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Social Media Monitoring As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

Social Media Monitoring As Customized Service Outsourcing Package

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Social media monitoring can be availed as customized service outsourcing package; you’ll have instant access to what people are talking about your company, through the variety of platforms. It can assist you on how your competitors are doing and attract new potential customers.

Today, almost all businesses have social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are staple tools in boosting company image to target audience. Smartphone users nowadays install social media apps for their personal use. Having such apps are convenient because of the unlimited things these can do. From talking to their loved ones, video chatting, uploading pictures on their social media accounts, and more.

As customized service outsourcing package, you can use these things to your advantage. Looking through your social media platforms can give you the boost you need for the company.

Here is a list why social media monitoring is beneficial:

1. The Use of SEO

Knowing how your market acts, you’ll able to understand what they are searching for. Using SEO will be handy. Creating keywords and putting your website on the top searching list is a big advantage.

2. Joining Netizens’ Conversation

Social media monitoring is not all about looking through countless of feedback. It can also be a way to interact with the people. Users post about a certain product, and take the opportunity to tag other people. With this, it would create a discussion about the product. Joining the discussion and pitching comments are great ways to interact.

3. Planning the Next Marketing Plan

Browsing through reviews and feedback are some of the factors that can kick-start an idea for the plan. Knowing what the market needs based on trends, and how to deliver it will give a good feedback from them.

4. You Vs. Competitor

While learning your market, it’s best to learn about your competitor as well. Through Social media monitoring, understanding the competitor’s reviews will be a huge advantage. By doing this, getting insights is easy, and you’ll learn how to handle these in the future.

There are more things you can do with social media listening. From understanding your target to knowing your competitors, it’s up to you how to use customized service outsourcing package to your advantage.

Custom Offshore Sourcing Service For Best Returns

Customize Your Offshore Sourcing Service For Best Returns

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Businesses turn to offshore sourcing because of the variety of specializations available. Companies have different goals, and outsourcing companies various approaches to help clients achieve goals. With numerous outsourcing companies competing for market share, businesses would want a partner that could share their visions. There’s also the need to seamlessly work together to deliver high-quality products and/or services.

Sourcing Processes To Service Providers

With the progress of the Internet and technology, any company would want to be at the top of everything. Anything that ensures transactions and operations are effective and efficient is important. Sometimes, though, they don’t have the time or the manpower that’s up to par with tasks to be completed. This is where offshore sourcing comes in. Professional outsourcing companies are expected to be well-versed with newer systems and applications, covering back-office services to customer support.

Customized Offshore Sourcing Is Crucial

Company executives would want to maximize those benefits, so they can focus on aspects of business crucial to company growth. Unfortunately, when the company turns to some outsourcing companies for help, they run the risk of limiting themselves instead. Companies should consider outsourced companies that adjust to the company’s needs and wants, not the other way around.

Does the outsourced company have specialized and professional pool of talents that meets the standards? Can these talents dedicate the time and effort that will make the project/campaign successful? Will offshore sourcing contribute to the overall growth of the company? Outsourcing companies should build a solid team that gets the job done within the specified time.

The company should also account for the facilities these outsourcing companies have to offer. Are they properly outfitted and updated with the means to deliver the required results? Proper equipment and resources are prerequisites that aid talents accomplish their given project assignments.

Final Considerations

The cost of offshore sourcing shouldn’t outweigh the benefits of what an outsourced team can offer. Outsourcing companies understand full well how important efficiency is, so by being able to provide a customized solutions service for the company, both parties can reach a point of agreement that would be advantageous for everyone involved. Offshore sourcing is a comprehensive solution for many business dilemmas, but only if you have the right team in place, sourced by a reliable provider.

3 Skills Required Of A BPO Contact Center Agent

3 Soft Skills Required Of A BPO Contact Center Agent

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The contact center industry has grown, almost exponentially so. Today, a BPO contact center is part of everyday society, offering job opportunities to young and driven people looking for promising careers.

