Many companies first become interested in the advantages of outsourcing when they reach some sort of tipping point. This usually happens as a result of one of two things:
1) Volume has exceeded resources, or
2) Advanced expertise has become a requirement. Although these scenarios look different from company to company, the underlying mindset is almost always the same: “We need help and need to find it outside our own walls.”
Here are a few key indicators you might fall into this category, and may be ready for outsourcing:
- You don’t have enough personnel to keep up with your customer demand.
- Your costs aren’t sustainable, and you need to find a way to improve your profit margins.
- You have a solid program or product, but need help with the workforce aspect of running the business (recruitment, staffing, management, etc.) or you need help moving into a new market.
If any (or all) of these sound like your current situation, you might want to think about talking with a qualified business process outsourcing (BPO) partner like Conectys to understand outsourcing pros and cons. We’ve found that many people assume all BPO engagements fit one certain mold, but the reality is that we customize nearly every one of our relationships our clients’ level of readiness, maturity and most pressing needs. We like to think of these tiers of services in the context of ‘crawling,’ ‘walking’ and ‘running’ – and we can meet you at whichever stage you’re in.
Crawling: Start Slowly with a Strong Foundation
Let’s say you’re an early-stage startup that is growing well and starting to get more demand than you can comfortably handle with your current resources. You may not have basic software systems in place, like a customer relationship management (CRM) software, or might be lacking a way to handle support tickets and document phone calls.
Maybe you don’t have a system for following your leads through past the close of a sale, or for linking various touchpoints with a customer together and could use some help putting this in place. Especially if you’re in a fast growth phase, it’s extremely important to start with the right tech solutions, get proper training and ensure the people using those systems have ample training as well. This can set you up to scale successfully, and prepare you for an array of other more sophisticated techniques later down the road. And as you might’ve guessed, we can help you with all of this.
Our patented all in one ConectysOS CRM is an an industry recognized Automation Project of the Year finalist. It’s standard features connect quality monitoring, workforce management and real-time views, a robust CRM, with automated reporting and data analytics and customer insight for an all in one PCI DSS compliant Customer Management System. We offer this application to our clients free of charge.
Walking: Move Toward an Integrated Ecosystem
Maybe you’re a little further along in your business’ development and have a solid tech foundation, but are using disparate systems. You might have a CRM system, a separate marketing automation system and a customer support system – and none of them are exchanging information between them. You know all too well how frustrating it is to try to generate reports from each of these systems and then spend time combing through them and trying to make sense of them.
One of the advantages of outsourcing is being able to maximize the benefits of having these tools if you integrate them, which is the next step toward better insights and greater company-wide efficiency. At Conectys, we regularly integrate numerous software systems for our clients, and help train them on how to use these tools to work together and give them the information they need.
Running: Scale Seamlessly
This tier is a bit different than the other two, because if you’re a midsize or enterprise company that’s growing rapidly, you might need more nuanced support. Of course, you could still need some technical help or customer service staffing, but you might also need some help with reining in costs, upgrading the professionalism of your staff, incorporating more languages into your customer service repertoire or launching a product in a market with which you’re not familiar.
This is when you’d need a true partner that can meet these needs, and anticipate the ones that are sure to follow. At Conectys, we have 35+ languages available and multiple locations around the globe, along with deep experience in tech, building the right teams and customer service.
We’d love to get you up to speed in any of these tiers, and continue guiding you with value-added insights. Please contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help you go from struggling to crawling, crawling to walking, walking to running – to soaring.