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Much has been talked about making the right choice of a call center vendor to be able to get the maximum out of the outsourcing process. As a prelude to reaching an optimal decision in this regard, it becomes important to understand the vital characteristics of call centers.

It should, however, be kept in mind that outsourcing does not mean surrendering accountability. Appropriate metrics should be adopted right from the start to monitor and evaluate the outsourcing process and make necessary adjustments to improve its effectiveness. These measurement standards also can be fixed in view of the characteristics of the call center services.

Described below are five salient features of call center services:

Outbound and inbound call centers. Call centers may specialize either in making calls or in taking calls. Outbound call centers primarily offer telemarketing services, trying to make sales to the customers or to gather customer information. Inbound call centers, on the other hand, are devoted to customer services, taking customer calls, handling their queries or complaints or just receiving orders. So, companies need to specify the kind of services they expect out of the call centers.

Offshore and homegrown call centers. Call centers may either be located right next door to your business head office or in an altogether different country. While offshore outsourcing is the most cost-effective option it may not always be the most efficient way of outsourcing. Despite the anonymity that call centers cultivate, there have been instances when companies have faced massive customer backlash because of cultural issues or the very idea of being served by agents sitting in such remote destinations. Hence, it is important for companies to ascertain that service providers at the call center match up to the preferences of the company’s customer base.

Priority level customer services. Low-cost call center services can prove to be counterproductive while catering to high-end clients of the company who might be totally put off if they do not get adequate attention from the call center agents. Companies that have various levels of clients ranging from the very high-end to low-end customers have to take care to create service tiers and route the calls from priority level customers for specialized treatment.

Integration with in-house drives. In case of outbound call centers where telemarketing is the primary area of focus, the hiring company should make sure that the call center operations are properly coordinated with in-house marketing efforts of the company. Even if the company decides to have control over most of its marketing initiatives it could approach call centers to carry out certain peripheral marketing activities like e-commerce and advertising.

Logistics support. Call centers have varying levels of systems and technology in place that companies can choose from in accordance with their service requirements and evaluation criteria. Companies can either go in for call centers that offer one-stop solution for all their customer relationship management issues or they can opt for vendors who specialize in certain segments of customer services.

To sum up, the success rate of outsourcing depends more on the choice a company makes with regard to call center services than the size and reputation of a call center alone. And in order to make the right choice, proper assessment of the general and specific features of call centers is indispensable.

An outbound call center is one in which call center agents make outbound calls to potential customers on behalf of a business or client with the intention of selling products or services to the individual.

Calls made from the outbound center can include telemarketing, sales or fund-rising calls as well as calls for contact list updating, customer retention campaigns, sending messages or reminders, surveys or verification services. Telemarketing is one of the important features of outbound call centers.

The use of outbound call center is undergoing enormous growth due to importance attached by companies to customer care, telemarketing for product offerings, growth of direct marketing etc. Telemarketing is growing and information lines are forming part of many product service offerings. The growth of direct marketing has also contributed to the popularity of outbound call centers as a means of reaching targeted customer bases.

An outbound call center is a highly-fluid and fully-functioning body where many outbound agents do one major task of calling prospective customers, promote the company’s products or services, and do relevant political or public opinion surveys. Other vital functions such as lead generation, sales generation, product promotion, credit and account collection, fund raising, and research or survey campaigns for political or social purposes, can be efficiently handled by an outbound call center.

Outbound Call Centers depends on the technological solutions, extensive experience, quality assurance programs and commitment to customer service excellence that further ensures maximum results from the direct marketing efforts for its success. The business depends on three basic things training, research and persuasion.

An outbound call center allows its client companies to generate significant levels of telephone transactions through its outbound sales or marketing agents, without the need to worry about other issues such as hiring new workers, instituting additional compensation or giving other regular employee benefits. An outbound call center will provide firms with the best and most efficient outbound sales personnel, without having to personally train them.

Outbound Call Centers allow businesses and organizations to widen their market reach, in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Through the help of expertly-trained outbound call agents, a firm would be able to deliver its message to prospective customers as well as widen its market vase. We all know that how competitive the business environment is today; therefore it surely would be a major advantage if a firm employs the services of an outbound call center, to ensure that they get a clear edge over their competitors.

The Choking Game also know as the Fainting Game, Space Monkey, Airplaning, Funky Chicken and a number of other names, is not a new game for kids. It is “played” by having either another person choke you around the neck or squeeze your midsection until you pass out or by doing it yourself with the aid of a belt, rope, necklace chain or scarf. This isn’t a new game, it’s been around for decades, but seems to be something that is mostly exclusive to teens.

Why would anyone do such a thing? Well, teens do it for a variety of reasons. Some are introduced to it in group situations and feel like they have to do it. Peer pressure plain and simple. Many teens learn the game at sleepovers, at scout, band, or sports camps, or from visiting relatives or siblings. Others do it because it looks cool, their friends did it or because they were curious. Some kids do it to momentarily escape their lives. They may even do it in the bathroom at school.

What do they get out of it? Here are some quotes from teens who’ve played the game. “I found myself jumping up and down against a wall waving my hands around and acting very silly. . . . .I thought it was the coolest thing. Another teen reports learning about the game when she was ten years old and a friend taught her how at a sleepover. “The tingling and blacking out was an addicted feeling.” Then next day she played the game and fell off the bed face first breaking a tooth in half when she struck the floor. An 8th grader says it was “like taking a vacation and coming back all relaxed in just a few seconds.” These children all stopped playing the game either because they saw someone who had difficulty coming too and got scared or because they were injured themselves.

Playing the game gives a teen a quick, free, high that can’t be tested for. Many of them don’t realize how dangerous it is. For them it’s just a funny game. While they are blacked out they may twitch, sleepwalk, bounce into walls, or fall among other things. There are numerous videos on YouTube of kids playing the game. It’s a horrifying sight for any parent.

What you’ll need to look for is marks on their neck, they may also have bloodshot eyes and frequent headaches. It can cause permanent neurological damage. The CDC attributed 82 deaths to the since 1995 but there is no way to know if that number is accurate. At this time they say that teen boys are involved more than teen girls. But kids as young as six have been reported as playing the game, especially if they have older siblings.

Sit down with your teen tonight and ask them if they’ve ever known anyone who played the Choking Game. You may be shocked at the answers you get. I know I was.