuous operations irrespective of the conditions, increasing customer satisfaction and experience, team performance, and sales.
Most third-party contact center solutions guarantee at least 99.9% uptime, indicating the system is constantly running under typical circumstances. Its downtime is at most 0.1%, the ideal rate for many types of BPO processes.
When contact centers are always functional and available, you can do the following:
- Minimize significant revenue losses. A contact center running 24/7 serves customers regardless of technological failures, power outages, or unforeseen circumstances. Unreliable services can cause customer churn, resulting in financial losses.
- Offer 24/7 service and support. Current and potential customers can contact you anytime with complaints, issues, and requests. Round-the-clock availability drives customer satisfaction and retention, contributing to better sales and revenue.
5. Acquire High Data Security Compliance to Avoid Hefty Fines
Contact centers can boost business efficiency by strictly complying with industry practices, government data security regulations, and other required public policies.
A contact center provider assures that your procedures adhere to the norms and standards set by the government and industry regulators. Noncompliance results in reputational harm, penalties, criminal prosecution, and civil litigation.
The BPO provider monitors and conforms to broad and sector-specific rules and guidelines such as the following:
- The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requires all establishments to process credit card transactions safely and securely. It aims to limit cashless system scams, fraud, and thefts.
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates companies doing business in Europe to secure consumer data. It imposes hefty penalties on companies that violate the policy.
- The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) obliges healthcare providers and professionals to safeguard patient health information (PHI) from unauthorized disclosure or illegal use.
6. Use the Latest Technologies to Accelerate Productivity
Outsourcing contact centers can boost business efficiency as BPO providers use platforms embedded with powerful applications such as artificial intelligence (AI), natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning (ML). These tools help customer service and other front-office operations take the consumer experience and sales to greater heights.
Service providers offer these next-generation technologies at a reasonable cost. The following perks are how these tools enable contact centers to boost business efficiency:
- Improved key performance indicators (KPIs). These metrics quantify human resources performance and productivity in contact center operations. KPIs include the transfer rate, average answer speed, and first-call resolution. AI and ML can assist in enhancing quantitative measurements for increased output and effectiveness.
- Reduced operating expenses. Virtual assistants, speech bots, and chatbots powered by AI and ML never tire. They can successfully replace human contact center personnel to lessen task loads.
7. Maximize Remote Setup to Limit Ongoing Costs and Get Better Talent
Contact centers can boost business efficiency by offering effective work-from-home (WFH) professionals. Below are reasons a remote work arrangement allows contact centers to boost business efficiency:
- Bigger talent source. Many skilled contact center agents choose the WFH arrangement. Remote arrangements enable you to communicate with highly qualified professionals in any part of the world.
- Bigger cost savings. You are no longer required to buy additional computer systems or office equipment. Maintenance and utility costs are also minimized when agents work away from the office.
- Higher morale. The WFH setup permits agents to continue working during emergencies or urgent situations. They also avoid traveling to and from the office (a typically unpleasant and time-consuming effort), contributing to higher morale.
8. Provide Access to Self-Service Options to Lessen Agent Workload
Contact centers can boost business efficiency by providing self-service or assisted-service functions to customers or users. These options include the following:
- Online knowledge base
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page
- Web support forum
- Product tutorials
- Virtual assistants, chatbots, and voice bots
Check out the advantages of self-service options below:
- Make information accessible. Customers can conduct research and discover solutions to their questions without contacting representatives. Assisted-service functions save clients time, money, and effort by allowing them to address typical concerns.
- Provide customers with prompt support. Self-service features let customers and users rapidly resolve basic issues and concerns. Placing a product or service order, checking a bank balance paying a credit card payment, and validating a business address are common issues.
- Distribute automated notifications. Users get updates and reminders through self-service alternatives, which reduces their concerns and future requests. Some examples are special occasions, payment deadlines or overdue accounts, and shipment status.
The Bottom Line
Noting the difference between BPO call centers and contact centers is essential. Call centers depend on one channel, the phone, while contact centers use several channels.
Contact centers are rising in popularity due to the innovation and cost-effectiveness they deliver to many companies. Contacting a BPO company to help you with contact center operations is recommended.
Let’s connect if you want to learn more about how contact centers boost efficiency!
