What is Call Center Outsourcing?

Call center outsourcing is the practice in which one company has another business handle its customer service calls. Many companies find outsourcing customer calls to be more convenient, as well as cost effective compared to having on site workers do the task. India is the most popular country for call center outsourcing. Call centers are furnished with rows of cubicles that have telephones and computers; they're typically open 24 hours, as they tend to hire many shift workers. Representatives work in the cubicles making inbound or outbound calls.

Inbound phone calls are those that representatives receive from a company's clients. A business using call center outsourcing will be given a telephone number to use on their customer communications. Typically, it's listed as a customer service contact number. Call center representatives answer customer calls at that number using the company's name. They provide information and help solve problems while representing the business.

Outbound calls can also be made to customers by call center outsourcing workers. The reason for the call may be to follow up on past service problems. Customer service is especially important as companies need to be competitive in today's marketplace. Contacting customers to ensure they are happy with the company's products or service can help maintain consumer loyalty. Another reason that a business may use outbound call center outsourcing is for marketing purposes; they hire representatives to call customers about special offers and new products to help increase sales.

Since many call centers operate around the clock, companies hiring them get the advantage of being able to offer 24 hour customer service. This feature benefits not only customers who work late hours, but everyone, since they may call at their convenience. With additional representatives providing regular customer maintenance and service, overtime costs and extra training is avoided.

Multimedia call centers offer additional services to phone contact, including email and website support as well as ecommerce activities. Typical ecommerce-based call center outsourcing includes order taking as well as dealing with customer questions. A call center representing a hotel or airline may take reservations; some centers do fund-raising and collect donations for charities. Website support may be in the form of a feature which visitors click on in order to speak with a live agent about product information or a special offer. Call centers handling email support answer customer emails promptly and politely.