Choosing an outsourced contact center is not just a formality but a strategic decision that directly impacts your business’s reputation and financial performance. However, company owners, especially those managing large businesses, sometimes make mistakes that either increase costs or degrade customer service. To prevent these issues, it is crucial to carefully select an outsourcing contact center service partner. In this article, we will examine common mistakes to avoid and provide practical recommendations to help you make the right choice.
What Is an Outsourced Contact Center and an Outsourced Call Center?
An outsourced contact center is a specialized company that handles customer inquiries on behalf of another business across various communication channels, including phone, email, chat, messengers, and social media. It also conducts outbound calls for sales, marketing surveys, promotional campaigns, proactive customer retention, and product or service notifications. The primary goal of a contact center is to deliver high-quality service, support, and sales by leveraging advanced technologies and optimized business processes.
An outsourced call center, in turn, focuses primarily on voice communications—handling both inbound and outbound calls. It may provide technical support, customer service, telemarketing, or debt collection services. The key difference between a contact center and a call center lies in the number of interaction channels: a contact center operates in an omnichannel format, while a call center primarily deals with voice calls.
Why Is Choosing a Reliable Outsourced Contact Center Critical for Business?
For businesses in general, and especially for large companies, the quality of customer service directly affects profitability and reputation. If customers experience long wait times, low agent competence, or improper service, they may lose trust in the brand and switch to competitors. A reliable outsourced contact center ensures fast and professional support, which increases customer satisfaction.
Another crucial aspect is cost optimization. Maintaining an in-house contact center requires significant resources for staffing, training, technology upgrades, and infrastructure. Outsourcing helps reduce these expenses while providing access to experienced personnel and cutting-edge customer service solutions.
Flexibility and scalability are also key factors. Large companies often face seasonal peaks, such as holiday sales or new product launches. A professional outsourced contact center can quickly scale the number of agents up or down, ensuring seamless service under any conditions.
Additionally, modern contact centers leverage advanced technologies, including CRM systems, artificial intelligence, and automation of customer inquiries. These solutions not only enhance operational efficiency but also allow businesses to collect and analyze customer data for further service improvements and personalized communication.
Common Mistakes When Choosing an Outsourced Contact Center
Despite the clear advantages of outsourcing, selecting an unreliable contact center can lead to significant problems, ranging from customer loss to financial setbacks. Below, we will explore six of the most common mistakes companies make when choosing a contact center and provide practical recommendations on how to avoid them.
Mistake #1: Choosing the Cheapest Offer
Many companies aim to save money on outsourcing, often making the lowest price the deciding factor when selecting a contact center. However, this approach frequently leads to disappointment.
Why Does This Happen?
The reality is that a low price usually signals cost-cutting on quality. This can manifest in low wages for staff, outdated technology, insufficient training for personnel, and more. As a result, customers receive subpar service, and the company’s reputation suffers.
The consequences of this decision can be severe: low customer satisfaction scores, customer churn to competitors, negative reviews, and additional expenses required to mitigate the damage caused by poor service quality.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
Opting for a low-cost contact center is always tempting. However, to avoid this mistake, it’s important to consider not just the service price but also factors such as:
- Contact center experience: Which companies have been clients? What results have been achieved? Has the contact center received industry awards?
- Agent qualifications: What training programs are used? Do agents speak foreign languages?
- Technological infrastructure: What software solutions and equipment are in use?
- Client feedback: What do past clients say about their experience working with the contact center?
Remember, saving on quality can cost more in the long run. Investing in a high-quality outsourced contact center ensures stable business growth and development.
Why You Shouldn’t Choose Cheap Contact Center Services
A large e-commerce company decided to cut costs and selected an outsourced contact center with the lowest rates. However, within just three months, customer satisfaction levels dropped by 27%, while the average handling time (AHT) increased by 40%. Ultimately, the company had to switch providers, resulting in additional expenses.
A Deloitte study confirms that 62% of companies lose customers due to poor service quality. To avoid this mistake, businesses should evaluate not only the price but also the contact center’s experience, technology, and SLA performance metrics.
Mistake #2: Ignoring the Technological Capabilities of the Contact Center
Many companies underestimate the importance of technology when selecting an outsourced contact center. However, this is a critical mistake, as the level of technological infrastructure directly impacts the contact center’s efficiency and the quality of customer service. Outdated software, lack of integration with other systems, and limited analytics capabilities can lead to significant challenges. For example, agents may spend excessive time manually processing data, reducing productivity and increasing the risk of errors. Additionally, the absence of modern data analysis tools makes it difficult to assess the contact center’s performance and implement necessary improvements.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
To prevent issues caused by insufficient technological capabilities, carefully evaluate the contact center’s technical infrastructure. Consider the following aspects:
- Does the contact center use cloud-based technologies (cloud PBX, contact center platforms)? Do they meet modern standards and provide the necessary functionality?
- What CRM system is used for managing customer interactions? Can it integrate with your company’s other systems?
- Does the contact center have tools for collecting and analyzing customer interaction data? Can they measure agent performance and identify weaknesses?
- Are automated systems in place for handling calls, emails, and other customer inquiries?
- Does the contact center support omnichannel customer engagement (phone, email, chat, social media)?
- What are the software integration capabilities with your internal systems (ERP, CRM, accounting software)?
Global Bilgi Case Study
Global Bilgi utilizes its own cloud-based contact center platform, offering a wide range of capabilities, including VoIP telephony, an integrated business CRM, IVR and autodialer systems, web chat and email handling, as well as workforce management (WFM) and quality control software. This platform enables Global Bilgi to manage agents remotely, provide omnichannel customer support, and offer outbound call center services. Such an approach ensures a high level of customer service quality and operational efficiency.
