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Are you about ready to dive into a BPO business partnership, but not quite sure what services you need or how to maximize the relationship? The key to making the most of this step is to strategically craft your engagement in order to further your company’s vision. If you make every decision through this lens, you’ll be well on your way to success.
Here’s some guidance about making those decisions and strategy implementation.
There might not be hard and fast metrics that tell you how your business’ level of quality stacks up, but there are definitely warning signs to watch out for that can indicate a decline in this area. Read on to learn more about what those are, so you can notice them and make adjustments as needed.
Keep Strategy at the Forefront
Before you get any further, consider what your company vision is. Do you have a corporate level strategy that everyone on your team works toward? An example; let’s say you’re in the retail sector and your current strategy is built around retaining and upselling your current customers in order to double your sales in the next year. In this case, you want to determine which BPO services will either advance this vision directly – or take something off your plate that’s been consuming your time (so you or your employees can focus on activities that move the needle on this corporate-level strategy).
In this scenario, you might do some research to find out why some customers only buy from you once and then never again. If you discover there has been inappropriate (or even offensive) user-generated content on some of your platforms that has turned away otherwise interested customers, you can fix the issue with content moderation services. Outsourcing this one prong to a third party that excels in ensuring platforms are clean and appropriate could help you avoid alienating customers and therefore losing them prematurely. This all bubbles up to support your greater strategy.
Additionally, servicing customers in-house may seem ideal – and retaining the control of the team in your hands may be comforting – but it very well may prove to be too time-consuming and tie up resources otherwise better allocated toward other projects. Outsourcing your customer support can help you and your leadership team focus on executing the company’s overall vision while also ensuring your customers are nurtured throughout their journey with you.
Or, you might decide to incorporate a tool like Net Promoter Score (NPS) to check in on and monitor your customer satisfaction, but need help getting it implemented and up and running. Whatever services you decide your business needs, make sure they tie into your greater vision (or they’re probably not the best use of your resources) and make sure you have the right expertise to execute them.
Identify Service Gaps
Once you’ve made your initial decision about what services can help you to achieve your strategy, the next step is to evaluate where you’re weakest. Maybe you have a stellar customer service team but are lacking in technical expertise. Instead of trying to force-fit your team members into roles that don’t suit them, consider relying on your experienced BPO partner for these business gaps.
Whether it’s a gap in employee training, not enough personnel to handle customer demand, a lack of IT knowledge, or a need for around-the-clock help with NOC services, oftentimes you’ll be far better served outsourcing these areas to a qualified expert. Choose your BPO partner to handle the aspect where you’re weak and they’re strong, so you can focus your time and energy on your own strengths and moving your business vision forward.
Engage in a True Partnership
Finally, the best way to make sure your BPO business partnership is aligned with your company’s vision is by establishing a solid partnership from the get-go. This means communicating your corporate-level strategy to your provider, along with the tactical goals you’re hoping to achieve along the way so they can do their part in ensuring alignment. By bringing your outsourcing team into your mission and hopes, you give them the opportunity to lead you and better serve you. The best BPO engagements are those that are rooted in a true partnership.
The first step before diving into an outsourcing relationship is to make sure you know what your corporate-level strategy is. From there, you can connect the dots to which services are going to support you as you pursue that vision, and supplement you where you’re weakest. Above all, view your BPO partner as a real partner, and you’ll get more than just services – you’ll get value-added insight and much greater results. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can be this type of strategic partner for you.
