A BPO contact center is a company that helps other businesses by handling their customer service calls. They have trained staff who answer questions and solve problems on behalf of the business that hires them.
Is your business getting more calls than your team can handle? It may be time to explore support from a BPO call center partner trusted by leading D2C brands across the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
Not every company has enough staff, the right tools, or the skills to provide fast customer service. Gartner research shows that 88% of customers expect brands to resolve issues within 15 minutes of first contact. For small and mid-sized consumer brands, meeting this benchmark in-house can be challenging.
So, what’s the solution? Here, a BPO call center can take over your inbound and outbound call center services. It can make sure your customers get quick and professional support.
Want to know more? In this article, let’s understand what a BPO call center is, how it works in customer service, and which services it provides.
What Is the BPO Meaning Call Center?
If we talk about the BPO meaning in call centers, a BPO is a team of customer service agents. They help different businesses by handling their calls. Usually, these agents work for multiple companies at the same time. However, they make sure customers feel like they are speaking directly to the company they are calling.
Most call center BPO agents are well-trained and possess a deep understanding of a company’s products and services. When properly trained, they operate as an extension of your brand’s CX team, not just as outsourced agents. BPO outsourcing is ideal for D2C brands in the U.S., U.K., and Australia that need scalable call center support without expanding headcount internally.
What Services Does a BPO Call Center Provide?
As mentioned above, a BPO call center handles customer calls for your business. Now, these calls can be divided into:
- Incoming calls (inbound call center services)
- Outgoing calls (outbound call center services)
Based on your contract and business needs, a call center BPO can handle both these types of calls, at 60% lower cost compared to building in-house teams.
While handling inbound calls, a BPO call center offers the following services:
- Answering Support Questions
Some companies sell complicated products or services that customers may need help with. While large companies have their own customer support teams, smaller businesses do not have enough staff. Instead, they hire a BPO call center to answer customer questions and provide assistance. - Providing Dispatch Services
Some businesses (like taxi companies) need to connect quickly with customers. A BPO call center handles this by answering customer calls and coordinating services (such as booking a taxi or scheduling a repair). - Processing Orders by Phone
Some businesses allow customers to place orders over the phone. Here, a BPO call center can:
- Take these orders
- Enter customer details into the system
- Process payments
- Send order information to the shipping team
Such services particularly help companies that experience high order volumes during busy seasons. For VP level CX leaders at $5M+ revenue brands, outsourcing order management ensures customers get support even during peak demand.
B) Outbound Services (Making Calls to Customers)
While handling outbound calls, a BPO call center offers the following services:
- Handling Telemarketing
Instead of hiring your own telemarketing team, you can use a BPO call center to handle these calls and generate sales. - Doing Telesales
Here, BPO call center agents:
- Call potential customers
- Explain the benefits of the product
- Try to convert them into buyers
This is particularly helpful for growing D2C brands that face seasonal increase in support needs.
- Performing Market Research
You must understand what your customers think about your products or services. One way to do this is through surveys over the phone. Usually, a BPO call center:
- Calls customers
- Asks them pre-written questions
- Collects their answers
At Atidiv, our team specializes in doing structured market research campaigns for consumer brands, allowing senior managers and directors to make data backed CX decisions.
Advantages of a BPO Call Center
If you own a small business and do not have the budget or ability to handle customer service on a large scale, outsourcing to a BPO call center can be a great solution. Let’s check out some key benefits of using a call center BPO:
1. Reduces Costs
Hiring and managing an in-house customer service team can be expensive. As a business owner, you need to:
- Recruit employees
- Train them
- Buy new software
- Upgrade technology as you grow
All of this adds up quickly and impacts profits. According to Deloitte’s Global Outsourcing Survey, cost reduction remains the number one force for BPO adoption among enterprises.
2. Provides 24/7 Customer Support
Some industries (healthcare, hotels, transportation, and utilities) need customer service available 24/7. A BPO call center solves this problem by offering customer support at all hours (including nights, weekends, and holidays).
Many BPOs also have agents in different countries, so businesses can provide support in multiple languages. Even if no agents are available at a certain time, BPO call centers use digital tools like chatbots and automated ticketing systems to help customers.
3. No Need to Constantly Hire and Train Employees
By outsourcing customer service to a BPO call center, you can save your HR department from constant hiring and training. This is valuable for D2C firms with 5–50 employees who need CX without increasing employees.
Disadvantages of a BPO Call Center
Outsourcing customer service to a BPO call center can create issues such as:
- Communication barriers
- Lack of product knowledge
- Security risks
However, with the right partner, these risks are manageable and are less in comparison to the operational benefits.
Use a BPO and Deliver Excellent Customer Service
A recent study predicts the global call center outsourcing market will grow by over $14 billion between 2020 and 2025. That’s largely because companies have realized that delivering exceptional customer service is the key to business success.
By hiring a BPO call center, you can boost CX by letting them handle your inbound and outbound calls. Benefits include:
- 24/7 customer support
- Reduced hiring efforts
- Access to skilled agents
For Directors and VPs of Customer Experience at D2C companies, this means you can focus on growth while your customers receive consistent, high-quality support.
So, want to boost your customer service? At Atidiv, we offer data-driven outsourcing solutions for consumer brands across the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Partner with Atidiv today to scale seamlessly.
FAQs On BPO Call Center
1. How can a BPO call center reduce my business costs?
Hiring and managing an in-house customer support team is expensive. You must pay for salaries, training, software, and equipment. A BPO call center already has trained agents and technology. So, you only pay for the services you need. This saves money and allows you to focus on growing your business.
2. Will outsourcing BPO Customer service affect my brand’s reputation?
If you choose the right BPO call center, it won’t. Professional call centers train their agents to represent your brand just like an in-house team would. Still, to maintain quality, you can provide them with:
- Regular training
- Important FAQs
- Product updates
This will allow agents to offer accurate information and excellent BPO Customer service.
3. What if my customers need support 24/7?
Hiring employees for round-the-clock service is costly. A cheaper alternative is a BPO call center that provides 24/7 support (including nights, weekends, and holidays). Some even have multilingual agents for global customers. This ensures your customers always get help when they need it.
4. How can I ensure my customer data is secure with a BPO in 2025?
It is a fact that data security is a big concern when outsourcing. To manage this problem, you can choose a BPO provider with strong security measures, such as:
- Encryption
- Secure servers
- Compliance with data protection laws
Also, share only necessary information and ask about their certifications to ensure your customer data remains safe.
5. Will BPO agents understand my products and services?
BPO agents may need extra training. To ensure accuracy, provide detailed product guides and FAQs. When managed properly, outsourced teams can perform at the same level as in-house support.