Links

There are thousands of useful links in the Call Centre industry. To list them here would overwhelm you with information. However, it is good to know some options where to start. Therefore, I have listed some of such addresses below, depending on various key topics. Whenever you get lost in your search, just call in and I will be happy to help.

General

If you don't have a specific topic or just don't know where to start you might be interested in call center blogs. Some are chatty and some more sophisticated. Personally, I prefer the latter such as http://callcentercafe.blogspot.com/ or http://blog.tmcnet.com/. One that mainly deals with Call Center Software is http://www.contactcenteronline.com/forum/. Another option is to start with dedicated communities such as http://www.callcentrehelper.com/ or larger industry bodies such as www.ataconnect.org or http://www.cca.org.uk/. The larger European bodies are bundled under the umbrella of http://www.eccco.org/asp/news.asp.

Companies looking for Business Process Outsourcing info and services

This information is pretty tough to gather by yourself without getting lost on the web. Nearly all the larger analysts (see below) have BPO reports in their portfolio. If you are looking for BPO providers, buy a report, go to directories or visit a show. Some of the leading events in Europe are http://www.callcentre-expo.co.uk/ in UK, www.callcenterworld.de in Germany and the SECA, see http://seca.tarsusgroup.com/scripts/publish/main.asp?code=1_WEX in France. In the USA, www.callcenterdemo.com is a larger event, in Canada http://www.iccmcanada.com. In Asia, www.customercontactworld.com is an option, in Turkey www.istanbulcallcenterexpo.com. Many event organizers have tried already to deliver a real global approach. In my opinion, none of them has achieved it yet. Most of them attract some international players, but only for their language region (see below), for instance the SECA would attract offshore outsourcers from Senegal or Morocco.

Then, there are many consultants, most of which seem to work locally. The majority of call center consultants covering BPO (that I have met in 15 years) are working as one-man/woman-shows or in smaller practices. Some of the global players have their CRM divisions which may cover BPO and call center consulting in a certain way. Often, they co-operate with freelancers and smaller practices. On your request, I will be happy to help with contact details.

BPO Providers looking to learn about business opportunities

Usually, offshore providers will face tougher challenges as their nearshore colleagues. This is mainly because of the quality assurance discussions in the media over the last year. Now we all agree that offshore outsourcing doers bring real value and can cut costs significantly - if you know who to turn to and how to do it. As an offshore BPO provider you will naturally try to fit in the top quality category. You will need somebody local to open doors for you and also you will need marketing support. Most people I met do not even look at marketing collateral which just does not fit with their expectations. In a nutshell: As an offshore provider, you will mainly find this kind of information while co-operating with local experts. Just don't make the mistake to pay them commission only - nothing much will happen.

Local or nearshore BPO providers face a similar game as business consultants when it comes to gain new contracts. From my experience it is largely a matter of channel marketing: you know somebody who knows somebody etc. Why? Because trust matters. Yet targeted online and offline marketing is vital to get on the prospects' radar in the first place. But the biggest challenge is certainly the contracting phase. In a nutshell: networking, individual channel marketing and negotiation skills are key.

For both offshore and nearshore there are certainly competitions and respective platforms. My opinion is that the best deals happen when you are "in" at an early stage when clients still explore their needs and the market. Therefore, sorry, I can't recommend any links for this case.

For Call Center Management Software Vendors

For Call Center Software vendors there is a whole lot of Business Directories out there. Apart from the big ones like Teleplaza or  Capterra there are many smaller players, many of which are not completely manually managed by call center experts. Thus, they often lack important players in the industy in their lists. On the other hand, an interesting new Call Center Management Directory which is going the expert way is Softigator. To be honest, I support them. Another great service is UC Strategies as an industry resource for enterprises, vendors, system integrators, and anyone interested in the growing Unified Communications arena. A supplier of objective information on Unified Communications, UC Strategies is supported by an alliance of leading communication industry Advisors, Analysts, and Consultants. For vendors and buyers of Call Center Software Commfusion offer great Research services. Also, there are some communities for specific business arenas within the Call Center market. For instance, the USA based Society of Workforce Planning Professionals (SWPP) offers a publication and regular meetings to provide networking opportunities and exposure to Workforce Management specialists.

Market Intelligence about the Call Center Industry

Usually you will have the choice between two approaches to get serious research results: either you leave your contact details for a free report or you just buy one with some analysts. The advantages and drawbacks are obvious. An example for a free sponsored report is on TMCnet. Also, have a look at larger industry bodies (see above). Some analysts who deal with the Call Center industry from different perspectives include Gartner, IDC, Forrester (all mainly technology oriented) and Datamonitor (from technology and outsourcers' perspective). Some of them are more specialized on niche topics like e.g. Commfusion on Technology, Ventana Research on Performance Management, the Butler Group on IT and Software, Quocirca on Information Technology and Communications or MZA  on PBX and software providers in the call center market. Their reports can be purchased online. If you want to be on the analysts' radar or co-operate with them, it might be worth to hire a consultant for analyst relations.

At last, a hint about languages. Never forget, that people tend to search primarily in their mother tongue. For each language there are different communities, portals and even local analysts and researchers. You will hardly find one which covers it all. You can cluster what I would call "language regions" like e.g. Latin America and Spain for Spanish or India, the US and the UK for English. French sites often cover French speaking Offshore countries, for instance in North Africa. German speaking sites are not only frequented by Austrians, Swiss and Germany, but also by Eastern Europeans. The more global you go, the more sophisticated it gets.

Again, there is so much more to say about where to get information and support. Get in touch now for a free telephone consultation: info@jmoellerconsulting.com or +44 (7811) 353 996.