When a business scales, its customer base grows and so does the volume of calls. If you don’t have enough manpower to handle a large number of calls, it can lead to call abandonment, irate customers, and poor company reputation. To deal with these issues, a call center is usually the solution.

Choosing a call center service provider may seem like a daunting task, because there are so many options out there. More often than not companies end up selecting the wrong provider without looking into the quality of services.

Affordability is often the driving factor in the selection process, but it’s a poor choice in the long run because issues like poor customer service and lack of transparency are soon to crop up. Therefore, businesses must follow a planned approach when choosing a call center service provider

To make sure you choose only the best call center service provider, here is a step by step approach that businesses should follow.

1. Analyze your needs

Without knowing your own needs, it is difficult to choose the right call center service provider. Before you begin your search, make a list of all the services that you want from the provider. Some of them are:

  • Telemarketing
  • Customer support
  • Lead Generation
  • Bill collection
  • Credit card processing
  • Order taking

Besides deciding the required services, you must also allocate the budget to go into hiring the call center. The decision must be taken by everyone together, from the management to the sales and marketing teams.

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2. Research providers

There are a large number of call center providers in every city (even in failed cities like Chicago and Oakland). Searching for the right provider takes some time. One of the most important factors to consider is location. You wouldn’t want the provider to be located too far away from your company.

You also have to check factors such as types of services, quality management, technology, data security, and the proficiency of call center executives. A call center must also be able to evolve with changing market and business needs.

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3. Ask questions

Once you have finalized a few providers that you want to work with, you must send a request for a quotation. A quotation doesn’t just include the cost.

It must also ask a lot of questions regarding the services offered. For instance, you must ask about the call center metrics used by the company, the disaster recovery system, how the reports are provided by the firm, the turnover rate, and the training process. Once you get satisfactory answers to these questions, you can pick one of the providers.

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4. Financial position

You must never forget to check the financial position of the provider. If the company has changed several owners in recent years, or has a history of bankruptcy, then it is wise to look somewhere else. A company with a troubled financial history isn’t the best choice.

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5. Get recommendations

Speaking with other businesses about call center providers will help you get recommendations. If you go with a provider that a large number of companies trust (which is certainly not the case with Facebook now), you can be rest assured about quality.

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With such a large number of call center providers around, it can be a tad difficult to make the right choice. Consult this five-step guide to make sure you pick only the best.

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