As easy as it may seem to be a contact center agent, there are some essential skills you should consider requirements. These skills can be learned, but honing these early on, as well as preparing to use them is sure to make the entire experience run smoother.

1. Calm and Collectedness

First of all, your agents should have calm disposition, in order to take in information and retain it. This can be expanded by helping customers, by taking notes of conversations, and giving an appropriate response. Agents also need to learn about their client inside and out, in order to help customers in need of assistance.

2. Patience

This is best complemented by flexibility. Customers come from various demographics, and not everyone is the same. A diverse group of people is bound to call for support, and agents need to know how to handle everyone. Some may be pleasurable, others not so much, but each customer is still to be given the best service possible. It can be rough, but that’s why clients hire a BPO contact center to handle this work.

3. Communication

Communication is key, and not in the sense of speaking eloquently and having a good hold of the English language. It’s in the way that a customer can be sure that the person on the other end of the line is giving their best service. Clear instructions, digesting information, and responding accordingly are integral for the customer’s satisfaction.

It can be challenging and tiring, operating a BPO contact center, but your agents can thrive in that environment if they’re trained and developed by these essential skills.

Three Notorious Misconceptions About The BPO Process, DEBUNKED (Part 2 of 2)

Three Notorious Misconceptions About The BPO Process, DEBUNKED (Part 2 of 2)

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In a previous blog post, we covered three misconceptions that prevent small businesses and start-ups from considering BPO process as solution. Did you find this shortlist familiar? It’s likely you have hesitations grounded on different reasons. This supplement aims to debunk more notions in your list.

Many businesses now streamline operations through BPO solutions. You’ll notice the first advantage is in the leased/outsourced manpower. You also save on overhead costs (literally), since the lease service includes its own office facilities by default. If these savings don’t convince you to hire a BPO provider, maybe debunking these three myths will help:

Editor’s note: click here for part 1 of this list.

Misconception #4: BPO Process Is Not For Start-ups

There’s the assumption start-ups are as streamlined as businesses get. Why consider BPO when you only have a skeleton crew to work with? It turns out many of the typical start-up’s tasks are routine, low priority, or repetitive. You have a lot to gain by delegating these tasks to a dedicated team, for a feasible cost.

It’s true larger companies outsource and lease business processes as regular practice, and with good reason. There are so many moving pieces in large operations, it’s more convenient to just hire a third-party to handle the routine tasks. Start-ups and small businesses are also staffed by core personnel, so they have goals and priorities down to pat. They know which processes to outsource, how to delegate, and how to keep the business lean.

Misconception #5: Leased Teams Are Unreliable

The reason behind this myth: leased staff often operate remotely. There’s also the saying that if you want anything done right, you should do it yourself. This is where it’s all the more important you choose the right BPO process provider to handle your campaign. Scout for the best handful of third-party providers, shortlist, and narrow these down to the competent few.

Visit your handpicked provider at their home office as formality, if you can. This is an advantage because you have opportunity to meet the leased team in person. You also get to meet with the supervisor assigned to the campaign. Even though all these are doable via teleconference, nothing beats spending time with your team in the same physical space.

Misconception #6: The Language And Culture Barrier

Offshore staff leasing often (if not always) involves working with teams based abroad. Often this also involves different culture and time zones. Sometimes, language is an obstacle. These need not prevent you from availing BPO process as solution, though. In countries where BPO is booming, competent, capable workforce is the default.

There’s expectation the team you’re hiring can adapt to the language requirement. Timezone is hardly ever a concern when you have staff rotating round the clock. Culture is also secondary to having a professional work ethic, which is requirement regardless of culture or location.

Hiring a BPO process provider can be the best way to streamline your small business or start-up. The advantages are too numerous, and you have everything to gain from lean and cost-effective operations.

