Deep CX: A Blue Ocean Podcast

Deep CX is back to compare the costs of running an in-house contact center with the costs of outsourcing. It’s not as straightforward as you might think!  Sure, there are the obvious expenses like wages, but don’t forget about the intangible factors like brand impact and employee engagement. There’s also human capital, attrition, technical infrastructure, and a lot more to consider. Bottom line, don’t make any big decisions regarding your contact center before listening to this episode to better understand the costs!

In this final installment of "You're Asking the Wrong Questions," we explore how world-shaking events like the pandemic have forever changed Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) in customer contact centers. There’s undoubtedly been a shift from traditional models to agile, hybrid frameworks that blend on-premises and remote work. This necessary sea change has created a critical need for tailored BCPs that focus on maintaining exceptional customer experience during crises.

But how do you ensure that your outsourced customer care partner has the ideal BCP for you? Hint: You don’t get there by asking the same BCP-related questions you did five years ago. Let’s dive in and learn more!

Welcome back to the second installment in our three-part series: You're Asking the Wrong Questions. In Part 2, we get into the challenges in assessing attrition rates during the RFP process for outsourced customer care providers. Not all attrition is the same, and depending on what type you’re dealing with, there are different ways to calculate actual rates. After listening to this episode, you’ll be well-equipped to ask specific, well-defined questions to get the most meaningful data to make your decision.

Deep CX is back with the first installment in our three-part series: You're Asking the Wrong Questions, based on our latest e-book of the same name. We hate to correct you like this in public, but hear us out! All too often, RFPs are based on boilerplate or outdated questions. If your RFP questions are a little stale or generic, chances are you’re not going to get the full picture. It’s possible you’ll end up signing on with a vendor that isn’t the right fit, and you’ll be back at square one with a new RFP process much sooner than you’d like.

Part 1 of You're Asking the Wrong Questions delves into contact center technology. In this episode, we unpack Blue Ocean's recommendations as an outsourcer supporting some of the world's best brands in verticals from SaaS to travel and tourism. Let's dive in!

Ever used a generic RFP to find a customer care outsourcer? Chances are, it didn't quite hit the mark. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work when you're hunting for the ideal partner who will engage with your customers on a daily basis. And with the rise of remote and hybrid work, this challenge becomes even more prickly. Times have changed, and your RFP should, too. Well, lucky for you, Blue Ocean has your back once again! Today’s episode of Deep CX breaks down five tough customer care RFP questions tailored for today's hybrid world. Let’s dive in!

Losing a customer is never as simple as losing a single sale. The impact is far-reaching, and companies must have a thorough understanding of the extent of this cost in order to understand the true importance of excellent customer service and experience. From a ruined reputation to a never-ending cycle of replacing old customers, the cost is considerable. Are you ready to protect yourself against this expense? Dive into the latest episode of Deep CX to learn more about the true cost of losing a customer and the negative ripple effects that poor customer service can cause.

Deep CX is BACK to ask a fundamental contact center question: Is a dedicated team of contact center agents always the best solution? Not always! Let's say you've been charged with putting together an RFP for contact center services. Your company experiences both unpredictable spikes in volume and predictable and/or seasonal spikes. In addition, you are concerned about an outsourcer being able to fully represent your brand. There's so much to consider! When does having a dedicated team of agents to protect your brand take priority over the need to effectively conquer those spikes in volume? Does the need to handle the spikes capably take precedence over cost-effectiveness? Or, can a contact center outsourcer put together a program that takes care of all three priorities effectively? At Blue Ocean, we believe an out-of-the-box deployment of cross-trained agents can, in some instances, be a client’s best solution. Join us as we take a deep dive into the pros and cons!

Artificial intelligence has captured our collective imaginations—and in some cases, stoked our greatest fears. Are you wondering what kind of impact advanced AI tools like ChatGPT will have on the customer service industry and beyond? So are we! That's why we invited this exciting new technology to sit down with us for an "interview" on Deep CX. Amy Bennet, our intrepid host, wrote ChatGPT some probing questions about the customer experience, which generated some intriguing answers. After feeding those responses into a leading-edge text-to-speech module, we were able to simulate a real-time conversation with the world's most famous chatbot. The end result is an eerie-but-charming discussion about what the future holds for AI in the CX space. This is one interview you won't want to miss!

