The call center is the provision of remote customer support services.
Not all organizations benefit from maintaining sales offices. For example, it is much more efficient to provide banking services via the Internet, while simultaneously providing remote customer support.
The role of such support is played by the call center . The essence of support is that the client can call the toll-free number at any time, consult on the issue of interest to him, and solve his problem.
However, not all organizations are able to maintain their own staff for round-the-clock consulting support. This is where call centers come in.
Call Center Business Plan: What Should You Pay Attention To?
Choosing a location is the first issue you will face on the way to your own call center.
Call centers are usually not a lot of separate rooms, but one large room, zoned with special partitions. Therefore, it is better to use ready-made office space.
Do not forget that the office must comply with sanitary and hygienic and technical requirements.
The location of the call center is not so important, because communication with customers takes place mainly by phone.
Therefore, the main requirement for the premises is the availability of a good communication channel, both fixed and mobile. A reliable Internet access channel is also required.
The main costs of organizing a call center
You do not need to invest huge financial resources to open a call center.
- The bulk of the costs will go to professional switching equipment. You will need to equip a separate telephone line and connect the Internet with excellent speed.
- On a PC, you will need to install specialized software. Remember that it is not worth saving on it, the selected applications should be able to register, record and distribute incoming outgoing calls.
- The business plan of a call center that will officially operate should include registration costs.
- In addition, it must include the cost of renting office space until the business gets back on its feet and starts to make a profit.
If you sum up all the expenses, then $ 500,000 is enough to equip an average company.
As for profitability, it is quite high and reaches 25-30 percent. The proceeds should be spent on business development.
Call Center Business Plan: Recruitment
A good call center business plan will also ensure that workers in such establishments do not stay long.
The staff turnover here is so high that employees cannot be kept by high salaries or excellent working conditions. Therefore, you should pay attention to the development of a simple and quick training scheme for new staff.
The presence of a reserve staff, in addition to the main one, is simply necessary. Otherwise, your company may not be able to fulfill orders.
If your staff gets sick or starts leaving en masse, you will lose customers and your income will go with them. There is a lot of competition in this area of business, and you should never risk your reputation.
Approximately 12-15 operators should work in one shift. But the equipment will be required for more than 20 places.
Call Center Business Plan: Finding Clients
In order to be successful, you need to decide in advance where you will look for a new clientele (you can read more about this in call center market research ).
According to statistics, cold calling is the best option. When the staff is engaged in calling potential customers. Good results will also be achieved by sending emails.
Another important point is that you must decide in advance on the list of services that you intend to provide to clients.
In the future, it should gradually and regularly expand. Due to the fact that the profitability of such a business is high, and the costs can be considered insignificant, there is really tough competition in the call center business.
In order not to lose clientele, you need to spend a lot of money on advertising your organization.
Good equipment and a well-constructed advertising campaign will bring you success in the market and popularity.
