Tourism body outsources call centre to reduce costs

Date: 28/07/2011

A tourism body in the south-west of England has saved money by outsourcing its call centre needs to an external business.

The English Riviera Tourism Company has replaced its previous in-house offering with a contact centre run by a specialist enterprise as part of a cost-cutting programme, the Herald Express reports.

It may use 0800 numbers to encourage potential customers to call and order holiday brochures and the company said it has received 60,000 requests for marketing materials so far this year, up from the 35,000 that were sent out in 2010.

Commissioning a company to take over a promotional campaign has helped bring the cost per response down from over £1 to 85p.

Businesses that rely on inbound phone communications to gauge interest from prospective clients could implement a similar operation to bring marketing expenditure down.

Dedicated call centres can also improve customer service and West Sussex County Council recently awarded a contract to the Listening Company, which will provide help and advice on issues such as social care and highways to residents.