Posted on Apr 2, 2010 11:02:46 AM
Gartner, global leader in technology research, has predicted that “failure to properly manage outsourcing will lead to a 30% failure rate in outsourcing relationships by 2012”. According to industry experts, outsourcing failure is a joint responsibility. The Gartner report also reveals that a lack of culture fit is one of the most prominent reasons for business process outsourcing failure.
How to Ensure a Culture Fit Business Environment?
In outsourcing, both the business entities – the outsourcing company and the service provider, exert mutual influence. For example, a change in the business strategies of the outsourcing firm will have an impact on the process in which the services are offered by the external provider. Similarly, cost cutting strategies or employee lay-off at the service provider end will affect business operations of the outsourcing firm.
To maintain a coherent working environment and business process efficiency, it is essential that both entities share common ethics and practices. If there is a difference in their hierarchical structure, risk appetite, decision making approach and investment strategies, the outsourcing deal will not prove productive.
Every organization should ensure a culture fit environment before outsourcing services to an external provider. This is even more important with customer care services. Here, one has to examine the culture fit quotient for business process as well as for the consumer group.
Posted on Apr 1, 2010 08:24:10 AM
The telemarketing business is crucial to establish communication with prospective customers. It is a cost-effective process to identify leads and convert them into actual customers through sales efforts. Given the importance of telemarketing, many organizations defer outsourcing these services to a third party.
Why Outsource Telemarketing Services?
An organization should outsource telemarketing operations if:
* Increasing the head count is not possible.
* Your lead generation efforts are inconsistent with peaks and valleys.
* Cost-cutting is the primary goal.
* You want to run a new program on a trial basis, without consuming your existing resources.
By outsourcing telemarketing operations, your company can leverage on the technology and human resource of an external provider. Also, they are dedicated telemarketing professionals with skills and expertise for quality lead generation. Good telemarketing companies have strategies and tools to provide measurable results in sync with your business objectives. Since a telemarketing company serves many clients at a time, the cost involved is significantly low as compared to setting up an in-house department.
Telemarketing companies come in all shape and sizes. Thus, it is essential to outsource your business to an experienced and result-oriented service provider. Always review their technology, business process and previous results before extending a contract to a telemarketing company.
Posted on Mar 31, 2010 11:10:02 AM
A 2009 Gartner industry review report claims that recession aftershocks will force many organizations to reduce expenses on customer care services. This indicates loss of business for contact centers. According to industry experts, contact centers can avoid a slump in business by providing high quality services at lowers costs. This is possible by focusing on the following three areas:
• Personalized customer services: The customer relationship matrix is always different for different businesses. Thus, a contact center has to consider the specific business requirements of each client to serve their customers in a better way.
• Technology support: By employing integrated technology systems, it is possible enhance the calling experience of every customer. Once a technology is installed it can be used for successive projects. Thus, smart technology investment can bring good returns.
• Adhering to the basics: Speedy and accurate information is the core elements of customer care services. A contact center should focus on these basics while devising a marketing plan for its clients.
According to Gartner predictions, managing online interactions will dominate customer relationship management (CRM) in the near future. This means that it is important for a contact center to focus on developing web-based customer service skills as well.
Posted on Mar 30, 2010 10:46:47 AM
In the latest wave of technology evolution, the call center industry is advancing at a fast pace. Although this is in part due to new concepts and business initiatives within the industry, it is largely influenced by dynamic technology growth. A call center that boasted state-of-the-art infrastructure a year ago can no longer make such claims until it has re-invested in technology procurement. Thus, many organizations are reviewing their call center service providers for technology infrastructure and performance.
Call Center Technology
Advancements in technology have enabled a large scale convergence in the field of voice communication. It is now possible to make and receive calls through internet-based applications. Digital technology convergence has offered two benefits. Firstly, it ensures high quality communication, as compared to error-prone telephone lines. Secondly, it allows a greater degree of cost-effectiveness in the industry. However, the initial cost of installing digital voice communication technology is high. Thus, many call centers continue with their old infrastructure.
Human Resource
Advanced technology calls for greater operational skills. Today, call center executives have to multitask and be tech-savvy. They should be able to make and receive calls, reply to emails, launch voice broadcasts, manage customer data and generate customer data reports.
As the call center industry is mushrooming, clients are demanding for high quality and cost effective services. Thus, it is essential for call centers to invest in technology and human resource development in order to remain profitable.
