Choosing a BPO for Customer Experience: Six Principles for Startups

board, how do you choose a partner suited to your startup’s needs? An AI tech company may appear to have all the latest solutions but could lack a critical understanding of the customer experience lifecycle. A legacy BPO with an established track record may lack the agility your startup needs, whereas a smaller BPO could lack crucial resources and reach.

To help you in your search, Teddy Albayero, XtendOps VP of Operations and Strategy for Latin America has written this insightful article, outlining six critical considerations to help you identify the right BPO to handle your CX program.Tips for choosing a BPO for CX: six principles for startups.

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Choosing a BPO for your customer experience is much like a marriage. If you choose the wrong partner, you’re in for a world of pain. On the other hand, a well-matched BPO will integrate into your business seamlessly, sharing core values, meeting you where you are, and supporting you as you grow. How do you find the right fit in a BPO for your customer experience transformation? Keep these six principles top of mind.

When selecting a CX partner, look at the experience of your prospective BPOs. First, experience working with companies in your core service area is a nice-to-have feature. Prior experience means you may be able to streamline the onboarding process. Additionally, they may be able to draw on talent they’ve used in previous campaigns for companies in a similar niche to yours. The must-have for your BPO, however, is experience working with startups. You need a CX partner who understands your unique needs and can provide tailored solutions. They must have a track record demonstrating attentiveness to your customers’ needs and an ability to adapt their service to the fluctuations inherent in the startup environment.

Flux is the nature of the startup environment. A period of hypergrowth can create a crisis situation if your CX program can’t keep up. Imagine it: in January you had 50 leads, then in February it grows to 150. Your business needs to adapt fast in recruitment and training, in resources and space. Your CX partner must be able to keep up with the pace of growth; otherwise, you find yourself looking for a new BPO with greater capacity.  On the flip side, periods of downscaling or stagnation require an equally deft hand. An inflexible BPO may have difficulty when the time comes to sunset some of your initiatives. A more diversified partner will have more resources available to facilitate your ramp-down plan. And, because your people are your first priority, you want a flexible partner with the capacity to reassign your team members during lean times rather than letting them go.

Customer centricity is a multi-level value, so beware of any company that promises a streamlined customer experience but has a culture that fails to put humans first. Your BPO should always prioritize customer satisfaction and be able to demonstrate a track record of excellent customer service. Don’t trust only the words of the BPO and their marketing team. Look to your BPO’s clients for proof. Do site visits and try out their customer experience first-hand. Ask those clients about their CX partnership experience.

It’s become a cliché to talk about how fast the world is changing, but the need to innovate rapidly is a critical reality for your business. In the past decade, the customer experience has evolved from call center assistance to omnichannel service to AI chatbots to entirely touchless transactions. Your CX partner must have a firm handle on emerging technologies and be able to introduce timely solutions that work for your business. When it comes to the customer experience, innovation isn’t just about the latest new thing. Your CX partner needs to know how to make the solutions work for the people you serve. Because, in the end, it’s the people who matter to your business.

Investing in a customer experience strategy for your startup doesn’t have to be a one-and-done affair. A CX specialist may want to introduce all the bells and whistles from day one and demonstrate that the resulting small growth is a win. But how much does that modest growth cost, and is it sustainable? Often, it’s better to introduce customer experience initiatives at a more measured pace, adding processes that make sense to your current CX needs. The right BPO will be able to meet you where you’re at in your startup journey, providing services tailored to your current needs and financial constraints.

You can't afford to have a BPO who sugarcoats the truth; the future of your business depends on brutal honesty. When you’re outsourcing customer service, bad news is your path to improvement. You need a partner who won't be afraid to tell it like it is and offer realistic solutions. Likewise, you must be willing to heed the realities when they’re presented to you. Your brand and the future of your business depend on your ability to hear what your customers are saying. When you work with a partner who doesn’t hide the bitter realities, you can also trust them when they reveal growth metrics.

When it comes to choosing a partner to handle your customer experience strategy, fit is everything. Your CX BPO must maintain stability during downward cycles and scale up quickly during periods of accelerated growth. When you partner with XtendOps, you get more than clever AI solutions. Our team is transparent, accessible, and responsive, providing human-centric service personalized to the unique needs of your business. Is XtendOps the right fit for your CX needs? Connect with us to learn more.