Here at WeAnswer, we appreciate a good tradition, especially those that help stave off the winter chill. So, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, our thoughts turn to the perfect partnership and, in what might seem an implausible segue, what this special day can teach us about the art of successful contact centre outsourcing. Intrigued? You should be…
Finding the perfect match
All good partnerships begin with a meeting of the minds. Your talents, skills and resources should enhance one another’s. Your own strengths might lie in building the strategic growth of your business and planning a multi-channel marketing strategy for the years ahead; the ideal outsourcer should complement and reinforce this by ensuring you meet the needs of your customers andbrand. This might be managing the entirety of your customer contact with a dedicated team, or supporting you with out of hours and overflow during peak times.
A great contact centre will really get to know you and your business and you will see this reflected in positive customer feedback, meaningful data and expert account management.
Knowing where you stand
From the very beginning, you and your outsourced partner should have a clear idea of your long term strategy; with KPIs documented and systems seamlessly integrated. The agents assigned to your campaigns will be thoroughly briefed and trained on your services, tone of voice and brand values. They will be unfailingly professional, a seamless extension to your business so your customers never know the difference.
As specialists in their field, your contact centre should understand that your business needs are fluid and in return, offer the flexibility to support this, ensuring business continuity throughout the year. Good outsourced contact centres will understand the pressures of modern business and strive to keep your costs down while optimising the success of your campaigns.
The importance of communication
Hurriedly scrawled notes left on the fridge are no way to make a partnership work. The more your outsourced partner knows about what makes you and your business tick, the more they can help. Communication should be regular, comprehensive and involve all relevant stakeholders. Your account team must be proactive from day one, providing insightful management information, customer and campaign insights and a consultative approach to your partnership.
Making a commitment
Quite simply we get more out of partnerships when all sides are committed. You don’t necessarily need to be monogamous with your contact centre (though the benefits of having a dedicated team are considerable) – but the better the client and outsourced provider get to know each other, the better you understand one another, anticipate each other’s next move and plan for the future.
Your outsourced provider won’t be shy of commitment, having made it an integral ethos of its operations with long term staff retention and ongoing investment in IT infrastructure and data security.
In conclusion…
The above is obviously a very tongue-in-cheek examination of what contact centre outsourcing can mean to a business. No one takes client relationships and customer satisfaction more seriously than us; probably why we have a client retention rate of over 98% and over 60% of our new business comes from referrals from existing clients.
Outsourcing with the right company can be a key contributor to the long term success of your business and maintaining the loyalty of your customer base. Choosing the right partner is essential.
Though if you receive a dozen red roses this Valentine’s Day from one of your suppliers – do let us know!
