Achieving low operating cost without sacrificing quality and the customer experience has to be a priority for all organizations, especially for small and medium sized businesses.

According to governmental statistics, only one third of businesses survive past 10 years. It is precisely this selected group that is comprised of businesses who managed to control their costs and achieved a sustainable profit margin.

But, how to be effective when taking this step? Reducing your operational budget is a rigorous process, which allows for no mistakes if we want the end result to be positive, free of terrible service and angry customers. 

In the next few lines, we will give you 6 key tips to help with the strategic aspect of lowering operating cost.

1. Intelligently outsource your customer service to a nearshore partner 

Developing some processes internally may possibly be more expensive than doing so externally. This is because it requires hiring, work hours, and even equipment and technology to execute them. 

In addition, if we refer to tasks that go beyond the core business, a company may fail and have to bear additional costs to resolve arising issues, and reattempting to perform said tasks.  

For this reason, outsourcing is considered an ideal option. By choosing to outsource, you let experts handle your complex processes and only pay for their service, instead of making a major investment. 

The savings are much greater if this outsourcing is done though a foreign provider, in a country offering rates lower than those in the United States, such as Mexico.

Key Call Center services in Mexico can be up to 40% more affordable. Also, this country offers operational advantages such as proximity, qualified work force, and bicultural capacity. 

For this reason, its offering surpasses offshore outsourcing and gives the opportunity to offer services right next-door, without bringing forth issues associated with vast cultural differences and time zones, such as what some encounter with other classic providers, like the Philippines. 

2. Have the right talent for the appropriate timeline

Executing tasks without having the expertise is synonym for errors, longer run times, and a much more costly operation.  

Low operating cost depends on the quality of the talent you have available for specific areas and processes.

Having a third party find the right professionals to execute your businesses key projects, and on a predetermined timeline, shows how convenient it can be to outsource.  

You will save on everything relating to talent management, including hiring and all its complex intricacies it creates for the operation. 

3. Invest in technology and achieve advanced digitalization

Digitalization and the paperless culture stopped being a differentiating factor a long time, and has become an imperative necessity in order to remain competitive. 

One of the reasons why you must open your doors to advanced digital transformation is that it translates to low operating cost.

By reducing how long each task takes, and minimizing the errors arising from executing them, modernization allows you to gradually save, thus migrating to a much more cost effective operational model.

Also, digitalization is fundamental to remain in control once you’ve outsourced, due to the fact that companies have systems and tools to report on metrics and measure the success of the campaigns executed by a third party. 

Remaining in control at a distance, and work from home in general, becomes more efficient. It helps create a sort of command center, where you can supervise all operations, developed both internally and externally.

According to global consulting firm Gartner, 87% of all companies prioritize digitalization in order to obtain its financial advantages.

However, only 40% of these organizations reach this objective on a massive scale. 

For this reason, it is crucial to analyze your operation, identify relevant technologies, and if necessary, resort to asking for help from an expert. 

4. Have greater control of your travel expenses

Have you checked your travel expenses? Do you really know how much you are spending? You’ll be surprised to find out the financial burden said expenses can represent to your business.

Although the number of professionals working from home has increased, it is still common for employees to have to travel, especially those who have roles associated with supervision. 

In the United States, 62% of employees travel for business reasons at least once a year. 

To control travel expenses, localize your operations, especially those you have chosen to outsource, strategically close to home. 

For example, it makes little sense to have to travel to control a Call Center in the Philippines if you can have it in Tijuana, Mexico, which is about a 30-minute drive from San Diego.

5. Set certifiable quality standards and demand that they are met 

Logically, if we do not want to lose quality when reducing costs, it is necessary to understand what quality standards to follow in order to determine the minimum levels we expect in terms of efficiency and service. 

Some standards you must always have in mind, both when executing internal processes and when opting to contract BPO services, are:  

• ISO 27000: focused on protecting your customers’ information and data, embracing best practices and specific parameters to administrate all data within an organization or as part of its business processes. 
• PCI: it is a security standard relating to payments, required by large financial instrument providers on a global level, and is relevant to any business transaction. It includes data management, encryption, and confidentiality, among other best practices. 
• Social responsibility: these types of certificates attest to the fact that you are dealing with a socially responsible company who offers a solid work environment. For example, in Mexico, this aptitude is certified via the ESR standard. It is necessary to require this from your BPO provider. 

6. Register, revise, and audit

Finally yet importantly, it is necessary to reinforce control to achieve low operating cost without this translating to a loss in quality.  

Instead of suppressing services and key operational processes, enhance your monitoring in order to minimize losses and optimize your available resources.  

Digitalize so that you can register your expenses, revise strategies so you can meet your goals, and, in general, perform deep, transparent analyses of your financial management.  

Thank you for reading! These tips can help you achieve low operating cost without affecting quality, and especially the service you offer your customers. 

External assistance, control, and modernization are essential aspects in creating a more cost effective, long term, and sustainable, operation. 

Keep in mind that, when it comes to outsourcing, doing so nearshore is the best option because it combines cost savings with more stringent quality standards and support that adjusts to you customers’ needs and culture. 

Now that you know how to achieve a low operating cost consolidating finance with quality service, you may want to learn more about outsourcing through a nearshore provider. We invite you to check out the following post: 

How to leverage Call Centers in Mexico to grow your business