Delegating business processes to offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) firms is a surefire way of improving a company’s overall efficiency.
Aside from benefitting from significant cost savings, businesses also gain market advantage from a BPO firm’s more streamlined operations.
From back-office processes to customer-facing operations, there is no shortage of services businesses can’t entrust to BPOs.
Among the many services BPOs offer, outsourced telemarketing is one of the most commonly availed by businesses venturing into offshoring.
What is outsourced telemarketing?
Outsourced telemarketing is the process of outsourcing your telemarketing campaigns to another company.
It allows you to focus your business’s time and resources on achieving greater results from your outsourcing partner’s existing base of customers.
Combined with your business’s existing customer base, outsourced telemarketing can potentially lead to twice the gains for less work on your part.
Telemarketing, by itself, is an effective way of promoting your products and services.
In an article by The Pipeline – a sales and marketing strategy company – it was reported that 78% of business decision-makers have gone to appointments or events because of cold calls.
This result shows the effectiveness of telemarketing in driving business movers to action.
Outsourcing telemarketing makes this process even more effective, as you will gain access to the skilled professionals and leading-edge technologies of BPOs.
Types of outsourced telemarketing
There are primarily four types of telemarketing that you can outsource to BPOs.
These are categorized according to who calls whom and to whom the telemarketing team caters.
Inbound telemarketing
In inbound telemarketing, the customers reach out to businesses.
These customers may have previous interactions with the business or new leads generated by a business’s marketing campaign.
With inbound telemarketing, marketers can upsell or cross-sell products to their existing customers.
Inbound telemarketing methods include:
- Live chat
- Live calls
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
Inbound telemarketing’s goal is as much to retain existing customers as to gain new ones.
An effective inbound telemarketing strategy ensures that a business’s customers or prospects will have positive experiences.
Outbound telemarketing
Contrary to inbound telemarketing, outbound telemarketing refers to when a business’s marketing team reaches out to customers.
The channels used by outbound telemarketers are similar to those used in inbound marketing – the only difference is who calls whom.
Outbound telemarketing is also primarily concerned with reaching out to potential customers and generating leads for the sales team.
Business-to-consumer (B2C) telemarketing
Business-to-consumer telemarketing is a form of marketing that’s directed towards the end-users of products or services. These end-users are usually the general public.
B2C telemarketing has a higher contact rate with decision-makers than almost any other form of marketing.
Telemarketers can use both inbound and outbound methods when conducting B2C telemarketing.
Business-to-business (B2B) telemarketing
Business-to-business telemarketing is a form of marketing that targets businesses, rather than individuals, as customers.
Unlike business-to-consumer telemarketing, B2B telemarketers don’t bank on customers’ whims and desires. Instead, they entice prospective customers with sound data-based information or expected ROIs.
B2B telemarketing is an effective marketing strategy for faster lead generation as it helps businesses connect with powerful decision-makers (e.g., C-level executives, operation managers).
Like B2C telemarketing, B2B can also be done inbound and outbound methods.
Advantages of having outsourced telemarketing
Outsourced telemarketing processes brings plenty of benefits to businesses.
These benefits can range from the earlier-mentioned cost reductions to gaining more skilled specialists.
Below are some of the advantages businesses gain through outsourced telemarketing:
Reduced operational and overhead costs
An outsourced telemarketing team will help businesses save on both labor and overhead costs.
With access to the cheaper labor market where most BPOs operate (e.g., the Philippines, India, Cambodia), businesses can save as much as 70% on salaries for their telemarketing staff.
They’re also spared the additional expenses from purchasing marketing software and other equipment, as well as the end-to-end recruitment and onboarding of telemarketing staff.
These expenses – plus the facility where these outsourced telemarketers work – are often shouldered by their partner BPOs.
Greater flexibility
Having an outsourced telemarketing staff lets businesses increase or decrease the size of their operations as the need arises.
They can do this without worrying about being slowed down by the hiring process (plus the additional expenses it brings) as their partner BPOs handle this for them.
It also gives businesses the flexibility to have their outsourced telemarketing team cover days or times not covered by their office’s operating hours.
Measurable ROI
An outsourced telemarketing lets businesses measure their return on investment (ROI) from the very start.
BPOs employ metrics to gauge the effectiveness of their processes.
This means businesses will be able to know their conversion rate from engaged appointments to converted business.
It also authenticates the standard ROI businesses see from the converted leads.
Potential risks of having outsourced telemarketing
Despite the advantages businesses can gain from an outsourced telemarketing process, there are still some drawbacks they may encounter.
One of these disadvantages is having less control over telemarketing operations.
As a third-party company handles the outsourced telemarketing team, directly supervising them may present a bit of a challenge.
Confidentiality is another factor to be considered before outsourcing telemarketing.
Data breach and unauthorized access are risks faced by businesses partnering with an external company.
Tips on choosing a partner for your outsourced telemarketing
As mentioned in the previous section, there are risks associated with having an outsourced telemarketing.
However, partnering with a well-established and reliable BPO company will help businesses bypass these risks.
Below are some actionable advice businesses can follow to ensure their partner BPOs are worth entrusting with their telemarketing process.
- Know how long the BPO has been in the business.
- Do 360-degree background checks – inquire from their past and present partner businesses.
- Sit down with their telemarketing team to know if they fit with your business’s values and goals.
- Review their telemarketing team’s capabilities and competencies.
- Visit the BPOs office location – or request an online tour if a physical inspection is not possible.
