Demand for outsourced customer experience solutions has skyrocketed recently as budget-conscious business leaders strive to accomplish more with less.
Organizations in every industry know they need to deliver customers rapid, personalized, and convenient experiences. However, building and managing a comprehensive CX strategy in-house can be complex and expensive. Companies are turning to innovative BPO providers for a cost-effective way to optimize and scale their efforts.
Currently, analysts say the market for CX BPO solutions will reach a staggering $250.56 billion by 2032 as more companies continue to embrace the trend.
As interest in outsourced customer experience increases, we’ve noticed a few key trends emerging. Here are the trends to watch in 2024.
1. BPOs Help Businesses Embrace Omnichannel
Customers no longer rely exclusively on phone calls and emails to interact with companies. They want to connect with businesses on various channels, from mobile apps like WhatsApp to social media platforms. Unfortunately, fewer than a third of contact centers are truly “omnichannel.”
Many companies struggle to hire the professionals they need to support customers on various platforms and align the tools they’re using to create a contextual, consistent experience. Fortunately, outsourced customer experience leaders can help.
These vendors help companies scale their omnichannel efforts, assisting them with journey mapping processes and implementing omnichannel platforms and integrations. Plus, they provide companies with scalable teams that can focus on various channels simultaneously. Many can even provide access to solutions for delivering 24/7 global service over chat, SMS, email, and more.
2. Outsourced Customer Experience Services Expand
Outsourced customer experience services today go beyond simply hiring an external team to handle a portion of your calls and service requests. Increasingly, BPO leaders provide companies with services and solutions that optimize every part of the customer journey.
Leading CX outsourcing providers can help companies to:
- Optimize digital transformation: Technical specialists in BPO companies can provide businesses with insights and support when implementing new technologies. They can help them find opportunities to automate tasks, leverage new contact center solutions, and explore the benefits of different software for CRM, workforce management, and more.
- Leverage data: With their extensive experience dealing with data and reporting tools, CX outsourcing companies can help companies make the most of their data. They can help you identify growth opportunities and potential risks and track crucial CX metrics.
- Enhance critical processes: Many CX outsourcing providers can assist businesses with everything from account management to offering help desk support to teams. They can deliver end-to-end support for every process affecting customer experience, whether hiring and onboarding new team members or annotating data.
3. The Rise of Proactive Engagement Services
Another significant trend emerging in the outsourced customer experience landscape is the rise of proactive customer engagement and retention services. Companies increasingly recognize the need for a more proactive approach to customer support. 89% of customers believe proactive service improves their perception of a brand.
Unfortunately, implementing proactive strategies can be complex, particularly for a smaller business with limited resources. BPO companies specializing in CX can help organizations transition from “reactive” to “proactive” service in numerous ways.
They can provide access to entire teams of professionals who focus exclusively on identifying at-risk customers and high-value buyers and reaching out to them with relevant offers. They can even help you implement automated processes so you can notify customers about technical issues, keep them informed about upcoming deals, and follow up after a service request. Plus, some vendors can act as an extension of your sales team, helping with lead and demand generation.
4. AI in Outsourced Customer Experience
Artificial Intelligence (AI) influences every aspect of the customer experience landscape today, providing companies new ways to empower and augment teams and delight customers. However, like any transformative technology, AI can be challenging to implement alone.
Fortunately, many outsourced customer experience providers are introducing new solutions to help companies take full advantage of the AI revolution. Leading vendors can help companies build generative AI bots or customize existing models to enhance their self-service solutions.
They can monitor and analyze bot performance over time, reducing a company’s exposure to the potential risks of using AI in the contact center. They can also introduce businesses to numerous ways of leveraging AI for data analysis, quality assurance, employee training, and even call routing.
Additionally, because they’re highly trained in using the latest technology, BPO teams can take advantage of all the benefits AI solutions provide when serving your customers. They can use generative AI assistants to personalize conversations or track sentiment in real time. They can even leverage AI when creating reports to help you track crucial CX metrics.
5. Growing Focus on Compliance and Security
Finally, compliance and security have become crucial focus areas for all companies today. Every organization with a contact center or customer experience strategy must ensure it collects, protects, and secures data according to the latest regulatory guidelines.
Leading BPO providers are helping businesses of all sizes to navigate the complexities of compliance in the modern world. They can provide access to compliance specialists, who can identify potential risks in your organization’s CX strategy, and help you implement mitigation strategies.
Innovative vendors assist organizations in implementing the latest tools, such as automated monitoring solutions, redaction software, and encryption systems. They can also give businesses behind-the-scenes insights into the regulatory frameworks they must follow when serving customers in different parts of the world.
Top vendors can provide additional support with implementing new tools into your ecosystem for compliant call and conversation recording, or cybersecurity.
The Evolution of Outsourced Customer Experience
Outsourced customer experience services are becoming increasingly common in the modern world. They offer companies unique opportunities to optimize, enhance, and scale their customer experience strategies while minimizing operational costs.
As the customer service landscape continues to evolve, demand for specialist BPO providers will grow. If used correctly, these services could give companies the edge they need to thrive in an experience-focused economy.
