If you’re considering outsourcing, you likely have questions and maybe even some concerns.
Perhaps you’re not sure you can let go of certain operations, or you’ve already tried outsourcing with a bad partner with disappointing results.
Our founders once sat where you now sit.
As business process outsourcing (BPO) clients, they found unsatisfying solutions from frustrating vendors. Those experiences inspired them to create a more deeply engaged outsourcing partner—one that starts by understanding your goals, operations, and customers before defining and aligning services to your service-level agreements.
Are you ready? Do you need to be?
Before you consider the right partner to hire, define your goals.
Call centers, omnichannel contact centers, and other aspects of customer experience (CX) are often what brands outsource first. Why? CX is essential to success, but it’s not most brands’ core business or expertise. Poor CX can have immediate bottom-line impacts.
Answer the following questions to decide if you’re ready.
Do you struggle to scale?
If the idea of seasonal spikes or the challenges of meeting new demand from promising partnerships, emerging lines of business, or new income streams keep you up at night, then you might be ready. How quickly do you need to scale? Is scaling down also a need? Find a BPO that can do both without missing a beat, and you can confidently seize every opportunity to grow your business.
Is your team missing important KPIs?
If this is the case, your team is likely struggling with capacity and expertise to get everything done (and done well). Whether that’s due to insufficient headcount, poor training, or the wrong technology, you need a partner that’s “been there, done that.”
Are you using the right CX technology?
Without the right tools to mitigate chat, email, and call volume, as well as capturing data and understanding customer trends, your team likely suffers from process inefficiencies and a lack of useful reporting. The right BPO partner will come to you with CX tech expertise and tools that not only improve your CX operations but also reduce costs related to owned tech suites.
Does your team keep up with CX trends—technological advancements like AI and customer behaviors, preferences, and expectations?
It takes time and focus to stay on the cutting edge of CX technology and to keep up with evolving customer preferences, as well as the best ways to meet customer expectations. “CX-first” BPOs have that covered.
Have you calculated the “total cost” of delivering your CX?
Take a look at expenses related to customer care—headcount, overhead, and your CX tech stack. Total cost of ownership can be 50% to 60% less with a BPO. On top of that, a great partner that helps you improve your CX also reduces customer attrition and even expands average spend per customer.
Are you locked down with CX-related security compliance and regulation?
Customer satisfaction can vary naturally, but compliance must be constant. If you aren’t sure whether or not you’re following regulations, a BPO with CX expertise in highly regulated industries can save you from big mistakes, embarrassing news stories, and costly fines.
Do you know what it takes to deliver a great CX day in and day out?
Creating and maintaining a strong CX requires careful planning; the right tech suites; a well-trained staff; and leadership on what to measure, track, and improve upon strategically. Do you have all bases covered—both right now and well into the future?
Now consider this: What could your organization achieve if you didn’t have to worry about all of the above?
How to outsource strategically
Once you decide you’re ready to outsource, it’s time to make sure you’re outsourcing the right things with the right partner. What we’ve learned while working with brands across many industries—delivering everything from call centers to fraud dispute processes to back-office administration—is that every brand requires a different approach. We tailor services to best meet every client’s needs and goals.
First, let’s discover what you’re missing.
Where are the weak spots in your CX?
Look at your historical CX data, and track how each metric is trending. Important CX KPIs include net promoter score (NPS), customer satisfaction (CSAT), average handle time (AHT), resolution rate, first-time resolution rate, and customer lifetime value (LTV). As you inspect your CX performance, look for weak spots, and try to determine why they’re failing. The most common causes for poor performance are poor performance-tracking, limited reporting capabilities, low staff bandwidth, outdated technology, insufficient training, and lack of coverage for certain times or locations.
What parts of your CX are strong?
Assess your internal team’s bandwidth and skills. What aspects of customer service are you staffed to handle—and handle well? Perhaps it’s escalation measures, or maybe it’s live chat but not call-handling. Maybe your team is outstanding at customer-facing CX efforts but meets challenges when it comes to back-office measures like fraud assessment and identity verification.
In short, figure out what things are going well, and explore whether or not you could make them even stronger if your organization would no longer have to scramble in weak areas. It’s possible that a blend of in-house and outsourced CX management would be ideal. Consider if your team could benefit from technical support and/or additional staff for international or domestic customer care. Finally, even if all seems well, consider whether or not your team can sustain its successful efforts while evolving at an accelerating pace.
How do you rally your team support?
After you’ve done your homework looking into everything above, guide your fellow leaders to consider these questions:
Does our current staff have the right skills to deliver what our business and our customers need?
Does our staff have the capacity to meet our customers’ needs?
Do we own the right technology to fully support a positive CX?
What percentage of HR’s time is spent on screening, hiring, and training our customer support team—and is it doing it well?
As a team, do we have the high-level expertise and time to stay ahead of CX trends?
Are we equipped with the tech and training to detect and prevent fraud?
Could our CX team do more to actively improve our bottom line? Does it have the time and ability to upsell, cross-sell, or anticipate customer needs?
As you consider which type of outsourcing would most benefit your business, reference the following resources for further guidance:
When Curve was planning a U.S. product launch, Ubiquity designed a bespoke solution to drive productivity and sent CSAT soaring.
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