How to boost your marketing strategy on Facebook ?

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In today’s digital world, Facebook has become a must-have for businesses looking to reach their target audience and grow their online presence. With over 2 billion monthly active users, this social platform offers huge potential for marketing strategies. In this article, we’ll explore the different ways to boost your marketing strategy on Facebook and how to maximise your online impact.

Why use Facebook in your marketing strategy?

With a huge audience of over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, your ideal customers are most likely to be found on this platform, regardless of your company’s industry. Therefore, using Facebook allows you to reach a wider audience and boost your brand’s visibility.

By strategically integrating Facebook into your marketing mix, you can drive business growth, increase your online visibility and interact effectively with your target audience.

The key steps to boosting your marketing strategy on Facebook

By making strategic use of the tools and features offered by Facebook, you can achieve your marketing objectives and drive business growth in today’s digital economy.

Here are some steps, tips and tricks for boosting your Facebook marketing strategy to maximise your online impact:

Define clear objectives

Before you get started on Facebook, it’s essential to identify clear objectives for your marketing strategy. Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads or boost sales? By having well-defined goals, you can better direct your actions and measure your success.

Know your target audience

Knowing your target audience is essential for an effective Facebook marketing strategy. Use analytics to understand the demographics, interests and behaviours of your audience. This will enable you to create targeted and relevant content to attract and engage your audience.

Create an attractive business page

A well-designed professional Facebook page is the key to attracting and retaining your audience. Use high-quality images, add a concise and catchy description of your business, and be sure to include contact information. Don’t forget to personalise your page’s URL for greater visibility.

Publish engaging and varied content

The key to success on Facebook lies in creating engaging and varied content. Use a combination of text posts, images, videos and links to keep your audience interested. Ask questions, encourage comments and respond to interactions to encourage engagement.

Using targeted advertising for effective campaigns

Targeted advertising on Facebook can be a powerful lever for reaching your specific audience. Use the demographic, behavioural and interest data collected by the platform to create targeted advertising campaigns. Use the advanced targeting features to set specific criteria for your ads, such as the age, gender, geographical location, interests and online behaviours of your target audience.

This level of accuracy allows you to target your advertising messages only to those people who are most likely to be interested in your products or services, maximising the effectiveness of your marketing budget.

Experiment with different advertising formats, such as carousel ads, video ads or dynamic ads, to boost your visibility.

Interact with your community

Success on Facebook isn’t just about publishing content. It’s crucial to interact regularly with your community. Create different types of content, such as posts, videos, images and polls, to generate interest and encourage interaction with your brand. Respond to comments, private messages and mentions. Encourage discussion and create a feeling of closeness with your audience.

Comments, reactions and content sharing help create an engaged community around your business, building brand awareness and establishing a relationship of trust with your potential customers. Proactive communication will build trust and commitment to your brand.

Analyse and adjust your strategy for constant optimisation

To maximise the effectiveness of your Facebook marketing strategy, analyse your results regularly. Facebook offers integrated analysis tools that allow you to measure the performance of your marketing campaigns. Use these tools to track the reach of your posts, the engagement of your audience and the return on investment of your ads.

This in-depth analysis helps you understand what works best and adjust your strategy accordingly, so you can optimise your results and maximise your return on investment.

Building a strong brand identity

Using Facebook consistently will help you build a strong and recognisable brand identity. By sharing quality content, reflecting your company values and being responsive to comments and messages, you can develop an authentic brand identity. This helps to build trust and loyalty with your customers, and can set you apart from your competitors out there.

Contact us!

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services, for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

The must-have pages for an effective website for startups

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In the competitive world of startups, having an effective website is essential for attracting customers, investors and business partners. Your website is often the first impression people have of your business, so it’s crucial that it’s well-designed and informative.

The must-have pages for an effective website for startups play an essential role in creating a solid online presence. Each page has its own purpose and contributes to your company’s credibility and visibility. By investing time and resources in creating these pages, you strengthen your market position and increase your chances of success as a startup. In this article, we’ll explore the must-have pages for an effective startup website.

Home page: your startup’s showcase

The home page is your startup’s online showcase. It should capture visitors’ attention as soon as they arrive on your site. To achieve this, your home page should contain a clear slogan or message that explains what your startup does. Concisely highlight what you offer as a product or service and how it benefits your customers. Attractive and relevant visuals, such as images or videos, can also be incorporated to bring your message to life.

Give a brief overview of your company, its history and mission. Visitors need to quickly understand what you do and why you do it. Include call-to-action (CTA) buttons that direct visitors to key pages on your site, such as the products or services page.

About page: the opportunity to tell your story

The About page is the ideal place to tell your startup’s story, introduce your team and highlight your vision. Visitors want to know who’s behind the company and what motivates you. You can tell the story of your journey, the challenges you’ve faced and your successes to give an insight into the fascinating history of your company.

In addition, introduce your team with photos and brief descriptions of their skills and experience to humanise your company. Describe your company’s culture and what makes it unique, and finally, explain your company’s mission and vision, showing your commitment to a common goal.

Products or services page: detailed presentation of your offers

This page is crucial for presenting what your startup offers. It’s important to provide detailed descriptions of each product or service you offer. Highlight the specific features and benefits they bring to your customers, and explain why they are unique on the market.

Also, be sure to include high-quality images that highlight your products or services. If you have different pricing options, be sure to present them clearly. You should also add CTAs to encourage visitors to take action such as purchasing or requesting a quote.

Testimonials page: building credibility

Displaying testimonials from satisfied customers is an excellent way to boost your startup’s credibility. Ask your customers to share their experience with your products or services. Include authentic testimonials with names and photos if possible. Positive feedback from your customers can have a huge impact on the trust visitors place in your company.

Blog: establish your authority

A well-maintained blog is a powerful tool for establishing your authority in your field. Regularly publish informative and relevant articles of interest to your target audience. By sharing valuable knowledge and information, you can position yourself as an expert in your field. What’s more, an active blog can help improve your website’s SEO, which means more people can discover your startup through search engines.

Contact page

Facilitate communication with your visitors by including a clear, easy-to-use contact page. Include a contact form that is easy to fill, thus allowing your website visitors to send you messages or questions effortlessly, directly from your website.

If your company has a physical address, be sure to include it as well as your contact details, including an e-mail address and telephone number, to provide multiple contact options.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page

A FAQ page can answer questions frequently asked by your visitors. This can reduce the number of customer support requests and provide a smoother user experience. List the most common questions you face and provide clear, detailed answers. You can also update this page regularly to reflect new questions that arise.

Privacy Policy page and Legal Notice: complying with regulations

Make sure you comply with data protection regulations by including a privacy policy page and legal notice on your site. This boosts visitor trust, as they know that you take the protection of their personal information seriously, and that you follow current laws and regulations.