(Part 2 of 2) Here’s How You Negotiate With A BPO Services Provider

(Part 2 of 2) Here’s How You Negotiate With A BPO Services Provider

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You should always negotiate with a BPO services provider, as much as you can. There’s always room to bargain from initial proposal. But, as established in a previous post, silence can be an effective negotiation tactic. There’s a handful of ideal opportunities when you’re better off staying put, and here are three more to consider the next time you consider a quote:

1. When The Other Party Makes A Counter-Offer

Have you ever felt stonewalled? It’s unpleasant and frustrating, and you’re at a disadvantage the first few minutes after you’re given the cold shoulder. This is but natural, since there’s an expectation for immediate response in communication. The trick is responding with a meaningful pause, long enough to cause the other party to flinch.

Silence in negotiation is an acquired skill, though. If you’re corresponding in person, supplement your silence with a nod of acknowledgment. If it’s a phone conversation, stall with hanging responses like “I see…” or “I understand…” Reserve this tactic for the most important terms in the negotiation.

2. After The Initial Small Talk, Right Before You Talk Brass Tacks

Pleasantries are important in business correspondence. You need to build rapport with a BPO services provider so you’re relaxed the moment you talk details. However, the challenge is in the transition; how do you bridge the gap between small talk and real talk? It turns out silence (or short pause) could be the only transition you need.

The brief lull in conversation gives both of you breathing space. It also allows you to effortlessly shift gears, as soon as possible. Bide your time and wait for your prospect to resume the thread, though. If you have initial terms and proposals, best wait what the other party has in mind. You can then adjust responses in your favor.

3. Immediately After You’ve Presented Terms To A BPO Services Provider

This complements the first point; you should give your prospect ample time to compose a response. In turn, you’ll also pick up queues from the other party (in face-to-face conversation). Do you see disappointment or relief? Rethink your strategy according to the response. It’s a given face-to-face correspondence is preferable to text, audio, even video chat; you’re missing out on all those non-verbal cues if you don’t meet your prospect in person.

If silence is too much and you need to break the ice, you can pitch pointed questions instead. Loaded questions like “What are your comments on our proposal?” or “We sent you terms yesterday. Any thoughts?” catch your prospect on guard. This puts the burden of response on your prospect.

It’s possible the BPO services provider you’re considering is fine with the terms. Aren’t you thankful you didn’t open negotiations by offering a discount? Develop silence as a staple tactic and you’ll notice an increase in meaningful, favorable negotiations. It takes a while to learn, but it’s second nature with persistence and practice.

Six Strategies to Maximize Your Business Profits

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Profit is primary reason in doing business, but it’s hardly the end-all of goal. Success is measured with various metrics, like healthy client relationship, employee satisfaction, liquid assets, etc. It can also be elusive, especially without planning and strategizing. If you want to maximize revenues as soon as feasible, you need to consider a handful of factors to make this happen.

Investing in business comes with risks, and only people with true grit are able to handle the pressure. If you have any intent of building a start-up, then you should be ready to invest your money, time and personal comforts to make it happen. Here are six strategies that ensure you get more mileage with your initial efforts:

1. Know Your Target Crowd

You have plenty to consider in putting up a business. If you’re starting a restaurant, you think of the best location and the best ingredients, hire the best crew to set your business apart from the rest. However: while thinking of the best elements to complete your business, you might forget the number one factor that is needed to succeed – your target market.

Your target market is the most important factor you should consider; without it, no one will purchase your products and avail of your services. It’s hard to develop a business if you’re clueless about the market. Consider the crowd covered by your products or services, what they want and need, and what they’re willing to pay for, as you go along improving your enterprise.

2. Make Your Business Stand Out

After examining your target market, determine how to highlight your product’s unique features, use these to develop brand identity. Make your product stand out so it’s unique to all the other offers on the market. It must be attractive enough so the market is encouraged to patronize your products and services. Get a grip on this technique if you want to find your sweet spot on the market.

