One of the greatest advantages of outsourcing is that it can be done on an “as-needed” basis. For example, during peak seasonal times, such as Christmas, retailers and ecommerce industries require additional staffing in order to support the increased customer demand. Brick and mortar locations will typically add seasonal workers to support the higher traffic in stores. Much like adding seasonal workers in a brick and mortar store, ecommerce retailers can quickly add qualified workers to handle the increased traffic online by outsourcing to a contact center. For these industries, outsourcing offers two primary benefits that will improve their business: Scalability and Agility
SCALABILITY
During peak business seasons, it is essential that online orders and inquiries are fully supported. It’s impractical to consider purchasing technology to handle the incoming calls, hiring a team of customer service agents to handle the calls, and then training those agents to perform their tasks. However, outsourcing these functions to a contact center eliminates these obstacles. A contact center provides a staff of agents who are already fully trained to receive incoming calls and gather the needed customer information.
Outsourcing provides businesses the ability to quickly scale up with an already trained staff that can handle the increased volume of business. Depending on the size of the call center and the needs of the business, it’s possible for a retailer or ecommerce industry to add up to 100 call center agents within a matter of days or weeks. Conversely, when the busy season is over, scaling back down to a smaller group of agents is equally easy. When the need for more support is temporary, the contact center is adept at providing that temporary support.
AGILITY
Another benefit to outsourcing is the access to the latest technology. Changes in technology are nothing new, and it affects every industry, including and especially the call center industry. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons that many businesses will outsource. The expense that is required to update technology quickly becomes cost-prohibitive for many businesses, not to mention the lag in production when training is required for employees to learn new technology.
Outsourcing makes a business much more agile since no capital expenditures are required. The software and technology needed for these operations is already provided by the contact center along with a staff of fully-trained agents. Call centers are already set up to monitor various metrics, so when it comes to tracking number of items sold, number of items in-stock, etc., those can be easily monitored. In fact, the only training that may be required is simply getting the agents familiar with your products. Once they have a basic knowledge of your products, they are fully equipped to handle your customer service needs and to function as an extension of your business.
There’s no question that outsourcing offers businesses agility and scalability that reduces overhead and provides a fully-trained customer service staff that is available as needed. Since the call center will function as an extension of your business, then choosing the right call center becomes the next priority.
Here at Centris, we believe our near-shore contact centers provide the best of both worlds. We have two locations in Mexico offering highly-trained agents who are also bilingual and many have spent time living in the United States. Because of this shared cultural experience, our agents are able to communicate clearly with customers and they understand American businesses which allows our agents to truly become an extension of your business.
If you are considering outsourcing for your business, contact us. We’d love to discuss with you how Centris can benefit your business.