Posted on Mar 24, 2010 11:36:30 AM
A call center is an arrangement of people that is used to provide customer care solutions and support functions. Within these two sub-domains, a call center offers a range of services, of which inbound and outbound call center services are the most important.
Inbound Call Center
At an inbound call center, customer calls are received by the call center executives. When a customer initiates a call, he is transferred to a pre-recorded answering machine terminal. Here, the customer is asked to select the query type from a list of options. Based on specific customer requirements, the call is later transferred to a call center executive for query resolution.
An inbound call center usually offers a wide range of services, which includes:
* Answering service
* Order taking service
* Customer service
* Inquiry handling
* Technical support service
* Help desk support
The inbound call center process involves a range of sophisticated technology, such as call routing, live answering machine and dedicated software.
Outbound Call Center
Executives at an outbound call center are responsible for initiating communication with existing or prospective customers. The interactions with the customers are mostly recorded through a specialized software program. Outbound call center services are used for lead generation, telemarketing and collections. However, they also offer the following services:
* Appointment setting services
* Sales & email marketing
* Email follow up
* Voice broadcasting services
* Direct response services
Since both inbound and outbound call center services involves customer interaction, they should be dealt with great care and efficiency.
Posted on Mar 19, 2010 06:14:58 PM
Understanding and resolving customer query in the most efficient manner are determining factors for the success of an inbound call center. To this end, having a smart call routing process is essential. Every customer call should directly reach the most eligible executive available to answer the query. This has been made possible by the revolutionary Real-Time Analytics Matching Program (RAMP).
What is RAMP?
Conventionally, in an inbound call center setup, every call is routed to an executive based on certain specifications, such as the language of the caller and the product type. However, sometimes a wrong algorithm can lead to flaws in the call routing process. This results in a bad reputation for the company and unsatisfied customers.
RAMP is a real-time analytics engine with enhanced call routing capabilities. It considers the history of the caller, average wait time and query type. Based on this information, the system creates a profile and matches it with the individual profiles of the call center executives. As and when the executive is available, the call is transferred to him/her. One can also include psychographic details of the caller based on previous call records. Thus, RAMP offers a smart solution to handling customer queries in a better managed way.
The RAMP system is developed by IBM. Although the technology is optimized for IBM hardware and software, the company is planning to make it work with other systems as well.
Posted on Mar 5, 2010 06:31:41 PM
New York, March 3, 2010: In a strategic move to strengthen its service offerings, France-based Global Media Desk has signed a partnership with call-center outsourcing service provider InSO International Call Center. This synergies offered by this partnership will have multi-faceted implications, Global Media Desk (GMD) said.
The primary challenge faced by businesses based in France is that although there is a reservoir of skill at one’s disposal, the cost of labor is extremely high. This, in turn, raises the cost of running a business to incredibly high levels. For a business to sustain its success in France, it must therefore maximize efficiency to compensate for the high cost. This is where InSO will be of immense help. With a cost-effective labor solution, InSO is well positioned to give GMD quality support.
What also gives InSO an edge over any other partner is that the company has a global presence, with offices in India, France, Canada and the United States. This international exposure has helped InSO develop unparalleled cultural sensitivity. In addition, the team at InSO has vast experience not only in terms of the number of years they have spent in the customer servicing arena but also in terms of the width of domains that it has worked with.
Global Media Desk also believes that InSO International Call Center offers the advantage of comprehensive services, where GMD can get support not only for in the execution stage, but InSO can offer its help right from the initial planning stages, working closely with clients to customize the solution according to individual requirements. InSO also offers documentation and training services at no extra cost for the client.
InSO’s strength is its ability to formulate processes to ensure smooth transition of services to the client. GMD, in fact, adds that the way InSO provides services makes it feel more like an extension of the client’s own services rather than being an external vendor.
About InSO International Call Center: InSO offers inbound and outbound call center services through a skilled team of professionals. The expert team at InSO is skilled at providing turn-key solutions, which makes the services more than just that of a call center. The diversified activities offered by InSO include media planning, merchant account setup, online advice and website development services, apart from services and support as an outsourcing and offshore call center.
Call: 800 788 8299 for FREE Quote!
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InSO International Call Center Email: support@inso.us Phone: 800 788 8299 Allen, TX 75013 |
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