Mistake #3: Lack of Clear KPIs and Quality Control
One of the most common mistakes when choosing an outsourced contact center is underestimating the importance of clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs) and a robust quality control system. Without these elements, it is difficult to assess the contact center’s effectiveness and make necessary adjustments.
If the client company does not set specific goals for the contact center and does not track their achievement, there is a risk of receiving subpar services. The lack of conversation quality monitoring may lead to agents failing to follow established standards, resulting in dissatisfied customers. This, in turn, can lead to lost sales and a damaged company reputation.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
To prevent such consequences, it is crucial to define key performance indicators and a quality control system at the stage of selecting an outsourcing partner. Pay attention to:
- What KPIs the contact center proposes for evaluating its performance.
- How frequently quality control is conducted and what tools are used for it.
- Whether there is a system for regular reporting to track performance trends and promptly identify problem areas.
When choosing an outsourcing partner, consider whether they use modern technologies for service quality monitoring, such as call recording systems, automated conversation analysis, and customer surveys. These tools not only help detect errors but also assess the effectiveness of agent training and introduce necessary process improvements.
Mistake #4: Ignoring the Specialization of the Outsourced Contact Center
A critical mistake when selecting an outsourced contact center is overlooking its specialization. Different industries have unique characteristics that require agents to possess specific knowledge and skills. For example, in IT contact center outsourcing, agents must have a deep understanding of the product or service, quickly grasp technical issues, and provide competent customer support. Choosing a contact center without relevant industry experience can lead to several problems, such as:
- low-quality consultations
- extended inquiry resolution times
- ineffective sales performance.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
To avoid selecting a contact center that lacks specialization in your industry, thoroughly examine the experience of potential partners. It is essential to determine whether the contact center has worked with companies in your field. This ensures that managers and agents are familiar with your products and services, industry-specific terminology, and operational nuances. Additionally, check whether the contact center complies with industry standards, if applicable.
The Advantage of Global Bilgi as an Experienced Outsourced Contact Center
Global Bilgi has years of experience providing contact center outsourcing services for large businesses across various industries, including telecommunications, e-commerce, finance, tourism, and more. For instance, the company supports one of the country’s largest mobile operators, offering customer service and sales of tariff plans and additional services. Global Bilgi also collaborates with international delivery services, airlines, travel agencies, and automotive manufacturers. This extensive expertise enables Global Bilgi to adapt to the needs of clients from different sectors and deliver high-quality services.
Mistake #5: Ignoring Scalability Potential
One of the most common mistakes when choosing an outsourced contact center is underestimating its ability to scale. Many companies make the error of selecting a partner that cannot maintain the required service level during peak loads or rapid business growth. For example, if your business is seasonal and experiences peak demand periods, but the contact center lacks sufficient resources to scale its number of agents, this can lead to a significant decline in customer service quality. Additionally, if your company plans to expand into new markets, you will need a partner capable of quickly increasing the volume of handled inquiries and adapting to new requirements.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
To prevent this issue, it is crucial to thoroughly assess the contact center’s scalability capabilities. Determine whether the outsourced contact center has sufficient resources to rapidly increase the number of agents, provide proper training for new employees, and handle high inquiry volumes. Additionally, pay attention to the flexibility of the contract terms, ensuring they allow for adjusting service volumes based on your company’s needs.
Global Bilgi’s Experience and Capabilities
Global Bilgi has years of experience providing contact center outsourcing services for projects involving hundreds of agents. Thanks to a strong HR department and partnerships with leading Ukrainian universities and recruitment companies, Global Bilgi can quickly hire new employees to meet client demands. This ensures uninterrupted contact center operations even during peak periods.
Recommended Read: How Global Bilgi preserves the quality of its Customer Service during tough times
Mistake #6: Choosing an Outsourced Contact Center Without Transparency
For large international companies, the transparency of an outsourced contact center’s business processes is critically important. Non-transparent practices—such as tax evasion, off-the-books salary payments, lack of detailed reporting, and insufficient analytics—can not only undermine a company’s financial stability but also lead to serious reputational damage. Public scandals, lawsuits, or investigations into labor law violations can significantly erode the trust of customers and partners.
In an era where corporate social responsibility and adherence to ethical standards are key trust factors, choosing a service provider with opaque processes can cost a business much more than it might initially seem.
How to Avoid This Mistake?
To mitigate these risks, when selecting an outsourced contact center, pay attention to the following aspects:
- Official registration and licenses.
- Transparency of financial operations.
- Access to monitoring systems.
- Data confidentiality and cybersecurity measures.
Choosing an outsourced contact center with transparent business processes is not just a matter of convenience—it is a strategic decision that defines the long-term success of your business.
Global Bilgi: Your Transparent and Reliable Outsourced Contact Center
Global Bilgi is part of the DVL Telecom group (Datagroup-Volia-lifecell) and operates as an international company with European investments. We adhere to the highest transparency standards and are a responsible taxpayer in Ukraine, ensuring stability and predictability for our partners.
We provide a detailed cost breakdown of our services, explaining every line item—so you always understand exactly what you are paying for. Regular reporting is our standard practice: clients receive comprehensive reports on completed work, including the exact number of hours each agent has worked. If needed, we offer per-minute reporting along with analytics on processed inquiries and contact center performance efficiency.
Recommended Read: Top 5 Reasons For Contact Center Outsourcing Services in Ukraine
Conclusion
In summary, choosing the right outsourced contact center is an investment in your business’s future. It allows you to enhance customer service quality, increase sales, and strengthen your market position. By investing in a reliable partner, you can be confident that your customers will receive top-tier service and your business will thrive.
Global Bilgi is a trusted outsourced contact center that helps businesses optimize communications, improve customer loyalty, and boost sales. Want to learn more? Submit a request via the contact us form, and we’ll tailor a solution that best fits your business needs!
