There are a number of differences between small, boutique call centers and their vast counterparts, although at first glance they have many of the same capabilities on paper. Many people believe that bigger is better - however, as many companies (especially large corporations) have come to find out, the two aren't always synonymous. In fact, often times the "little guys" are able to perform circles around some of the big-name call centers.
One of the perks that boutique call centers enjoy is their ability to hit the ground running with campaigns much faster. When you bring your project to centers packed with hundreds of agents, there is generally much more red tape; Between the time spent waiting on approvals from different levels of management to the time wasted training hundreds of agents who will undoubtedly each only take a few of your calls, the only things moving on are your customers. With boutique centers, you generally work with those who will help to kick-start your campaign quickly. Also, because of the short distance between management and agents, much more of your company's culture can be passed on and examined in the agents dedicated to your campaign. Another perk of enlisting the help of a smaller call center is the stronger relationship that the employees and management are able to attain. Managers are really able to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of each individual that they work with, allowing them to assign agents to particular projects that they would excel at. Not only does this allow for happier call center agents, but it also allows for better experiences for your customers - and as we all know, better experiences lead to stickier relationships between your company and your customers.
One primary factor that sets small call centers ahead of large ones is their ability to cost effectively handle volatile call volumes. Large call centers often bill an hourly rate for their agents regardless of how much volume they take in. This leads to expensive overhead for the companies who have more volatile or lower call volumes. With boutique shops, you are often charged on a per-minute basis with tiered pricing available. This helps to alleviate a large burden off of you and gives the call center more reason to work efficiently, which leads to my final point.
With the burden of cost of resources placed on them, boutique call centers are required to reach the same goals more efficiently. This can be done through a number of different ways. Practicing more hands-on training methods can help to ensure that each interaction is handled as successfully and time-effectively as possible. Specialization is also often used to ensure that agents are handling the projects that they are best at, resulting in less time on the phone and a cost savings for you.
If you have any other questions about call centers, just ask us - we would be more than happy to talk about some of the many ways we could save your company some money. Or if you'd like, take a look at some of the verticals we've worked with.