Career page (if applicable): attracting talent

If your startup is recruiting, a careers page is important for attracting talent. Present your job opportunities, the company culture and the benefits of working with you. A well-designed careers page can attract qualified, motivated candidates who are aligned with your company’s mission.

Press page (if applicable): highlighting your visibility

If your startup has already received media coverage, a press page can show that your company is newsworthy. Include articles, interviews and media mentions to highlight your visibility. This can also help establish your reputation and build trust in your company.

Contact us !

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services, for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Digitising your finance function: a process that boosts business development

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Over the last ten years, digitalisation has grown rapidly within companies. More and more functions are undergoing a digital transformation. This is particularly true for the corporate finance sector: dematerialisation of payments, digital invoicing, data tracking and analysis, detection and prevention of transfer fraud… Artificial intelligence has profoundly changed the way companies manage their finance functions. So why is it worthwhile for companies to digitalise their financial activities? What are the benefits? What are the risks? And how can you maximize full benefits? Everything in this article.

Why digitalise your company’s finance?

As a reminder, digitisation is a process aimed at transforming an activity or a business into an IT tool to make it more efficient. One example is switching from paper mail to electronic mail. Digitisation is a phenomenon that affects all sectors today. As far as a company’s finance function is concerned, it is proving to be more than effective.

Saving time and boosting productivity

When a company decides to dematerialise and automate its finance function, it is able to save considerable time. Digital technology relieves the finance department of a large number of time-consuming and tiring tasks, such as accounting entry, customer reminders and document archiving. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the finance sector and related profession. Employees in this sector will be able to reinvent themselves thanks to the time-saving opportunities offered by digital technology. They will be able to devote themselves to other, higher value-added tasks, such as improving company performance, analyzing data, collecting proof of payment, filling in Excel spreadsheets, carrying out budget analysis and, why not, developing new strategic projects.

Strengthening risk management and legal certainty

For employees in charge of corporate finances, one of their main concerns is to ensure that financial risks are properly managed. This task is significant since a simple error in management can have more or less serious consequences. As such, to avoid potential dangers to the business, the finance department has to keep a close eye on unpaid customer bills, maintain good cash flow management and detect the risk of fraud and piracy. These complex tasks associated with corporate finances can be alleviated in part by digital technology. Indeed, certain tools, such as anti-fraud software or automated supplier RIB checks, help reduce the risk of management error, but also prevent threats more effectively and improve regulatory compliance.

Boosting business development

It is a fact: digital technology’s contribution to business development is huge. The automation of certain tasks enables a company to process more data, and in record time. On the financial side, digitalisation is useful for rapidly processing a considerable volume of invoices, for example. This will enable the staff in charge of the finance function to gain better control over disbursement forecasts and payment dates.

On a larger scale, the data collected gives companies a better overview of their business and the market. It also helps to strengthen management’s forecasting and anticipation capabilities. Efficient data processing considerably enhances a company’s competitiveness and promotes its development. Without digitalisation, most companies would miss out on the immense potential of their data.

Digitising the finance function: a practice that still leaves some companies confused

Although digitisation is becoming more and more widely used in business, some companies are still reluctant to use it to manage their finances. According to a study by BearingPoint, the level of digital maturity of the finance function in European companies in 2020 is just 4.9 out of 10. In a Gartner survey, 55% of finance managers claim to be unconvinced by current advances in digitalisation.

To optimise the digitalisation of its finance function, companies need to invest in training for the relevant teams, particularly by deciding to strengthen their data analyst skills. It is also a good idea to choose agile and scalable digital solutions that are adapted to the company’s needs. Not only will this make the teams’ work easier, it will also maximise the benefits of digitalisation.

Good to know:

When you start digitising, it is essential to analyse your needs and dematerialise the most important ones. For example, in the case of a company with a strong marketing dimension, what is likely to take precedence is the digitisation of the purchasing process and marketing expenditure commitments. For a company with more commercial objectives, dematerialising invoicing and expense reports may make sense, while for an industrial company, it will be the raw materials purchasing process.

Contact us!

Where you are a web agency, an e-commerce site, a digital marketing specialist, a start-up, a pure player, etc., outsourcing can be a difficult decision to make, but by entrusting your digitising needs to a reliable service provider recognised for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner it can rely on to grow and survive in a highly competitive environment.

With decades of experience, ProContact is more than just a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain in flexibility and reduce their operating costs, an important factor in the current economic recession.

To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

How to boost your marketing strategy on Instagram?

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Nowadays, social media is a very popular tool among business leaders. Indeed, digital technology offers many advantages to companies that want to boost their visibility and their marketing strategy. Instagram is one of the most popular social networking apps for businesses. The application has more than one billion users worldwide, 71% of whom are under 35 years old. This social network mainly targets a young audience, which is all the more interesting for companies that would like to expand their customer base by targeting young people.

It is estimated that around 80% of users follow at least one brand on Instagram. Similarly, 60% of Instagrammers say they have already discovered a new product through the app. These figures are enough to demonstrate the marketing power of the platform and the importance of creating an account on Instagram a business. The question is how to build a solid and effective content strategy. In this article, you will find the most relevant advice to achieve this.

Establishing your objectives and creating an account on Instagram

Before creating an Instagram account, it is necessary to identify your needs, expectations and, more broadly, the appropriate marketing strategy to achieve your goals. Knowing that the target audience will be more or less young, it is essential to find out what interests this segment of the population. What are their tastes? Their activities? Their lifestyle?

Once you have a clear idea of your strategy Instagram, you can sign up. As a business, it is a good idea to create a public account, especially an Instagram Business account. This gives you access to more options than a personal account.

Creating an attractive bio

The bio is what the user will see first on your account. It gives a first impression of who you are. Therefore, it must be original and well-thought of to encourage the most users to subscribe to your account. Among other things, the bio consists of:

  • Your profile picture
  • Your username (approximately 30 characters). Please note that your username is unique.
  • Some free space to display the information you want
  • Your website with a clickable link
  • Your category: a professional feature that tells users what type of business you are in (it saves space in your bio and allows you to share more info)
  • Your contact details and location info
  • A call-to-action button: to allow Instagrammers to interact with you directly from your profile page.

There is no magic formula for making an attractive bio. It has to reflect your as well as possible while being real. Skipping lines for more readability, including emojis for more fun, hashtags and words for better referencing, a quote… Everything is useful to take to make your profile dynamic!

Publish creative content

Instagram has a high engagement rate;mten times higher than Facebook, its counterpart

The application allows you to publish different types of content:

  • Photos
  • IGTV videos (long videos)
  • Reels (short videos)
  • Stories (series of photos and videos appearing for 24 hours)

Instagram is a platform dedicated to sharing photos and videos. The marketing strategy is therefore, above all, visual. Almost 67% of all Instagrammers say they base their purchasing decisions on the image of products. So, as a business, investing in a device and staff that can produce quality content is essential for building an audience. Similarly, original content is necessary to stand out and attract the attention of internet users. Generally, what appeals to Instagrammers are innovative, non-conformist posts; images sharing the behind-the-scenes of a company, its routine in images or even making live videos where there is a direct interaction with followers.

