Organic Growth is Our Call Center Aim

As we come to an advanced stage in the first quarter of the year, our call center operations need a shift in thinking. The managers working at our call centers have devised a plan to make the growth more organic and well spread out. We want our inbound call center department make as much progress as our outbound call center. Similarly, the back office functions that we conduct include search engine optimization, social media marketing and other associated call center services need focus. Thanks to the quality work that we have done in this segments over a period of time, they have gained popularity among clients and consumers.

There is another reason why organic growth in the call centers has become a priority for us. We want to cut down on hiring and training by adding more efforts in retaining employees. The attrition rate has never been a worrying point atHelios Outsourcing, but we do have to ensure that our agents are comfortable in their jobs. Happy employees will take care of our vision for organic growth. Our managers and team leaders have been directed to inculcate more sense of belonging in the employees. We want to move ahead with them as they are an integral part of our future plans.

Basic Lead Generation Tips

There are some basic lead generation tips that call centers need to follow. These steps are so commonplace that many call center units take them for granted. In their bid to get more sophisticated call center services onboard, they miss out on these basics. That hurts the sales lead generation process in the long run. These are:

(I) Research: Before you begin work on a call center, you will have to conduct a thorough research on the brand or company you will work for. Talking to their clients and customers will give the call centers a fair idea of what they have on their hands. Reputation of the company will play a vital role in the lead generation process.

(II) Opt-In Method: Before the outbound call center team dials up numbers or sends promotional emails, they have to check up if the receiver has opted in. Without a legitimate opt-in method, you will be treated like unwanted hassle. As for emails, there is a strong chance that your email domain will be blocked by ESPs if receivers report spam.

(III) Follow-Up: The follow-up emails sent out by the lead generation teams are important, as they are necessary. Many leads die out because the call center did not follow them up or nurture them carefully.

Small Call Centers Strive to Survive

In the modern BPO world, small and medium scale companies have little hopes of survival. They have to either merge with larger call center firms or have business partnerships with them. There is a growing need for call center services that are on the cutting edge of technology. The aim of the clients and business firms hiring them is to get telemarketing projects done before stipulated and time-tested cycles. To make that happen, you need technology and innovation. In other words, you need capital and investments. Small and medium scale companies cannot afford that kind of money. They will need the back-up of larger units.

The days of dedicated manpower service is over. You may have the most skilled telemarketing agents on the job, but you will falter to deliver if you don’t have the equipment and the gadgets. Clients will shy away from hiring call centers that don’t have state-of-the-art technology. BPO companies will lose out on their marketing pitches for projects when they find out that they don’t work in certain ways. That is why Helios Outsourcing has always concentrated on technological investments. You can grab the A-list projects only when you are fully equipped and that is something that has been an advantage for us.

Customer Service: Is it Counterproductive?

Business firms, no matter how much their budget is, always think of having someone competent answer the calls of the customers. These calls are not just enquiries, these are business opportunities. When the BPO sector grew in prominence, the business firms realized the potential that was waiting to be tapped. Clients started creating and using hotlines for customers to call for questions related to the products and services of the brand. But having a hotline is not the end of the matter. You have to maintain your call center back-up in the best possible way. Otherwise, your investment will be counterproductive.

When you have a customer service line, customers will call. If you don’t have an efficient BPO team answering those calls, your customers feel betrayed. That’s worse than not having an inbound call center team at all! That is why Helios Outsourcing always tries to keep things efficient at the answering service desk. Our trained agents never let any opportunity slip past. In a way, we create opportunities for lead generation while answering calls. We train our agents to try cross selling and up selling whenever the chance presents itself. Our clients admire our continued effort to generate sales. It’s something that is part of our motto.

B2B Lead Generation through Professional Networks

The use of professional networks is an up and coming tool for B2B lead generation. Professionals across the globe are steadily signing up for professional networking websites like LinkedIn and Facebook. Their aim is to stay in touch with colleagues and co-workers from the past and also the present. The network helps them source for jobs, share ideas and also take part in meaningful discussions about their professional. Call center agents can interact with the decision makers of business firms. Talking strictly in a professional manner, they can convince them as to why they need the telemarketing services of the BPO unit.

B2B lead generation is a tad difficult than the usual sales lead generation that the outbound call center agents does. In this process, the call center agents have to be careful about what they are writing and talking about. Because they are dealing with top-notch business executives, any error in pitching for telemarketing projects can be the reason why you missed out on the deal. Trying too hard to seal it off will also come across as desperate. You have to strike a fine balance between being laid back and too aggressive. Follow up your emails with phone calls and keep the lead warm, advises experts.

BPO Predictions That Came True

There are a couple of BPO predictions that have come true in 2010. Experts in the call center industry had predicted that the volume of business process outsourcing business will increase as the recession weakens. That is exactly what happened. As the business firms in the countries like USA and UK got back into the cash-rich model of business, they were more open to hiring call centers for customer services and lead generation. The fresh demand for call center services managed to salvage many BPO companies from going down. There were more telemarketing projects for the smaller firms to work on and stay afloat.

The second prediction for the call center industry was that smaller and mid-level companies will take to hiring call centers. In the initial days of BPO work, only the high-end companies would hire call center services. But the ability to afford the low-cost customer services and lead generation has made it possible for the smaller firms to get call center partners onboard. This has further expanded the volume of telemarketing services that was there to be done. More projects meant better revenue for the business process outsourcing industry. That is what explains the stupendous success of the industry in 2010. Hope there’s more to follow in the coming year!

Customer-oriented Lead Generation

Lead generation campaigns can be better managed affairs if the call centers doing those focus on the customers. Too many call center units spend their resources in trying all the sales lead generation tools that they know of. They feel that they can tap all the tools available and make a deeper impact on the profit graph. However that is a flawed concept. We have noticed that telemarketing campaigns can yield better returns on investment (ROI) for most BPO units if they strategize their marketing mix according to the customers that they are planning to target. The procedures that they want to follow depend on the nature of the telemarketing services that they are hoping to provide.

Helios Outsourcing has done lead generation projects for B2B and B2C clients. There is a marked difference in how a call center should approach these disparate areas of sales lead generation. While online lead generation may work for a business that is selling services that cater to an elite class of consumers, telemarketing calls are more suited for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). That is why it is important to choose the right tool and that is to be determined solely by the consumers that you hoping to target.