The secret of Outsourcing

Companies have often weighed the benefits against the costs of using outsourced services. Reducing expenses and improving efficiency are typically the main motivators behind most decisions to outsource. Small companies will often outsource parts of their business process - payroll, accounting, etc. - because they have no alternative. Larger companies have traditionally outsourced (non-key functions) in order to cut costs. We have all probably spoken to an agent at a help desk somewhere in India, even though it’s a US firm we’re calling.

Outsourcing has been growing in all industries, especially in automotive (like John L. Sullivan (chevyworld.com) and high tech. In fact, even Soundstrategies
outsources several business solutions to third-party support organizations.

However, we should never underestimate the importance of the “customer experience”. In the past, many companies traded in their home-based customer support for outsourced help desk applications, at a reduced cost. Lower-cost markets like India and China can provide a hard-to-resist temptation.

Yet, we’ve also seen a consumer backlash as a result of some of these moves. Customers are no longer shy about asking for good service…in fact, they are demanding it. Though cost savings were once the goal of outsourcing, we are now seeing more of a strategic focus. Advances in speech technology, customer relationship management (CRM) and business analytics (Lucidera.com) have given companies a way to differentiate themselves from their competitors, with something more substantial than “cheap labor”.

Today, outsourcing has myriad applications, from literally moving the location of your help desk or call center….to utilizing Software as a Service (SaaS). Salesforce.com provides SaaS for our CRM needs.

I offer you Soundstrategies as one possible outsourcing solution: Talent as a Service (TaaS). Have you ever called a company and heard an automated attendant who sounded so bad that you wanted to hang up immediately? Or a radio commercial voiced by the owner of the company, despite his/her lack of charisma or ability to read copy with any glimmer of personality? I cite these as compelling reasons for your business to outsource! Don’t try to do everything in-house, when you can find a professional, affordable alternative that will improve your business strategy as well as your customers’ experience.