Publish at the right time

Successful communication on Instagram is not only about producing attractive content, it is also about publishing it at the right times: the times when the most users are online. The idea is to get as many views as possible for your posts. The most strategic times are, for example, during the week is at around 5 a.m. (when users log on to the application when they wake up), between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. (during their lunch break) or in the late afternoon (when the working day ends). The ideal time to engage is 11am on Saturdays.

Leveraging advertising

Instagram allows businesses to advertise permanently on the platform. Just like on Facebook, companies can create sponsored campaigns to boost their visibility and marketing strategy. The ads appear several times a day in the users’ feed. Knowing that on average, people log on to the platform ten times a day, this can be very interesting to boost your brand.

Contact us!

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked ans multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services, for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Boost your marketing strategy with TikTok

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1.7 billion: that’s the number of active TikTok users worldwide. This application, created in 2016 by the Chinese group ByteDance has managed to thrive and make its place to become one of the most downloaded social networking app. If when it was just launched TikTok was very popular with young people under 30, today users of any age enjoy using the application. On average, TikTok users spend 1 hour and 46 minutes a day on the app, more time than on Facebook and almost as much as on Instagram. And these figures are only going up! This number quickly justifies the interest that a company can have to launch itself on the application. Indeed, TikTok can be interesting if a company is looking to target younger prospects (on average, users are 24-year-old women) but also if it wants to bring a modern touch to its business. But then, how to use TikTok effectively in your marketing strategy? What are the benefits?

TikTok, how does it work?

In simple terms, TikTok is an application that is entirely dedicated to the creation of entertaining and creative content in the form of short videos (15 seconds on average). As with other social networking sites, users can “love”, comment, share or download the video. The content is diverse and varied, ranging from popular and dynamic choreographies to cooking recipes, make-up or fashion tutorials, advice for personal development and others. You just have to let your imagination run wild.

You are a company and you want to roll out your brand on TikTok? It’s not that complicated. Practice on the application to film and edit short clips by adding sound effects, texts, voices or music. Get inspired by the content and trends you see. The idea is above all to be creative in order to develop the visibility of your brand and to prospect new customers.

Registering on TikTok when you are a company: what are the benefits?

Increase your customer base by targeting young people

It’s a known fact that young people are the ones who spend more time on social networking sites. On TikTok, the majority of users are under 30 years old. So, naturally, if you are a company, the social networking app is a real mine of potential future young customers. The question is how to attract their attention! To do so, you should first of all release funny and creative TikToks so that your videos appear in the newsfeed of young people. Also, it can be interesting to get involved in strong themes related to current events or to their sector of activity. Indeed, young people often pay particular attention to their commitment and interests. Among the subjects that touch young people, we can find ecology, equality or minority rights. Thus, when a company registers on TikTok, it will be able to reach new customers, particularly young people.

Compete with the competition and highlight your brand

TikTok is currently a very popular social networking app. Still too few companies have understood the economic stakes involved. If you are a company and you are not yet on TikTok, sign up! It is now or never! Right now, tge brands that use TikTok in their digital strategy are few and are generally pioneers. You still have time to establish yourself and become the reference brand in your field of activity!

To maximize your chances and stand out from the competition, you must first understand how this application, which is based on a content graph, functions. In other words, TikTok will analyze your videos to understand their theme. It will then propose your content to users who, according to the application’s data, are likely to be interested. In this case, your videos will appear in the users’ “For you” tab. As such, to boost your marketing strategy via TikTok, make sure to keep an eye on the latest trends and viral content: the idea is to reproduce them afterwards to increase the number of views. It is also interesting to use hashtags and to publish your TikToks at peak hours (between 6am and 10am and 7pm) to get more views. Finally, try to create a sense of proximity with your subscribers by creating content they can relate to and by responding to comments (positive, but also negative, as it shows the brand’s commitment to improve).

Communicate at a low cost

Like all other social networking sites, TikTok is a low-cost communication medium that allows you to reach a large number of users. The benefits are important, because the more people you reach, the more you increase your chances of getting new customers. Thus, investment costs concerning the application is mainly based on the time you will give to the creation of new contents.

Contact us!

Web agencies, e-commerce sites, digital marketing specialists, start-ups, pure players… outsourcing can be a difficult decision to make, but by entrusting your needs to a reliable service provider recognized for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner that it can count on to develop and survive in a strong competitive context.

With several decades of experience, ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to our trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain flexibility and reduce their operating costs, which are currently important in the midst of an economic recession. To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Digitalization: a growth driver for a company

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5.16 billion: this is the number of Internet users on the planet. That’s about 64% of the world population. Of these, 4.76 billion are on social media. These numbers alone demonstrate the immense importance of technology and digital services in our lives. For a company, social networks and the internet are important vectors of visibility and marketing. According to a McKinsey Institute study, a company that uses digitalization grows 5 times faster than others. It’s a fact: digitalization drives growth in a company. Why? Find out below:

Retain customers and attract new ones

On the business side, technology has profoundly changed customer relationships. Indeed, digital technology breaks the distance barrier, which revolutionizes customer service for both customers and companies. Exchanges become easier, faster and more personalized. Customers are more satisfied: they no longer have to travel to get an advisor to answer their questions. Moreover, information and news about the company are more accessible (social media, newsletter, etc). The company, too, finds many advantages in digitalization. It can offer its customers personalized support, highlight its products and offers through different tools (videos, photos, stories, tutorials…), share information instantly, be innovative and attract its customers with modern strategies, widen its target audience thanks to an increased visibility and others. Moreover, nowadays, for a company, being present on the Internet is also a way to reassure customers: when this is not the case, the company tends to look shady. Digitalization allows a company to retain its customers, to attract new customers, but also to face the competition by making sure to stand out from the others. This is all essential for the proper functioning and development of a company.

Note: It is recommended that a company responds to negative customer feedback. This shows its involvement and commitment to improving its services and products.

Reduce costs and save time: a perk for the development of your business

Digitalization has many advantages for a company. Among them is cost reduction. Indeed, all investments made on digital media will turn out to be less expensive than via traditional media. A McKinsey study highlights the fact that digitizing information-rich processes can reduce costs by up to 90%. The amount of money spent on corporate communication can also be reduced, as well as operational costs. For example, the cloud is one of the essential digital tools for companies to save money: it allows a company to store its data securely and instantly; there is no need to invest in hardware that takes up space and requires maintenance costs. As you can see, the savings made thanks to digital technology allows a company to invest more money in the development of its activity. Moreover, this mode of operation has the advantage of freeing up time for a company thanks to the automation of actions and processes. This saved time offers the opportunity to a company to focus on other aspects of its business and, thus, to evolve.

