The benefits of an outsourced contact centre
Outsourcing your customer services is a strategic business decision that could help you grow your business by freeing up valuable resources that could be used elsewhere.
Hallmark Consumer Services highlights some of the benefits of an outsourced contact centre and what to look for when choosing a service provider.
For trade businesses, handling customer interactions, whether these are queries, complaints, or orders, is an intrinsic part of your service offering and must be done professionally and efficiently, particularly in an age where customers can take to social media to leave reviews of their experiences dealing with your business.
Opting to outsource your customer support services can help take the pressure off your business, protect your brand, and allow you to stay focused on your company’s core competencies, particularly as your business grows.
Contact centre vs call centre – what’s the difference?
In essence, a contact centre is place where you can outsource all of your customer services across multiple channels/platforms, not just calls specifically.
In today’s world, customers want more ways to contact a business than just by phone, with many now expecting to be able to make contact through email, webchat, and social media platforms. It can be hard to keep track of all these communications alone. That’s why more and more businesses are turning to external providers for support.
Contact centres can assist with many aspects of your customer services, including dealing with online order queries, placing & processing orders, running your helpline, and managing returns.
Here are just a few benefits of outsourcing your contact centre:
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Reduced costs
Using an outsourced contact centre can be a highly cost-effective solution for businesses. It reduces the costs and risks associated with hiring and employing people to handle customer interactions, as well as infrastructure and overhead costs. Providers have the required software, equipment, and digital systems already in place, the cost of which is spread across many clients.
A good, outsourced contact centre can also plan for peaks and troughs in interaction volumes and seamlessly adjust resources accordingly. For example, at Hallmark, we produce a daily forecast of the number of staff required to ensure we are working efficiently for our clients, reducing the cost-per-interaction. This allows us to scale up quickly in response to big campaigns or seasonal activity.
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Improved customer service
Highly trained, knowledgeable, and professional contact centre staff are well-placed to find solutions to problems and provide answers to customer queries, significantly improving the quality of your customer service.
As representatives of your brand, your outsourced contact centre team can add value to your business and support customer retention and loyalty by providing a positive and consistent experience for the customer.
Hallmark’s contact agents are trained to quickly adapt to different situations and can use their skills and experience in delivering contact centre services for various industries to provide valuable insights and the most appropriate strategies for your business.
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Support when you need it the most
An outsourced contact centre gives you the ability to extend your business hours and provide support when you need it most. This reduces the chance of customer interactions going unanswered and ensures that customers can get their queries handled at a time that is convenient for them, which can reduce waiting times during busier periods and caller abandonment rates.
From our base in Melton Mowbray, Hallmark’s customer service agents work from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday as standard, with the option to work outside these hours (including weekends and bank holidays) when you need us. This flexibility ensures that additional support is available to you during the busy working day.
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Valuable data insights
Outsourcing your customer interactions also means you can access the latest customer service technology, which will benefit both your customers and your business.
At Hallmark, we understand the importance of capturing and analysing interaction information to gain valuable insights that will help improve your processes. Our digital telephony system produces intelligent reports so that, together with our clients, we can monitor peak periods, operator efficiency, and interaction statistics.
We also conduct quality control and monitoring using metrics such as answer time and first contact resolution to ensure our service level agreements with clients are met.
How to choose the right outsourced contact centre
A good, outsourced contact centre provider will take the time to fully understand your business and its objectives, be invested in your brand, and have a client manager to oversee your account. You need to be confident that all contact agents have the necessary skills and are well-trained and coached so that they can grasp a comprehensive knowledge of your products and become embedded in your business.
Case studies and client testimonials are a good way to help you make an informed decision about choosing the right partner for your business.
Whether you’re a new business looking to grow or have been established for some time and are looking to outsource your overflow customer interactions, Hallmark’s customer contact centre provides professional helpline, query handling, order processing, and outbound calling solutions that complement our fulfilment services but can also be used as a standalone service.
By outsourcing your customer services to Hallmark, you can rest assured knowing that your customers are in safe hands while you can focus on growing your business!
Get in touch
For a chat with our friendly team on outsourcing your customer interactions, drop us a line here or call 01664 485000.
You can also read our case studies to find out more about how we work with our clients.