Even a small business can benefit from having a dedicated call center. However, many companies think they are not "big enough" or cannot afford to have a customer call center. What they fail to understand is that adding call center services can help the business move to the next level.
Why a Business Needs a Call Center
Customers want answers or assistance immediately. A call center provides dedicated service that responds to questions in an efficient way. Instead of trying to find an employee who can handle the issues that come up or taking people away from other tasks, a call center is focused solely on the customer.
Center agents are trained to deal with standard issues and questions to provide superior customer service. This saves the company money by allowing everyone to focus on specific tasks. Phone interruptions can delay employees from doing other projects and make them less efficient. With dedicated agents, those employees can get other jobs done in less time.
In-house or Outsourced?
When a company begins thinking about establishing a call center, one thing to consider is whether it will be in-house and staffed by employees or outsourced with an external company. This decision depends on several factors. A small business may not have the budget to hire enough full-time staff to cover the calls, while it could afford the cost of using a company that provides call center services.
A larger company may find that it still does not benefit from internal hiring because of the costs associated with full-time salaries. This becomes even more of an issue when the center stays open beyond traditional business hours. The expense of hiring full-time staff for long shifts and minimizing turnover can present a challenge for those businesses.
Cost is not the only consideration. It may depend on what industry the company is in and what kind of calls would come into the center. An outside center could easily handle calls for appointments or standard questions about services. A company that provides tech support or other specialized services might benefit from an in-house center.
Choosing the Right Company
Any business that decides to outsource their call center services to another company must carefully consider which one to choose. The company should provide adequate training of its staff for general customer service as well as challenges specific to the industry.
The agency should also have policies for how it will handle any unusual issues or work with the business to develop guidelines that all agents will follow. A business must be able to trust the agency it contracts with to ensure outstanding customer service. Customers should never notice the difference between talking with a company employee or an outside agent.
A call center can enhance a business' customer service, increase efficiency and provide increased profitability. In some cases, outsourcing to an outside agency is the best solution to reach the goals of the business and provide the highest level of customer service possible.
Ashley Meszaros is the Owner/President of We An-Ser Communications in Calgary. We An-Ser Communications provides award winning call center services in Calgary, dispatching, medical answering services, man down services, lone worker support, wireless panic services and more. They service the North American market.