Increase your productivity

Digital is a powerful tool requiring minimum effort. Indeed, with just a few taps, it gives you access to a large scale market. There are no more borders: thanks to digital, a company can reach people from all over the world. This naturally leads to more customers and therefore more sales for the company. Innovative solutions such as mobile applications or 3D visualization can be made available to customers. Online payment is also a major innovation: it allows clients to make purchases and sales at any time without leaving their house. For a company, this considerably increases its productivity.

A boost to innovation in a company

Today, to develop a business, traditional methods are no longer enough. Digital is more than necessary to achieve this. In addition to all the advantages stated above, digitalization is also a good way for a company to innovate. Indeed, digital is useful to collect customers’ opinions, to make statistics, to access digital data flows or to be aware of the latest news and new trends. Technology allows a company to analyze the market and to know what works, but also to determine its weak points and the aspects to improve. To put it simply, innovation aims to bring a company better collective intelligence and new internal capabilities. To benefit from this, nothing could be simpler: all you have to do is find all the potential in the data.

Contact us!

Whether it is for web agencies, e-commerce sites, digital marketing specialists, start-ups, pure players, etc., outsourcing can be a difficult decision to make, but by entrusting your image retouching needs to a reliable service provider recognized for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner it can count on to develop and survive in a highly competitive context.

With several decades of experience, ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to our trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain flexibility and reduce their operating costs, which are currently important in the midst of an economic recession.

To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Create your website in 10 steps!

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Nowadays, having a website essential for a company. It enables the smooth running of its business. Indeed, having a website brings many advantages: it allows you to showcase your activity, your products and services, to enhance your services by integrating images, to create a direct link with your customers, to make online sales or to increase your brand image.

Do you want to create your own website? Follow the steps below!

Step 1: Determine your objectives

First of all, it is necessary to define your needs and your objectives through the creation of a website. What type of site (showcase website, e-commerce site, blog, forum, etc.) do you want to develop? What is your company’s budget? What will be the target audience you wish to reach? These questions are necessary in order to have a precise idea of your project.

Step 2: Find a domain name

The domain name is the address of your website that will allow users to find it. For it to be effective, don’t hesitate to include keywords relating to your activity and to make sure that it is more or less short. Once you are sure of your domain name, do not waste time and register it on hosting sites like LWS or OVH.

Step 3: Choose a hosting company

When your site is officially created, it must be accessible to all Internet users. To do this, it is mandatory to choose a host with a server where you can store all the files of your website pages. It must provide 24-hour access to your website. Take the time to compare the different offers by analysing the reliability, the life span and the quality of the tools and services offered by the host.

Step 4: Build your bill of specifications

Drawing up a bill of specification is an essential step when you want to create your website. It must clearly define the objectives of the site, detail each of its functions and specify any technical constraints that may pose a problem.

Step 5: Content writing

The content of your website is of significant importance. The more original, well-written and trustworthy your content is, the more it will appeal to the Google search engine. So, naturally, you will benefit from a good referencing: your content will be more highlighted, which will attract a maximum number of visitors to your site.

Step 6: Build the sitemap

Once you have written all your content, you can start to imagine what your site could look like. The idea is to build the skeleton of your website by determining the shape it will have, the number of pages it will have and their positions, etc.

Step 7: Develop a graphic model

Based on the indications in the bill of specifications, you can develop the design of the site and its visual appearance. You need to determine a graphic charter and choose the colours, logo and typography that will be used for the website.

Step 8: Create the website

You have now reached one of the crucial stages of your project: the creation of the website. The first step is called ‘integration’ which consists of transferring the model and creating the pages on your website software. This is called front-end development. Immediately afterwards, you can motorise your site, i.e. associate a database and a dynamisation layer with the HTML pages. This is the back-end part of the development.

Step 9: Referencing

While this is one of the last steps, it is quite important. This refers to the referencing of your website. The idea here is to choose strategic keywords to highlight; this will enable you to achieve the best possible positioning on search engines.

Step 10: Testing the site before going online

The test phase is a very important step. It allows you to make sure that your website is working properly and that it looks as you imagined it would. When and if everything works perfectly, it is time to put your site online!

Outsourcing part of the creation of your website to ProContact

As you can see, creating a website is a complex project. Outsourcing part of it could be wise, especially when it involves tasks requiring specific skills. At ProContact, we give you the possibility of entrusting the front-end development of the creation of your website. “Our 4 graphic designers take care of creating the visual identity of the site based on the client’s specifications. They will therefore look for images, icons and logos to create a mock-up using Adobe Illustrator. Our 3 integrators will then take over and integrate the site. We can create up to 4 websites a day”, says Gary, who is responsible for website creation.

Contact us!

Web agencies, e-commerce sites, digital marketing specialists, start-ups, pure players, etc., outsourcing can be a difficult decision to make, but by entrusting your image retouching needs to a reliable service provider recognised for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner it can count on to develop and survive in a highly competitive context.

With several decades of experience, ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain flexibility and reduce their operating costs, which are important at the moment, in the middle of an economic recession. To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Outsourcing social media management: the ideal solution for a company’s business

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Establishing a social media strategy is nowadays a must in this Web 2.0 era. Indeed, in France, the digital world has 58 million Internet users, including 39 million social media users, and 82% of the latter use mobile medium. The figures speak for themselves: these new digital spaces hold an important place in our society.

The role of a Community Manager

Needless to say, the use of social media has become essential for a company to promote itself and its identity. In short, social network sites represent the showcase of the company’s products, marketing strategy and image!

Social media management is carried out by a Community Manager and like any job, it should not be taken lightly! It is necessary to have the specific expertise and skills for this role. Being passionate about human interaction, statistics and a sense of detail are considerable assets for a Community Manager. His daily tasks are mainly:

  • Being regular in the posts uploaded on social networking sites
  • Posting quality content
  • Conveying messages that reflect the image of your company
  • Implementing a communication strategy aimed at a specific target audience
  • Adapting posts to the platform used
  • Determining the ideal time to relay information

But the work does not end here. The Community Manager must also successfully build community loyalty, prepare reports, monitor the competition, etc. Community management is a full-fledged job that requires a significant investment of time and energy. What are the advantages for a company to outsource its social media management? More details below:

Target a wider audience

As a real exchange platform, social media is an important lever for the visibility of a company. It is estimated that 74% of Internet users use Facebook for professional purposes. Also, social networking sites are an important source of traffic for your company’s website. Indeed, sharing links via social media helps with search engine optimisation (SEO), prompting more visits on the website. And this, whether at the launch of your site or during its optimisation. Thus, a company that outsources its social media management will have the opportunity, thanks to the expertise of a Community Manager, to benefit from a better link building and SEO, thus reaching more Internet users.

