Benefits of Call Center Services for Small Businesses

When you hear the term ‘Call Center’, you would usually associate it with huge businesses that have big budgets. They can afford an in-house team that handles inbound and outbound calls. However, that is not always the reality in a call center setup. The service is not limited to large corporations. Even small businesses can afford to have an external base of operations to aid them in their growth as an enterprise.

After all, call centers had their humble beginnings in 1983, when centers were tasked to handle operator queries. It was during the 18th century when call centers peaked and experienced massive growth in demand. During the said period, they began manifesting their potential of assisting with any kind of business—from cold calling customers to convincing people to purchase a specific product to receiving calls about certain products bought. 

The growth of this industry has allowed start-ups and established enterprises to give the utmost quality for customer service known today. Particularly, with its benefits expanded to enormous heights, the practice of outsourcing call centers became more widespread globally.

Given the dynamic changes in customer demands and business structures, it is safe to say that redistributing call-based user support is the most ideal and practical way to reap its advantages fully.

Let us examine why outsourcing is the best choice.

Improve Your Small Business With Outsourced Call Center Solutions

Your enterprise deserves the best when it comes to giving your customers quality assurance. When end-users know they receive assistance that reciprocates their value for money, they will surely turn from the occasional users into a mass of frequent clientele. In that regard, below is a  summarized list of the benefits of outsourcing call center solutions for small business.

Use this list to help you decide if you will outsource or not. After all, not knowing what you can gain from a certain service provider is like heading off to war blindly without a plan. 

1. Funds-Friendly: When you outsource CS tasks, you save more revenue because you gain back 50% of what you used to pay for the help. Revenue doubles as well since the level of expertise provided by your outsourcing partner generates results in the form of making you appear more trustworthy. According to Khoros, around 86 percent of customers have shifted from being one-time clients into long-time partners upon realizing that a business had excellent customer service. See to it that you procure call center services for small businesses from a cost-friendly provider.
2. Omnichannel Reach: Wherever your customers are, that’s where you should be. This is especially true when it comes to their mode of communication. Do they want to reach you through call, email, text, or live chat? Whether your target audience prefers one or all three channels, preparation is a must. Find a CS team that caters to multiple contact channels. Don’t limit your customer assistance to call centers alone. In this manner, you enable your outsourced agents to cater to all users and queries, regardless of the complexity of their request or the type of communication they prefer in reaching out to your business.
3. Round-the-Clock Availability: This is one of the most common advantages of an external team. Your customers may come from different time zones and send requests or questions at different hours. You can accommodate them with your very own team of call center agents. While you sleep, or as your shop closes, they are available to pick up where you left off and answer any query or complaint that your customers may have about your products or services.
4. Real-Time Updates: Since you are working with an external team, you can keep tabs with them in real-time. Both insights and analytics are given to you at the same exact moment that the call is being addressed or even after the call is made. Thus, calls get assessed for quality assurance and implementation of policies, which in turn affect how well your business will thrive.
5. Trained Agents: You get to find a pool of talent and experts who know exactly what they are doing. From handling calls to creating invoices for each of your clients, expect that your outsourced call center pros have already been trained for excellence since day one. Who wouldn’t want to have knowledgeable professionals handle their customer support and call center services, right?
6. Organized Agent Management: Agent management is no problem especially in an outsourced setup since you know who is handling which specific task. It is likely that your partner company already has their own set of in-house operations managers and supervisors. They will take charge of ensuring that each agent assigned to represent your company will abide by your policies and exude commendable assistance at all times. They are meticulous at checking the quality of each call, along with following up on improving Average Handling Time (AHT) for each agent. More importantly, you are assured that should there be an intense call, they know how to implement escalations in a well-coordinated manner.
7. Alleviates Risk: In any business, risks may come in various forms. From the payment used for training agents to more advanced facilities for increased customer satisfaction. When you outsource, you lessen the cost you have to pay for additional resources. Keep making your customers happy with your service at a budget-friendly cost!
8. High Scalability: Access to quality resources comes with great growth. This means that when you outsource to a well-established call center, you ensure your business reaches new heights without the added stress of structure, resources, and production. You allow yourself to become flexible with the many changes that could happen. It becomes more feasible to transform your small business into an enterprise.
9. Structured Escalation: When letting your call service for small businesses be handled by a formidable center, you are ensuring your customers receive a high level of call handling. Trained agents would be rightfully directing the concerns of your clients and guarantee that your brand is seen as professional while fulfilling tasks on the dot.
10. Observable Results: Lastly, when you hire an external team, you are bound to see results faster than when you are purely reliant on an in-house team. This is because when you outsource, it is contractual, and people you hire are obligated to give you results at the designated time and ensure that all your call processes are done punctually.