3. Make Your Business Known

Investing heavily in business, keep in mind the best way to achieve success is to be visible to as many people as possible. Your products or services might be as good as your crowd demands, but if it is not known by the public, there’s less chance you’ll achieve what you really want. After developing the best product to market, start a buzz around it and maximize reach before launch. There are two ways to make your business known: by maximizing exposure online (social media), and through outreach marketing.

4. Deliver a Great Customer Experience

Once you are done introducing your products to the market, deliver to expectations in terms of service. First impressions last, so make sure your initial impact is positive, or at least satisfactory. Deliver what your market wants, and they will note your service for next time; you have potentially subsequent customers, repeat business. Customers who are secure in your business stay loyal, which is always good in the long-term.

5. Offer a variety of products and services.

Your product is already exposed on the market, and it is already patronized. Building a momentum is challenging enough, but you also need to sustain it. People who are easily satisfied eventually ask for more and better. If you offer products without variety, there is a possibility that you might lose your customers. Try something new and add some spice to your business. Innovation is always needed in the industry and you should conduct it for your business’ success. Innovation keeps the crowd satisfied with what you offer, leaving them to choose from your products’ varieties.

6. Encourage Word of Mouth

A good impression goes a long way, especially when you’re just starting your business. If your first customers aren’t satisfied with your services, you’re seriously risking repeat business, choking your revenue stream. These same customers might give share negative comments about your business, preventing conversion of potential customers. Reputation spread by word of mouth is indeed significant; to gain more customers, encourage your first crop to refer you to others, ensuring your business develops and grows.

It takes a lot of courage to enter the business industry. The successful make it look so easy to profit, but it actually involves hard work and perseverance, which are so often endured behind the scenes.

Elsewhere on this blog:

4 Smart Solutions When Your Capital Isn’t Enough

3 Outsourcing Essentials for Better Business

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Four Outsourcing Challenges Your Business Needs to Hurdle

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Is your business outsourcing projects to specialized teams? You’re on the right track in taking that first step; it’s cost-efficient and feasible. There are also fewer worries in entrusting processes to skilled, experienced teams. However, you need to overcome a handful of challenges before you invest; have you considered how the employees in the company will respond the changes, and are you clear on the expectations set with your service provider?

Outsourcing work as extension of your business is beneficial in the long run, but you need to cover all bases if you want to milk all of the benefits. Here are four challenges you need to consider before, during, and after you take the plunge:

1. Transitioning the Management

Outsourcing parts of your operations could mean you’ll have to let some people go. At the very least, you’ll restructure teams as necessary. You need to anticipate the disruptions, manage it so the change wouldn’t be a liability. Existing employees may resist with lack of support; some may also seek other opportunities. Nip this at the bud with proactive strategies that gradually, seamlessly transitions the change in management.

Develop a professionally made communication draft, sent to all stakeholders affected by the transition. It’s best if you can personalize each message to the recipient; sending unique messages to different employee levels will also work. You need to address everyone’s lingering thoughts, “What about me?” and “What’s in this for me?”

2. Cultural Differences

You’re coordinating with teams from different timezones, sharing tasks with different cultural and corporate mores. Your corporate culture may be opposite from your service provider; are you willing to adjust rigid policies to accommodate your provider’s casual approach? What works for you may not work for your provider, and a compromise can be your best solution to achieve synergy.

Factor in national cultures, which can be categorized into differences in language, work ethics, work hours, and religion. Asian cultures are less confrontational than their western counterparts, and your straightforward approach may be received as aggressive, threatening by your eastern counterparts. Your service provider will likely have awareness training resource on hand; coordinate and trade notes in effort to merge the cultures.

3. Unrealistic Expectations

They say great expectations come with great disappointments. You’re partially at fault if you don’t clarify expectations with your service provider at the outset. It is true some companies expect their providers to take care of everything, which is hardly the case (unless stipulated). Set the bar too high and you’ll end up overcritical on the output, worsened by a barrage of negative feedback.