Expertise in the area that optimizes social media management

To be successful on social media, a well-established strategy is necessary. Outsourcing this skill to an expert allows a company to be on the cutting edge of technology. The Internet is in constant evolution. Versatile and constantly on the lookout, the Community Manager is always up to date. He will know how to adapt to changes and new trends while maintaining the brand identity of the company on social networking sites. This web expert will take care of the management of digital platforms in real time and guarantee constant animation and updates. He will be able to show creativity according to the field and the target audience and to find the right tone to adopt in order to make the company’s identity shine through. Thus, from the creation of qualitative content to the follow-up of the editorial calendar, the CM takes care of everything. Outsourcing social media management is also a good way for a company to open up to and access new perspectives. With hindsight, the CM will be able to be innovative.

Word of caution: outsourcing the mission does not mean that the company does not intervene in the process. The external CM is in charge of managing the different platforms by creating content from the information transmitted by the company. This means that the company must provide several elements as raw material such as photos, news, the calendar of upcoming promotions, etc.

Time to focus on the core business

The more a company is present on many digital platforms, the more time it has to spend managing them. Creating posts, sharing them, but also answering private messages and comments under publications are tasks that take up a lot of space in the agenda. Moreover, to create a solid social media influence, it has to be managed full time. This is made possible by outsourcing, which at the same time frees up time for companies to focus on their core business and to invest more seriously in other areas.

To increase profits

The goal of being present and active on social media is of course to increase profit. Outsourcing allows a company to benefit from an increased flexibility and to control its costs by calling upon a Community Manager only when needed. This way of working avoids the need for the company to dedicate a full-time position to this role internally. Goodbye salary and employer’s charges! Secondly, outsourcing social media management will allow a company to increase its turnover indirectly. Better social media management implies a greater impact on a wider audience. And the more the audience feels close to the company, the more it wants to consume its products! This simple logic shows that a company can easily attract a larger number of buyers thanks to the influence of social media.

Contact us!

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Outsourcing: the keys to modern customer service

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Customer service. What is it all about? How important is it to the development and success of a company? How can outsourcing help your company deliver modern customer service in line with the expectations of our times? Below are our answers to all these essential questions.

What is customer service?

The term “customer service” covers all direct and individual interaction between the company and a customer, both before and after the purchase. The company is supposed to offer each customer the assistance they need to buy from them with confidence and ensure they get full value from their purchase.

Customer service completes the customer experience!

The customer experience is the result of the interactions between a person and a company, its brand. It starts from awareness to purchase and every step in between. In short, the customer experience, or CX in the jargon, expresses the global perception that customers have towards a company and its brand.

Customer experience is made up of a myriad of small, interconnected elements:

  • Customer service quality;
  • The advertising;
  • Packaging;
  • Product and service features;
  • Ease of use and reliability;
  • Website navigation.

All of these factors have an inevitable impact on the customer’s perception and decision to return…or not. It is therefore vital for the company to be careful about the customer experience it wants to offer, in order to convert and build loyalty.

How can you do this, when you know that customer service is expensive and difficult to manage? Thanks to outsourcing! With ProContact!

As specialists in customer service outsourcing, we have concrete solutions for finding new customers:

  • Multi-channel prospecting,
  • Market research,
  • Lead generation,
  • Quotation management,
  • Order taking,
  • Remote sales in B2B or B2C

But also to develop the loyalty of your current customers:

  • Regular and multi-channel contact
  • Quality service
  • Active listening

Choose outsourcing if you are looking for a solution to improve your reputation and your employer image. With a better employer brand, your customers will be more loyal and your prospects will find it easier to trust you.

A portrait of the modern customer

In a blog post entitled “7 characteristics of the modern customer”, Oracle, the world’s largest database company, paints a picture of today’s customers. In a nutshell, they have some very specific characteristics:

  • Customers want the top treatment. They control the experience they want; they search, explore and share.
  • Customers are ALWAYS connected, 24/7, on any internet-enabled device.
  • Customers expect personal interactions. 3 out of 5 consumers are likely to buy from a company that has personalized their experience. (Movable Ink)
  • Customers don’t like to wait for the items they want. When U.S. consumers were faced with an out-of-stock situation, only 13% waited for the item to be back in stock, while 39% switched brands or products and 32% switched retailers altogether. (McKinsey)
  • Customers trust influencers over brands. 43% of Gen Z consumers rely on influencers more than brands to learn how to use a product or service. (Oracle and CRM Essentials)
  • -Customers care about sustainability. 65% of consumers want brands that are environmentally friendly and invest in sustainability. (Accenture)
  • Customers have a very strong opinion. And they are 5.1 times more likely to recommend a brand after having a positive customer experience. (Qualtrics)

Let’s add to that:

  • That they take the time to learn about the companies they are interested in, the industry and their events;
  • They want to find solutions first and foremost;
  • They are acquainted with other customers;
  • They are connected to various devices and communication channels;
  • They always have an opinion, usually very strong;
  • They show a real desire for self-sufficiency;
  • They don’t hesitate to criticize competitors’ customer experiences;
  • They expect companies to be proactive.

Portrait of the modern customer service sector

Reading the many points above, it is in a company’s best interest to take care of its customer service, which can be difficult when skills, expertise, tools and resources are lacking internally. This is where outsourcing becomes a concrete solution, a powerful business strategy, provided that it is in line with customer expectations. How do you do this?

By having all the expected problem-solving skills

The customer service department must ensure that each customer is satisfied, which requires dealing with a complex set of questions and problems to find a satisfactory and concrete solution.

By having clear communication

How to communicate clearly and what is clear communication? It is the ability to put yourself in the client’s shoes and use concise explanations to reach a solution as quickly as possible. And more importantly, this applies to internal communication as well!

Displaying a friendly attitude

The modern customer does not like to talk to a robot and be a mere reference! Authenticity is the secret to show the customer that he really matters to the company.

By showing empathy

The customer service department must understand the frustrations of its customers in order to offer them the right solutions. Empathy helps to alleviate frustration and preserve the brand’s reputation.

By having a good business acumen

Of course, customer service doesn’t have to do the work of the sales department, but the reality is a bit more complex than that! By solving a customer’s problem and being their advocate, customer service is at the same time representing the commercial interests of your company.

By having a genuine knowledge of the product/service

Customer service must know the ins and outs of any product or service they represent. How can you reassure a customer who finds himself on the phone with an interlocutor unable to identify his problem?

By having good time management

A customer service department must naturally deal with several customers at the same time. For a concrete result, it must be organized and have excellent time management skills.

