Outsourcing key services can be seen as a risky move when it comes to large businesses. A large enterprise has a lot to lose including market share, established revenue streams and hard-won brand loyalty. Handing any aspect of the business to an external agency with the risk of comprising quality or service, is a tough choice.
So why outsource?
Ironically, as the size and success of a business grows, it is increasingly limited in its ability to try new approaches, evolve and adapt to fend off younger, challenger organisations nibbling away at its market share.
By outsourcing selected functions, an enterprise can have the best of both worlds, maintaining established revenue streams and approaches, whilst simultaneously testing and benchmarking new strategies through a flexible outsourced resource.
Let’s look at the benefits of outsourcing a telemarketing/sales function:
Agility
Recent events have shown us that the ability to adapt and pivot is critical for a business to survive and thrive.
Larger businesses are often less agile, with resources fully utilised or constrained by legacy systems and processes. This lack of flexibility can limit their capacity to test and refine strategies, react to market changes and stay competitive, particularly in fast-moving, technology sectors, or when faced by more nimble challenger firms. An outsourced agency, integrated with internal teams but with fewer constraints, can extend the agility of any large enterprise.
Compliance
Many large businesses are active in regulated sectors where they need to be 100% compliant to industry standards and codes of practice, which can often change with minimal notice. To avoid financial penalties and reputational damage, large firms must be able to react quickly and remain compliant with current regulations.
A telemarketing/sales agency with the right industry credentials can support those needs, for example communicating policy shifts to customers in a timely manner, handling inbound queries around a new procedure or by running a comprehensive TCF (Treating Customers Fairly) compliance programme.
Proof of concept
With multiple stakeholders involved, the decision-making process within a large enterprise can be complex and any significant change must be supported by a robust business case.
If internal resources are constrained, an outsource agency can deliver a solid proof of concept to make the case for a change of direction or major investment. Systematic testing of different approaches means an enterprise can test and optimise externally and then adopt the most proven approach in-house, safe in the knowledge that the decision is based on reliable data.
Insight
A feed of accurate and actionable insight is essential to inform any business strategy and to drive growth.
A specialist agency has configurable systems that provide full visibility and deep insight to feed strategy. An outsourced telesales team for example will apply a structured and systematic approach whereby agents track pipeline, capture conversation notes and Voice of Customer (VoC) feedback within a dedicated calling platform. They will also have frameworks that provide transparency and share insight such as real-time reporting, call recordings, and data management tools.
Scalability
If an opportunity presents itself, a larger, less agile enterprise may not be able to react quickly and ramp up resources to maximise returns. Recruiting and on boarding new staff with the right skills can be time consuming and labour intense.
Outsourcing to a specialist agency, allows a larger business to quickly extend their team and scale programmes as soon as opportunities are identified. Using an external agency also avoids commitment to long-term investment where needs are short-term, may fluctuate or in the early stages of a programme when it is more liable to fail.
Specialist skills
A lack of skills is a significant barrier to enterprises who need to evolve and grow their strategic capabilities. Finding and recruiting individuals with the right skills can be problematic, however, particularly in the current climate.
An outsourced solution can provide ready access to domain or industry-specific skills such as language skills or Inside Sales expertise that are often hard to find and retain. Having the right skills in place can also protect brand reputation, by maintaining standards, ensuring compliance and high quality sales and service.
Management bandwidth
A programme in its infancy tends to absorb greater management overhead than one that has reached steady state. Large strategic projects involving a sizeable resource often divert senior management away from the core priorities of the business, particularly during set up phase.
In these instances, an outsource partner can extend that bandwidth with experienced managers and proactively drive programmes whilst still providing full transparency to the in-house team through dedicated reporting, data and analytics.
Strategic partnership
These are just some of the benefits available through an outsource solution that can potentially deliver a strategic advantage to large enterprises.
A specialist outsource agency working as an enterprise partner, integrated with the in-house team, can add value with expertise and experience developed across multiple sectors, programmes and propositions. A trusted partner, they bring new ideas and fresh thinking, help test preconceptions and challenge assumptions and, with specialist skills, insight and agility, help large businesses overcome barriers to growth and maintain their competitive edge.
