What are Communications Outsourcing Services?
With the growing demand for different products and services as well as businesses turning to hire freelancers over full-time employees, outsourcing has become a common practice. Communications outsourcing services assist businesses with hosted communications between them and their customers.
Communications outsourcing services help companies cut the cost of providing the service themselves or to fill a project-based service need. Additionally, they may present a potential partner for outsourcing a variety of other IT management services such as help desk and product support, technology consulting, operational services, development and integration, expense management, and more.
Some outsourced communications services are primarily virtual receptionists, while others offer more complex business-critical services such as analytics, insights, and automation that help optimize performance and alleviate risks. They may also add strategic and innovative solutions that can build a more sustainable organization. Communication outsourcing can be effective for all business sizes and across industries. These services are similar to service desk outsourcing, with more of an emphasis on hosted communications communication rather than customer service.
Communications Outsourcing Services Features
Some useful features when using communications outsourcing services include:
- Answering service
- 24/7 live chat
- Integrations
- SMS services
- Virtual receptionist
- Managed services
- Email integration
- System updates
Communications Outsourcing Services Comparison
Some of the most important factors to consider when deciding on the right communications outsourcing service include:
- Industry type. Some outsourcing companies are designed to assist specific industries. LEX Reception, for example, is specialized in serving law firms. Be sure that the service provider is best suited to meet the needs of your industry. This can be done by reading reviews from other customers and contacting the service provider directly.
- Flexibility. When looking for the right communication outsourcing company, it’s important they will have the right amount of flexibility. This includes being able to handle two or more methods of communication, such as voice, instant messaging, email, and/or SMS services.
- Type of services. Communication outsourcing services offer different types of services, ranging from a virtual assistant/receptionist to answer calls and manage online chat, to offering data-driven analytics and expertise in the latest technologies to help you achieve goals faster and more efficiently. The latter will be more expensive, and therefore it is important to evaluate the complexity of services you are seeking and making sure it is aligned with your budget.
Pricing Information
Pricing for communications outsourcing services varies for each business depending on their communication needs. Certain services charge per receptionist minutes. Additionally, products that are mainly designed to be call answering services will be less expensive than products that offer complex outsourced solutions such as automation and analytics.
Starting prices will usually be around $100 to $400 per month. For more advanced services that include more minutes and offer advanced services that extend beyond being a virtual receptionist, expect to pay between $600 to $2,000. Some providers will offer a free demo of their service before purchasing.
