With client looking for more creativity than ever in how their products / services are represented outsourced contact center providers are being forces to to revisit tried and trusted methods of providing their services to clients.

A new report by research firm Datamonitor suggests that outsourcing vendors need to determine new ways of delivering customer service, marketing & sales, technical support and debt collection. No longer is increased revenue generation cited as a principal objective; rather, the need to ensure a maximum degree of end-user satisfaction is key.

Datamonitor lead analyst for contact center outsourcing, Peter Ryan explains: “In a recessionary period, outsourcing clients are more concerned with retaining as much of their client base as possible. Clients understand the opportunity to cross-sell and upsell will come with the recovery, but the immediate future means keeping customer churn to a minimum. If this can be achieved through lower-cost alternatives, such as automation or offshore/ home-based customer service agent delivery, all the better for the client’s bottom line.”

Marketing & sales in the outsourced contact center has also evolved in recent years. Many outsourcers and their clients have opted for warm-calling approaches in which customer service agents contact end-users with whom the outsourcer’s client has an established relationship, so as to ascertain their satisfaction with a recent purchase. Not only does this re-enforce the commercial relationship, it also affords insight into future buying, and can also lead to immediate cross-sell/ upsell opportunities.

The domain of technical support too has evolved over the years with more consumers using devices and solutions that are more complex than ever. However, according to Ryan, this is an area in which contact center outsourcers have the chance to win significant business in the coming years. “A savvy outsourcer, using a combination of offshoring and automation, can not only take on and improve the technical support end-user experience, but also do so at a reduced price. In the technology sector, where margins are constantly being squeezed, this is an important success factor.”

Debt collection and accounts receivable management have been highlighted by many firms recently as a growth area within outsourcing. This is due to rising personal indebtedness in western markets, and the need for creditors to recoup these funds. However, there are a number of obstacles for outsourcing vendors looking to enter this space. Datamonitor has identified statutory compliance requirements and saturated markets as being among the most important. But, if an outsourcer is willing to invest the funds necessary to take on the right management team, or potentially buy a debt collection specialist, the long-term rewards could be significant.