This begs the question, how to find your perfect call center for your small business?

How to Find Call Center Services for Small Businesses?

When looking for the best fit for your business, make sure to check all these characteristics for better customer transactions between your company and target buyers. Your clientele’s word-of-mouth is one of your strongest marketing assets.

1. Ask the Question: What Does My Business Need?

When asking this question, remember that you can choose to personalize the services being given to you by a center. Do you need a team to handle your inbound and outbound emails or calls? Or do you want the main focus to be inbound calls only since you have several clients who love to order or purchase by phone.

2. Research the Limit of the CS Center

This is a crucial aspect when canvassing for a team to aid you in your call center needs. Some centers have a specific business size in mind that they target. There are outsourcing specialists that are capable of serving massive corporations, while there are also those whose services are tailored for startups or SMEs. Ask for a quotation before agreeing to work with one. Measure and compare their offer to what your business needs, along with your budget and resources. Determine the conditions of the other party and if there are contrasting ideas, try and see if you can both find middle ground with your expectations and demands.

3. Location. Location. Location.

Take into account that you live in a different timezone as your future call center partner. Also, you have to choose from either having an external team or a virtual one. Do you want to be more involved or are you just focused on results? What are you willing to change and take responsibility for? Think about an in-house team that you would have to use a budget for human resources. Are you willing to use more funds or outsource to a virtual team and pay for the appropriated fees only? The choice you make  is bound to greatly affect workflow organization and customer satisfaction rates. 

4. Agreeableness with Agents

Another important factor aside from location is whether or not you can work with the agents in the center. If there are discrepancies like character or work ethic, think twice before collaborating with the team. It will only cause more chaos than organized work. Be sure about what you want in your outsourced agents and double-check with their operations and processes to land the most suitable working arrangements.

5. Communication is Key

Ensuring you and your team can convey instructions and thoughts clearly aids in enhancing the results of your business. From policies on how to handle inbound calls to suggestions on how to improve outbound emails, you must always be on the same page as your call handling partners. Fostering a long-lasting relationship with your team equates to the growth of the business. It also creates a clearer picture of how you want it to grow.

6. The Focus of Calls: Inbound or Outbound or Both?

Finalize your customer service call center for your small business by assessing which type of call to use as the core of your operations. Since you are still at your business’ starting point, it is better to focus on one aspect of calls first. Inbound calls are for the concerns of your customers and ensuring they are well taken care of. Outbound calls are the ones you make to generate more leads for your business. It is not bad to have both, but it is better to focus on one aspect first and venture to have both for your start-up business to fully maximize your budget.

7. Recommendation Is Good Too

If you are not sure about which call center to hire, look for blogs or articles that provide information lists and suggestions of dependable and renowned call center outsourcing partners for your small business. Good ratings are also one way to look for reliable companies since you know that other businesses know how they work and have great feedback about them.

Combine the advantages to enrich your search. The moment you join forces with a most suitable partner, nothing can stop you from your growth.

Find the Best Call Center Services for Small Business at New Media Services

Look no further for the finest call center outsourcing services team of your growing enterprise, as New Media Services is here for you. Our call center solutions will take care of your inbound and outbound calls and more. We have trained agents adept at handling your international customers. Get 24/7 availability to serve all your customers’ concerns. At reasonable rates, get your curated call center solutions today and grow with us!