Your executive team need to be aware outsourcing isn’t the end-all of solutions; expectations must be realistic and agreed upon by all parties. Employees and stakeholders must be kept up to speed on developments, including setbacks encountered as the project unfolds. Managing expectations ensures there’s goodwill between the company and clients moving forward.

4. Protecting Intellectual Property

IP is always at risk when you’re working with outside parties. Non-disclosure and non-competition clauses should be airtight, and strictly enforced. Mitigate risks in areas affected, including access to information, physical properties like buildings and offices; implement administrative safeguards that sanction employee conduct.

Keep in mind the safeguards must consider the corporate and cultural differences mentioned, draft policies that anticipate and cover for loopholes. You can’t be too careful with your intellectual property, and it must be said that once that precious trade secret is out, it is out.

All things considered, the benefits of outsourcing outweigh its disadvantages. It’s just a matter of ensuring you’re on the same page with your provider every step of the way. You have everything to gain with efficient coordination, since your business is heavily invested in the results.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Navigating Timezones: Three Strategies for Expanding Businesses

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Why Outsource to the Philippines?

Media Managers

Expanding Your Business Reach: Multilingual Contact Centers

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The Philippines is a primary source of English-fluent customer service employees, no doubt a feasible destination for companies in need of business process outsourcing. Did you know opportunities also abound not just for Anglophiles, but for multilingual customer service representatives? What makes multilingual contact centers prime potential, for companies looking for cost-effective solutions to sales and customer support? Your business has a lot to gain, whether you’re a start-up or large corporation. How can you take advantage of it? Here are points to consider before you invest:

A Culture Open to Influence

Most Filipinos are at the very least bilingual—learning English side by side with their native tongue at the start of their schooling. Many even have third or fourth languages, dialects learned in childhood. Thoroughly exposed to Western culture, Filipino contact center employees are surely comfortable in dealing with foreign customers. Their openness to other aspects of foreign cultures help them adjust and adapt to change, too—from their knowledge of Western pop culture to the influences of Malay, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean culture in their vocabulary and lifestyles.

Moreover, outsourcing employees who are well-versed in more than two tongues is an easy feat, given the prevalence of students studying in language institutes across the country.

Crucial Aspects in Maintaining a Good Multilingual Contact Center

Having a vast talent pool of people fluent in English, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, or other languages is a good start. However, it’s better if you find other essential aspects before you invest in the country. This includes building a solid sales team who can easily fire on all cylinders to scout new demographics. Furthermore, it’s important your talent is thoroughly trained to be language and culture competent.

Investing in human resource outsourcing means investing in their potential. Employers must require more than fluency, since the customers they face will have different temperaments. For instance, German and Japanese customers are more likely to expect more efficient responses, given the importance of time in their cultures. Moreover, train your employees to know the variations in spellings in English—no matter if it’s American, British, Australian, or other varieties.

Developing a multilingual contact center pays off in the long run. So long as you make the most of your teams’ potential, you’ll always have someone able to step in to handle foreign-language clients.

Elsewhere on this blog:

3 Big Reasons Why You Should Hire a Graphic Designer

3 Great Benefits of Outsourcing Data Entry

Hiring Your First Offshore Employee – Outsourcing Tips for Beginners

4 Smart Solutions When Your Capital Isn’t Enough

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It takes serious commitment to start a business. It also takes courage to persevere through the highs and lows of management, expanding operations by outsourcing jobs. Unless you’re set with a huge fortune to back your capital, you’ll need supplementing funds more often than you would admit. If you’re heavily invested in your business, then it’s likely you’re built to take on the risks, starting a business with capital insufficient to last the long haul.

Here are four smart solutions to tide your business over, in times you’re running low in capital:

1. Start Small

Startup businesses do not necessarily require massive capital, just enough to sustain about a year’s worth of expenses. Most large corporations start from small enterprises, others were acquired by other companies at hefty markup. You want your products or services to be known around the world, but you have to start local to achieve this goal. Take it easy and one step at a time; make the most out of whatever you have right now. With a feasible business plan, your company will grow through stingy and wise management.