Outsourcing: let’s zoom on lead generation

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Lead generation, while tricky to manage, is an essential component of a company’s marketing strategy. In fact, a survey shows that 85% of B2B marketers rate it as their most important content marketing objective. Outsourcing can help you with lead generation!

What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of getting consumers interested in a product or service with the goal of turning that interest into a sale. It is a crucial part of the sales process for many companies and involves several actions that have to be completed by the company:

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

SEM is a form of online advertising. It consists of paying search engines to display ads in their search results. Since search is the primary means of navigation on the Web, this technique can be an important source of traffic.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Similar to SEM, search engine optimization is the process of getting traffic from search engines by optimizing your website for search engine algorithms so that the site appears higher in organic search results.

Social Media

Social media is beginning to compete with search engines as a major source of traffic. It is possible to generate traffic from social media by posting content on social media platforms or by paying for ads on these networks.

Ads

These can be video, image, audio or text. Wwhen purchased on relevant websites, these ads help drive traffic to your own site, usually via pay-per-click (PPC) models.

Offline events

These are events such as conferences and industry meetings whose goals are to network with potential new customers, educate them about your brand, and drive them to your website. They can be events you attend as a guest, events you sponsor, or events you organize yourself.

(Source: https://www.optimizely.com/optimization-glossary/lead-generation )

Some statistics about lead generation

  • Only 4% of website visitors are ready to buy;
  • 88% of B2B marketers use content marketing as a lead generation tactic;
  • Marketers who follow up with leads within 5 minutes are nine times more likely to convert.
  • Marketers who prioritize blogging are 13 times more likely to achieve a positive ROI.

The evolution of lead generation over time

Lead generation is not a new practice. On the contrary, it started back in the days when traders traded pearls, spices, precious metals etc. for vast territories in the New World.

Even at that time, reputation, image, quality and presence were serious issues, capable of making and breaking entire networks. Even then, lead generation was a time-consuming task.

Then came print, which gave lead generation a new form, allowing companies to spread their message on a larger scale and at a distance, thanks in part to the railroads and the postal system. Merchants could finally advertise in high-circulation publications and place posters and billboards in high-traffic areas.

Mass media took over in the 1900s, the era of the industrial revolution, marked by the rise of big businesses. The latter could finally afford to promote themselves in national publications, radio, magazines, television, via telephone, telephone directories, direct mail and the media. Consumers were bombarded with ads and offers, allowing journalism and advertising to become industries in their own right.

Then came the internet, which started to grow in the 90s; A boon for marketers and advertisers causing lead generation to change once again. Consumers can now be reached instantly, in their entirety and in a very targeted way. Marketers have had to make the effort to adapt to local markets and to understand other cultures which was possible thanks to increasingly sophisticated and effective market research methods.

(Source https://leady.com/blog/brief-history-lead-generation/ )

How does lead generation work in today’s era?

In online marketing, lead generation involves collecting contact information left by a prospect via a web form. This is a visitor who has shown interest in a company’s products or services, but may not yet be qualified to buy.

This collection is not trivial, as it is through the data collected that companies are able to calibrate their messages to educate and retain potential customers through email marketing. The next step is to contact qualified prospects directly, i.e. those who are likely to respond positively, through salespeople.

Why outsource lead generation?

The question of outsourcing lead generation should be raised if your company:

  • Does not have the resources to devote to hiring a dedicated internal lead generation department;
  • When lead generation needs are related to cold calling and appointment setting;
  • When the company wants to create a solid process for lead generation with all parties involved.

Contact us!

Outsourcing can be a daunting project, but when entrusted to a reliable provider known for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner it can rely on to grow and thrive in a highly competitive environment.

ProContact is more than a contact center. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain flexibility and reduce their operating costs, which are currently important in the midst of an economic recession. To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.

The way outsourcing changed the traditional way of conducting business

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In an article entitled “How Outsourcing Has Changed The Traditional Way Of Doing Business” Forbes explains how all companies, irrespective of their size, scope of work or other factors, can indisputably outsource some of the most tedious tasks with few resources while keeping a rational budget. How?

Outsourcing: what are its results?

Let us look at a few figures about outsourcing that speak for themselves

  • Up to 48% of companies choose offshore outsourcing
  • 45% of companies have planned to increase their outsourcing since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to a lack of in-house expertise.
  • Cost reduction is the primary reason for outsourcing for 70% of companies.
  • Up to 85% of logistics managers expect an increase in the outsourcing budget.
  • The main driver of outsourcing for about 90% of companies is cloud computing.
  • 62% of companies worldwide are looking to renegotiate their outsourcing terms and contracts.
  • 32% of companies believe they will outsource less after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
  • IBM is the largest outsourcing company in the world.

(Source: https://www.founderjar.com/outsourcing-statistics/ )

Businesses are in the midst of a revolution

According to the Forbes article, the traditional way companies operate is undergoing a radical transformation. They have realized that they finally are able to save substantial amounts of money, time, efficiency and security simply by delegating the execution of certain tasks to a specialized company.

How has outsourcing transformed the traditional way of doing business?

Companies that choose to outsource benefit in several ways

Outsourcing is a way to outperform the competition

With outsourcing, small businesses finally have a way to match the bigger companies. Indeed, thanks to offshore outsourcing, these small companies can recruit talent at rates that are unaffordable in their country of location. In addition, the availability of an offshore workforce can help a company gain scale and expand into foreign markets without having to create physical structures.

  • Let’s take the example of ProContact. As BPO specialists, we handle several aspects of a business:
    Telephone reception
  • Remote secretary services
  • Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies
  • Remote marketing and prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting…)
  • Files classification
  • Management and enrichment of databases
  • Customer loyalty
  • Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support)
  • After-sales service, customer service
  • B2B / B2C prospecting;
  • Customer relations;
  • CRM tool and software;
  • Satisfaction surveys;
  • Human resources;
  • Digital.

Outsourcing to save on costs

It is an undeniable fact that outsourcing allows for significant savings. The client company no longer needs to spend on:

  • recruitment campaigns;
  • salaries;
  • equipment;
  • training.

Outsourcing gives access to specialized skills and resources

Outsourcing is the tangible proof that each company has its own set of expertise. Not all expertise is available internally and to achieve its objectives, the company cannot skimp on skills or a poor distribution of its resources.

Outsourcing provides access to specialized skills at a reasonable price, allowing the company to focus on its core business. In addition, it saves time: no more waiting weeks or months for a project to be completed internally.

Outsourcing to improve quality and efficiency

Outsourcing certain non-strategic functions, such as tasks, allows the company to free up internal resources so that they can really focus on the important aspects of the business, such as product development. These increases employee productivity, allowing short, medium and long term profitability.

Outsourcing provides the opportunity to increase or reduce resources

As a company grows, it must increase or decrease its activities according to its needs. Outsourcing provides this flexibility, which is not possible in a traditional environment. It eliminates the need for the company to start from scratch by training new resources. This is on the condition that you find more than just a service provider, but instead a partner capable of understanding and responding instantly to your client’s immediate needs.

