When you’re starting a business, you have to take on several responsibilities, one of which is customer support. After all, a startup, or any business for that matter, must ensure that its customers are well taken care of. This, of course, involves promptly responding to customer queries, addressing their concerns, and ensuring that they receive satisfactory solutions.

This is where call centers step into the picture.

Call centers provide efficient and cost-effective solutions to manage customer support. However, should a startup manage its call center services in-house or outsource them to a third-party provider?

Usually, experienced entrepreneurs will tell you to opt for the latter, but why? That’s the one thing about third-party call centers and startups that we’ll be talking about today.

In this article, we’ll walk you through five reasons why you should consider outsourcing their call center operations instead of handling them in-house.

Cost Savings

Outsourcing call center services can save startups a significant amount of money. The cost of setting up and managing an in-house call center can be exorbitant. Investments in this regard include everything from technology and infrastructure to recruitment and staff training.

However, by outsourcing your call center services to a third party, you can significantly reduce the costs associated with these services.

All third-party call center service providers have the necessary infrastructure and technology in place, and their staff is already trained, which reduces the time and money needed to set up an in-house call center. On top of that, outsourcing allows startups to only pay for the services they need rather than maintaining an entire team of customer support staff.

To help you better understand how cost-efficient outsourcing can be, we’ll break down the costs associated with running an in-house call center and outsourcing it. The information comes courtesy of Blue Valley Marketing, a call center service provider that offers outbound contact center services as well as inbound marketing services for clients in various industries.

To run low-end, mid-range, and high-end in-house call centers, you have to spend $100,000, $150,000, and $250,000 per year, respectively. These costs include things like hiring, agent salaries, office space, software and hardware costs, and management costs. Once you take other miscellaneous costs into account, you can easily see yourself spending upwards of $350,000 a year on an in-house call center.

When you outsource these services, you can spend under $300,000 a year on these services, with hourly costs ranging from $15 to $70.

Scalability

Startups usually start small and eventually grow bigger with time. If you have an in-house call center, it can be challenging to scale it up or down as the business grows or contracts.

However, outsourcing call center services can provide you with the flexibility you need to scale up or down based on the startup’s needs and its growth trajectory. Third-party providers can quickly adjust the number of customer support representatives needed to handle increased or decreased call volumes. This scalability can help startups stay agile and adapt to changes in their business quickly.

Access to Expertise

Outsourcing call center services provide startups with access to a team of customer support experts. Third-party providers are experienced in handling customer support calls and have the necessary expertise to provide satisfactory solutions to customers. These providers also have access to the latest technology and tools needed to efficiently manage customer support.

For an in-house call center, managing all this is extremely difficult. Not only is it tedious, but it’ll also drive up the costs in the long run.

Focus on Core Business Functions

Managing an in-house call center can be a significant distraction for startups as it takes up valuable time and resources that could otherwise be spent on other core business functions.

By outsourcing your startup’s call center services, you can focus on your core business functions, like product development, sales, and marketing, and leave the customer support aspect to the experts. Doing so can result in increased efficiency and productivity for your new company.

Improved Customer Experience

Outsourcing call center services can result in an improved customer experience. Third-party providers have experience in handling customer support calls and can provide faster and more efficient solutions to customers.

They, of course, also have the necessary technology and tools to manage customer support effectively, such as call routing and customer relationship management software. This can result in a more seamless and satisfactory customer experience, which can lead to increased customer loyalty and retention.

Having established all that, it’s evident why startups will be better off outsourcing their call center needs to a third-party provider rather than managing it in-house.