2. Curb Your Expenses

Creativity is crucial at the start of small business, especially when it comes to spending. Innovation in products and services is also important, a secret to streamlined operations. If you think you do not have enough capital to start up a business, at the very least minimize your expenses. You may not need to outsource jobs you can manage (not yet), especially if you can’t afford the service. Your priority should involve looking for resources. Don’t limit yourself to expensive tools when free or cheaper alternatives are available.

3. Partner with an Angel Investor

Angel investors throw money at startup businesses, allowing these to spend on development and improvement. This is first benefit of partnering with an angel investor, but you also gain experience from mentorship and coaching; years of hard-earned experiences imparted to your gain. Looking for angel investors can be a challenge, but easier if you’re well exposed and connected in the relevant industries.

4. Advertise for Free, Use Social Media

Social media is a free, effective promotional platform, and the accounts are easy enough to set up. Make sure you’re established on these free platforms before you invest TV commercials, multimedia, and printed advertisement. Take advantage of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar sites where you can introduce your products or services. How can you resist the appeal of free advertising?

According to Robert Kiyosaki, “It does not take money to make money.” Business is a step-by-step procedure, and you have a variety of resources at your disposal. Start small and let it grow, and then outsource jobs to keep operation costs feasible.

Elsewhere on this blog:

Choosing Your Business Model: Shared Services Over Centralization

Business Metrics: What Surveys Can Do For Your Business

Boost Your Business Without Going Bust – 4 Scaling Tips for Startups

Why Project Outsourcing (Still) Points East: Take Your Market Research Calls to the Philippines

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While the global economic climate has succumbed to caution and slower growth, the Philippines remains a lucrative destination for project outsourcing needs, including the expanding industry of market research. With enough decision-making work on your hands, it’s time you consider taking on the world’s largest outsourcing market, one of Asia’s most English-proficient countries—ultimately meeting your market research call needs in the process.

A Large English-Speaking Talent Pool

To effectively gauge your customers’ reactions towards your product or service, you must have a certain understanding of their daily routine and how it relates to what you offer to them. Filipinos themselves are highly Westernized, which makes their calls feel more authentic. No customer would feel comfortable talking about their products to a stiff-sounding robot, which is why Filipinos, with their first-hand experiences of Western products, can very much relate to the experiences of your customers. Perhaps they can even throw in a pop culture reference or two (when appropriate, of course), to make your business feel more human.

Lower Costs

Despite the abundance of qualified talent, the Philippines is still known for being a cost-efficient, project outsourcing destination. In the realm of market research calls, that simply means your expenditures for customer support take a nosedive, while the development of your business can finally take a huge chunk of the company budget. It’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Intense Competition, Higher Quality

Open a Filipino classified ad or job website and you’d be hard pressed not to find a BPO company. According to the Oxford Business Group, it’s even become an $18 billion-dollar industry in 2014. Competition, in turn, has become rife as an abundance of outsourcing companies vie to give the best contact services possible to their offshore clients. You can expect to avoid paying top dollar for quality.

A Tech-Savvy Generation

The Philippines is no stranger to the newest technologies, especially in its young workforce. Developments in consumer electronics and telecommunication are immediately adopted and applied. This is seen in all IT industries: transitioning in-house tasks offshore is easier if you’re working with teams that easily adapt. Technical and specialized processes are competently handled; couple this with English-proficient professionals and you have the ideal talent pool.

Project outsourcing is good for business because it reduces operation costs. If you’re partnered with the right teams, then you’re also guaranteed efficient processes. If you’re considering locations to expand, there’s no better place to start than the Philippines.

Did you like this post? Contact us now for inquiries!

Elsewhere on this Blog:

When West Meets East: Outsourcing Services and the Corporate Cultural Gap

The Evolution of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippines

Why Outsource to the Philippines?