How to use outsourcing to grow your business?

There are a series of best practices to apply as soon as possible in order to take full advantage of the outsourcing revolution in post-pandemic times.

Take the time to compare outsourcing providers and above all, avoid selecting a partner based on its very low rates. This is critical, because the cheaper the provider, the more likely the company is to end up paying hidden fees.

Set clear goals for your team members and make sure they know exactly what you expect of them.

Hold regular team meetings for the most effective collaboration possible.

Choose an outsourcing provider with a reputation for reliability, expertise, solid integrity and communication skills.

Put in place all the tools that will allow the company to achieve the expected results on time.

In collaboration with your service provider, establish a clear and realistic timeline that they can rely on to meet your needs in a timely manner.

Be clear about your expectations in terms of schedules, meetings, points, etc.

Clarify any grey areas as soon as they arise.

Choose a service provider who shares your culture, especially in terms of language. ProContact offers a multilingual team of qualified, versatile and expert tele-actors who are entirely dedicated to customer satisfaction. Yours, of course, but also that of your clients.

Get involved in the recruitment and management of your outsourced team, in collaboration with your service provider.

In conclusion

For many companies, outsourcing has become a business strategy in its own right. Allowing to maximize savings, to make investments profitable and to reduce the duration of the cost cycle, outsourcing is now part of the sine qua non conditions for the development and the durability of the company.

When outsourcing simplifies decision-making!

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Now is definitely the best time to outsource your needs! Whether you’re a small or large business, this strategy is solid, reliable and effective enough to facilitate decision-making. Here is a list of best practices to avoid outsourcing mistakes to improve decision-making in your company.

Effectively outsource the activities that need to be outsourced

You don’t outsource just any department of your company! In order to gain in efficiency, time and money, the company must know which activities to outsource while maintaining its competitive advantage. At ProContact, we handle a wide range of time-consuming tasks that are essential to the smooth running of your company every day:

  • Telephone reception
  • Remote secretary services
  • Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies
  •  Remote marketing and prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting…)
  •  File classification
  • Management and enrichment of databases
  • Customer loyalty
  • Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support)
  • After-sales service, customer service
  • B2B / B2C prospecting;
  • Customer relations;
  • CRM tool and software;
  • Satisfaction surveys;
  • Human resources;
  • Digital.

Prepare your outsourcing budget

Outsourcing is an investment with the promise of an unprecedented return. To get the expected results and to not spend more than what is being earned, the company and its provider must play the transparency card. This should include the expectations and means of one and the rates of the other.

Take the time to choose the provider

It can be time consuming to select a good outsourcing provider, so despite the many offers that come in during the prospecting period: take the amount of time necessary! Analyse and measure quality, price, innovation, reputation, experience, location, flexibility, tax laws, language or cultural barriers.

Consider past and present customer reviews

In today’s age, people place a lot of importance on reviews, including when it comes to choosing an outsourcing provider. Again, take the time to read reviews from past and current clients. The idea is to select a “good provider”. Even if the latter may be more expensive, if they get positive reviews, wouldn’t they be the right one?

In-depth interviews

Interviews allow you to get to know the service provider, so it is essential to take your time in order to ask all the necessary questions and to receive answers that are well thought out, with figures, arguments, etc.

Ask questions based on their previous experience, make an offer and keep an interest in the actions implemented in the past. Be attentive to warning signs such as a negative attitude, non-compliance with rules and deadlines, or aversion to feedback.

Avoid the lowest rates

It is undeniable that outsourcing saves money, but not at any price! You don’t have to hire the most expensive provider, but keep in mind that a rate is based on the training, experience and quality provided. By choosing a provider with particularly low rates, there is a high risk of getting a mediocre service.

Maintain control

Constant contact with the outsourcing provider is essential, and the best way to do this is to hire or appoint a dedicated person. This person should have management skills, but also understand the company’s vision and be able to monitor the outsourced activity to ensure compliance.

Clearly defined objectives

While outsourcing is about third-party intervention, it’s vital to keep the lines of communication open, especially with regard to the company’s goals and expectations. For a successful outsourcing, communication must be clear in a framework where everyone knows their role. Detail, precision, parameters to be respected, quality expectations, scope and timelines of the project… the provider must be able to handle everything and have a solid image!

Written documents

Within the framework of outsourcing and contrary to the internal framework, the interactions are different between the client company and its provider. This can make the communication less clear, even if there is a phone call, video-conferences, etc. written communication leaves a clear trace. It allows everyone to remember what has been communicated!

Transparency

Outsourcing is a relationship of trust, each party being separated by a certain physical distance. To consolidate the relationship and the partnership, transparency is undoubtedly the best strategy to apply. This is achieved through the organization of regular and periodic meetings, during which each key element can be discussed at length. These meetings also help to avoid delays, setbacks or misunderstandings, as both parties know what to do, when to do it, how, etc.

Contact us!

Outsourcing is our business! At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency:

  • Telephone reception
  • Remote secretary services
  • Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies
  •  Remote marketing and prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting…)
  •  File classification
  • Management and enrichment of databases
  • Customer loyalty
  • Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support)
  • After-sales service, customer service
  • B2B / B2C prospecting;
  • Customer relations;
  • CRM tool and software;
  • Satisfaction surveys;
  • Human resources;
  • Digital.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.

Outsourcing: key points for a successful outsourcing contract

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Outsourcing is a business strategy that consists in delegating certain tasks to a company specialized in the field. While it is not without risk, there are several factors that should be strongly considered, especially when building the service contract. Here is our advice.

A clear and detailed description of the services

The outsourcing contract should include a detailed description of the project and its scope. In the case of a partnership, do not hesitate to include requests for proposals and the provider’s subsequent response.

Key elements of this part of the contract are

  • All client service requirements;
  • Description of each service required;
  • General service standards that must be met (compliance with international standards, etc.);
  • A clause describing the functions not specified in the statement of work, but which must be included in the services provided (optional) by the contractor.

Service levels

“The service level relate to the type of services that, on the one hand, are tailored to the needs and desires of the clients the firm wishes to attract and, on the other hand, are not so high as to significantly reduce profits” according to Relationclientmag.fr.

By clearly describing the expected service levels, the provider understands the company’s expectations. This also confirms the provider’s mission, objectives and quality, should they wish to renew their contract.

Other aspects of the service level:

  • Milestone dates and contractual penalties for service level failures by the provider;
  • Compensation for poor service;
  • The detailed process in case the client or provider needs to modify the contract;
  • Key performance indicators (KPIs) or other metrics related to the outsourced services.

Costs

Each party, both the provider and the company, must be clear on the costs applied for one and the total amount due for the services rendered for the other.

