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In the world of business and entrepreneurship, relationship management is an important aspect of doing business. Relationship management is a strategy by an organization that maintains a level of engagement with its customers. In the BPO industry, the lifeblood of their business is a continuous number of clienteles that are seeking to outsource their services to BPO companies. 

The Success of the Outsourcing Industry and its Customers

Three decades have passed since the start of the outsourcing industry. From the start, BPO providers were usually met with skepticism and distrust. Although that did not really fade and became somewhat of a stereotype.  Regardless of that stereotype, BPOs have proven their worth in the business world by being affordable, reliable, and knowledgeable partners to do business with. The success of a BPO company is its profitability by being an affordable solution for a client to make their operations cost-effective.  In this day and age, the BPO industry is valued at USD 261.9 billion in 2022. The staggering amount leads to a steadily increasing demand for outsourcing services worldwide. That being said, the success of the BPO industry is also the success of its clients. 

A Symbiotic Relationship

A symbiotic relationship is one in which an organism, people, or things exist in a way that benefits them all. It is without a doubt that the outsourcing industry’s very existence can be traced to the need to drive down costs. While client companies specifically businesses may survive without outsourcing.  However, businesses would probably find it difficult to manage their expenses and administrative functions, eventually limiting their potential to expand. This insatiable desire to cut costs has businesses scrambling to seize the opportunity to partner with outsourcing providers. 

Managing Relationships with Clients 

As previously mentioned, the symbiotic relationship between clients and BPO companies would not guarantee longevity. However, the proper application of relationship management by BPO companies will increase the probability of its success.  BPOs hierarchical process of dealing with clients starts with the account manager. An accounts manager is responsible for the day-to-day management of a particular customer’s account within the BPO company.  An Account Manager’s responsibilities include:
  • Maintain constant communication.
  • Streamline relationships with clients.
  • Relays client information and concern to outsourced workers.
  • Ability to make good decisions at a moment’s notice. 
However, the responsibility of maintaining a good working relationship with clients does not lie with the account manager alone.  The upper echelons of the BPO company’s management have the responsibility to promote and implement transparent, flexible, and stable services. 
  1. Transparency – trust in a business relationship is an important part of relationship management. Transparency of services is the best solution for creating trust because it eliminates the anxiety and suspicions of the client. A client-BPO relationship built and maintained by the transparency of services is one of the key components of having a successful relationship. 
  2. Flexibility – the ability to adapt to continuous changes in the business environment. Primarily, the needs of the clients could be met by the BPO provider at a moment’s notice. Flexibility in the services provided allows BPOs to be competitive and dependable to their clients when the need arises. This makes a BPO-Client relationship a reliable partnership. 
  3. Stability – a stable business partner that ensures the longevity of the services offered contributes to relationship management. Wherein, a client relies on a stable BPO service to streamline day-to-day operations. 

Successful Partnerships Will Retain Clients 

Delivering quality services that positively impact the output of outsourced workers to their clients is the result of a successful partnership. Both BPOs and their clients benefit from this reciprocal relationship. Moreover, BPOs benefit greatly from that successful partnership because their clients are likely to retain the services offered by their outsourcing partners. 

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, the success of the clients is the success of the BPO company. This reciprocity of success had led to a boom in the demand for the outsourcing industry and gave their clients an effective solution to make their businesses worthwhile to manage. In addition, effective relationship management initiated by the BPO company would make life easier for the clients.