Welcome back to Deep CX! We’ve got another member of the wonderful ONQ family with us today: Sean Hammerle, who is the company’s Chief Operating Officer and an award-winning motivational leader and speaker. We had the pleasure of being on hand back in June of 2022 when Sean was awarded the title of Best Contact Center Executive at The Contact Center World Awards in Orlando, Florida. The win came as no surprise—Sean is one of the most authentic, engaging, and hilarious people we’ve ever met. And he brings a very specific, genuine, and personal element to his leadership, which is incredible when you consider he leads 600 employees across three countries! We discuss Sean’s journey as an openly gay executive navigating new cultures, the importance of building a culture of family at your business, mentoring employees even when you know they’re going to leave, and so much more. It’s a wide-ranging conversation you won’t want to miss. Let’s dive in!

It’s time to talk about the RFP process! The launch of a program with any new partner is always a tricky time. After all, you’re just learning how to work together and there is so much at stake for your business, your customers, and the long-term success of your partnership. Blue Ocean has successfully launched dozens of programs over the years, including two new client programs just as the world went into lockdown. And we’re not ashamed to say that we’ve had some occasional rough starts, which taught us some important lessons. Today’s episode breaks down some straightforward considerations—learned from good launches and bad—that should help your process go just a little smoother. Let’s dive in!

On today’s episode of Deep CX, we welcome our first guest from the gaming industry: Tony Won. He is an expert at all things related to player support and has handled that task for industry giants like Riot Games and Epic Games over the course of his career—he even worked on the smash hit cross-platform game Fortnite! He has been a successful player support consultant for years thanks to his deep expertise in customer experience, video game development, live operations supporting functions, and much more. Video games are incredibly personal experiences for the people who play them, and it’s experts like Tony who make sure gamers feel taken care of. It’s a great chat, so let’s dive in!

Deep CX is BACK! Today we’re talking to Lucas Fuentes, Vice President of Training & Development with ONQ, a global leader in outsourced revenue cycle management. Lucas is an international award-winning training executive with a law degree from Universidad de Panama. He is also one of the most engaging presenters we’ve ever seen with a unique and hilarious approach to work and life. His enthusiasm is infectious, so we can’t wait for you to dive in!

Today on Deep CX, we want you to take a long, hard look at the contact center technology in your RFP. The days of telephony platforms and on-prem systems offering any sort of value are long gone. But we still see plenty of outdated questions on RFPs referring to these technologies of yore! It's a great reminder that, in our brave, new cloud-based world, you have to make sure you're asking the right questions to ensure your outsourced partner has the right technology for your needs. Wondering what to ask? Take a listen and find out!

Deep CX: A Blue Ocean Podcast is back to tell you what you need to know about contact center BCP when outsourcing! Now more than ever, brands need to deliver on customer expectations with reliability and consistency. But what about when crisis hits? If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that investing in a robust business continuity plan (or BCP for short) is the best way to ensure that your foundation remains solid when the unexpected happens. As you evaluate your BCP with an outsourced partner, keep these tips in mind!

It’s the first of many interviews here at Deep CX! Amy Bennet Roach, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Blue Ocean, sits down with Jeff Jones, Content Marketer and Podcaster, to discuss the current state of hiring. From the art of crafting compelling job descriptions to the many ways an outsourced customer care partner can lift up employees, you won’t want to miss these keen insights from one of the most compelling thought leaders in the field.

Deep CX: A Blue Ocean Podcast is produced by echogravity

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Deep CX: A Blue Ocean Podcast is back with the mash-up you never knew you needed: customer experience and baseball. As it turns out, whether you’re running a call center or managing the Oakland A’s, things run smoothest when people pay attention to cold, hard statistics. Curious to learn how CX stats can help your company develop workforce planning that puts exactly the right resources in place at the right time, operating at peak performance all the while? This just might be the customer experience podcast for you. Step up to the plate and find out!

Welcome to Deep CX: A Blue Ocean Podcast! In this debut episode of our new customer experience podcast, we examine one of the dirtiest words you’ll hear in the contact center: attrition. But is it really that profane? Take a listen and you’ll soon discover that not all attrition is created equal. In fact, if you’re in the market for outsourced customer service, your understanding of attrition can influence your choice of partners in ways you might not realize. Let’s dive in and get smart about attrition rates!