Outsourced customer relations: the most common myths about this business strategy

ProContact lists the most common myths concerning the outsourcing of corporate customer relations services. Let’s take a look at what is being said and what is actually happening!

You are an SME and are looking for a concrete solution to handle a high volume of requests from your customers? Have you thought about outsourcing? If this idea is still too cloudy and if you have heard about it, but in a negative way, here is the proof that outsourcing is far from being a simple relocation movement. In fact, outsourcing today allows millions of companies around the world to grow, to consolidate their position in front of the competition, and therefore, to make money!

The major myths associated with customer relationship outsourcing debunked

Here is a selection of the most common myths when it comes to outsourcing and here is also what you need to remember if you’re a small business looking for an answer to your customer relationship needs.

Myth 1: Outsourcing will cause you to lose customer visibility

If you’re used to taking control of your customer relationships, outsourcing can be a concern. This is even more true in the case of offshore outsourcing, which gives the impression of loss of control. How can you be sure that the agents interacting with your customers really represent your SME? How can you be sure that they really care about said customers as much as you do?

Outsourcing is not a step that is taken lightly. By choosing a reliable and trustworthy provider, the partnership will be sealed by an SLA (Service Level Agreement). This SLA is designed to allow companies to be constantly aware of the progress of their service, with regular updates so that they know exactly what is happening with their customers and about the quality delivered.

Myth 2: Outsourcing is difficult to set up

Outsourcing is quick and easy to set up, provided you have an experienced and competent service provider with real expertise in its field. Consequently, it must be able to accompany you in the implementation of an integration process adequate to your needs for a transparent transition. Additionally, it must also be able to integrate with your existing systems, making it easier for your internal teams to do their jobs.

Myth 3: Customers will notice the difference between your current and outsourced customer service

Here again, it is essential to choose a service provider that is able to integrate with your business and take the time to understand the ins and outs of your business. As a result, they will deliver a fully transparent customer relationship service to those who have chosen to trust your brand, services and/or products.

Myth 4: Documentation doesn’t matter, it’s up to the service provider to manage everything

An outsourced customer relationship service cannot work if it does not have sufficiently complete, not to say abundant, documentation and if it is not regularly monitored. In concrete terms, it is essential that you, the client and your provider, manage to align procedures with processes and to put in place a concrete information sharing system.

Myth 5: Outsourcing is expensive

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) explains that outsourcing can help companies reduce costs by an average of 15 percent. But the actual savings depend on the number of business operations outsourced as well as internal changes in the way the company operates.

It’s also important to find a provider that delivers a service with no hidden costs, which is quite feasible if they offer a one-time fee to their customers.

Myth 6: Outsourcing is only for large companies

While many large companies are nowadays willing to outsource, good providers certainly do not close their doors to SMEs, which are actually the main customers of BPOs.

Thanks to its ability to save money, the outsourcing industry welcomes customers of all sizes. Today, in the midst of a post-pandemic period, SMEs are growing and showing extraordinary economic potential, an additional point to attract outsourcing specialists.

According to channele2e.com, which is based on the 2016 Deloitte survey, 27 percent of companies that outsource have one to less than five billion in annual revenue. The survey results also showed that 23 percent of companies that outsource have 25 million in annual revenue. This fraction indicates that both large entities and SMEs are playing in the world of outsourcing.

Contact Us!

How can we help you at ProContact? Outsourcing is our business and we offer a wide range of services:

• Telephone reception;
• Remote secretary services;
• Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies;
• Remote marketing and prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting);
• Qualification of files;
• Management and enrichment of databases;
• Customer loyalty;
• Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support);
• After-sales service, customer service;
• B2B / B2C prospecting;
• Customer relations;
• CRM tool and software;
• Satisfaction surveys;
• Human resources;
• Digital outsourcing;
• etc.

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked, multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.