The cost of outsourcing depends on many factors, so it is imperative that the issue is clearly raised during negotiations. The objective is to avoid hidden costs!

It is also important to include a clause for negotiating the contractual conditions due to changing market conditions.

The duration of the contract

 

It is vital that both parties know exactly how long the outsourcing contract will last. This requires a clause that also includes the reasons for early termination. The idea is to avoid any practice of tacit renewal of a contract that does not satisfy either the service provider or the company.

Compensation

What compensation is provided for the company in case of mistakes by the service provider? The contract must therefore include an indemnification clause specifying the responsibilities of the latter in case of negligence or inability to deliver. The client company is thus protected and reassured regarding compensation in case of failure during or after the project, from the outsourcing provider.

Data protection

Outsourcing services, such as customer service and payroll, require outsourced agents to access confidential information such as bank details, addresses, etc. To secure the information, both parties must legally comply with the laws in their respective regions.

For example, if the customer is in the European Union, the service provider must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)!

Performance monitoring

The performance of an outsourced team should be measured by regular audits. By proceeding according to the best practices in force, the company in demand manages to quickly take corrective measures when they are necessary.

Dispute resolution

In the event of an abrupt termination of an outsourcing contract following a dispute (failure to meet service levels, etc.), to protect the client company, the contract must include an amicable settlement clause. In many cases, this avoids legal situations that consume time, energy and financial resources!

Business continuity and recovery after a disaster

As the Covid-19 pandemic has shown us very recently, companies that are able to ensure business continuity and recovery allow their customers to operate in a smooth, transparent manner.

In addition to the virus, many other events can interrupt a company’s business:

  • Computer attacks;
  • Supply chain difficulties;
  • Changes in regulations;
  • Too significant human resources turnover.

In conclusion

The success of an outsourcing contract lies in the ability of each party to put down the most essential, most concrete keys. With clearly expressed expectations and results, each partner can work in tandem with the other without losing time.

The contract is the keystone of a successful outsourcing. More than a document, it serves as a support to the client company in case of misunderstanding, questioning, etc.

Contact us!

Outsourcing is our business! At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, whatever the situation and in complete transparency:

  • Telephone reception
  • Remote secretary services
  • Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies
  • Remote marketing and remote prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting…)
  • Files classification
  • Management and enrichment of databases
  • Customer loyalty
  • Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support)
  • After-sales service (SAV), customer service
  • B2B / B2C prospecting;
  • Customer relations;
  • CRM tool and software;
  • Satisfaction surveys;
  • Human resources;
  • Digital.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.

How to manage an outsourced team

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Many companies, regardless of their growth rate in the market, have chosen to recruit an offshore team to improve efficiency, productivity, skills and make considerable savings. How did these companies manage this team? How did they manage to make this team cohabit, collaborate, with their own internal resources? Outsourcing is not about approaching a provider, recruiting their resources and checking on the progress of the work requested, as is common practice in the office. The process is difference. Here are our tips for a successful outsourcing partnership.

Implement the right strategies and tools

While outsourcing is now a well-honed business strategy, it is not without its challenges. As an in-demand company, you need to analyse, have trials and implement certain strategies and the best tools to manage your third-party team.

What is an outsourced team?

An offshore/outsourced team is when a workforce operates outside the country where the company is located. To make this concept more concrete, let’s take the example of the company with remote prospecting and remote marketing needs. Today, instead of going through heavy and costly local recruitment processes, it is possible to recruit a specialized team located abroad.

ProContact offers a wide range of services so that companies can save time, better distribute tasks among their internal resources and spend less on labour:

  • Telephone reception
  • Remote secretary services
  • Polls, surveys, satisfaction studies
  • Remote marketing and remote prospecting (appointment setting, prospecting…)
  • Files classification
  • Management and enrichment of databases
  • Customer loyalty
  • Technical assistance (hotline, webhelp, technical support)
  • After-sales service (SAV), customer service
  • B2B / B2C prospecting;
  • Tele-secretariat ;
  • Customer relations;
  • CRM tool and software;
  • Satisfaction surveys;
  • Human resources;
  • Digital service.

Our tips for managing your outsourced human resources

To address all the challenges that can arise with an outsourced team, here are some best practices to implement.

Select the right team

Before we talk about management, let’s talk about the outsourced team. Depending on your company’s needs and business objectives, it is important to select agents with the right profiles. Points to consider when choosing the right outsourced workers:

Keep in mind the company’s long-term goals at all times. To achieve these goals, it may be useful to hire an internal person to manage the selection of offshoring resources.

Performance Appraisal

Performance-based reviews provide an insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the team proposed by your outsourcing provider. For a smooth collaboration without any misunderstanding, don’t hesitate to prepare a list of tasks to test. This technique simply defines the level of skills required to work on particular projects.

Patience

Building an outsourced team may take time, but you must be patient: the success of future management and results depends on it.

Priority to communication

You must be precise about your objectives from the beginning of the project! Clearly define the milestones, priorities, targets and deadlines for your project. For a result that always lives up to your company’s expectations, schedule weekly or daily checks and meetings to be aware of the progress of your projects.

Several tools are available today to facilitate communication in an offshore collaboration:

  • Instant messaging and email;
  • Audio and video calls;
  • Video conferencing.

Establish a clear and organized workflow

For all projects, managers know how to establish step-by-step operational procedures. This strategy is known to streamline the company’s workflow and development process.

As part of efficient outsourced team management, it is important to document company procedures in a way that is accessible to everyone involved. By having information that is ease to understand and process at their fingertips, , outsourced agents quickly learn and apply the standards to be followed.

Avoid micromanagement

Based on Wikipedia’s description “Micromanagement is a management style in which the manager closely observes or controls the work of subordinates or employees. This type of management is characterized by excessive control, or giving too much attention to detail”. Outsourced teams are simply and naturally cut out for self-management. When they feel that their sponsors trust them, they are always willing to go the extra mile for the success of the project.

There are many ways to give each member of the offshore team maximum autonomy:

  • Induction training;
  • Simple and clear communication of the company’s objectives;
  • Use of adequate tools to facilitate remote work and collaboration;
  • The recruitment of a local project manager to supervise day-to-day operations;
  • And others

The importance of human interaction

Between the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing regulations and other restrictions imposed around the world, remote work has become the new normal. However, this style of work is not for everyone. Indeed, you may find that some employees struggle daily to work in a setting that seems virtual. For some, working remotely has led to a strong sense of isolation.

Adding an outsourced team to the equation can reinforce this feeling, affecting mental well-being and productivity. To avoid a regression in the company’s development due to this mode of operation, managers must encourage social interactions between external team members and internal teams.

This can be done through regular meetings, team building activities via Zoom, Skype or any video conferencing application. Also in this spirit, why not create a chat channel or a chat room on a communication platform?