Ofcom has announced that major phone networks have agreed to block all internet calls that are coming from outside of the UK if they are using a UK phone number.
Ofcom’s Communications Group Director, Lindsey Fussell, said: “We've been working with telecoms companies to implement technical solutions, including blocking at source, suspicious international calls that are masked by a UK number”
While the move has been made to prevent scam callers from using UK phone numbers to mask their location, it’s also expected to have huge implications on off-shore outsourced telemarketing and telesales centres.
What does this mean for you?
With some businesses choosing to outsource to foreign call centres, mainly in Asia, due to the lower outsourcing costs, this is now throwing a huge spanner into the works.
If you are one of these businesses that outsources to foreign call centres, these changes will mean that they will not be able to represent your business with a UK telephone number, and will instead need to use a phone number from their country of origin, which would have a serious impact on the results of your campaigns.
But it’s not just outbound telemarketing that’s at risk; if you outsource any kind of telephone based customer support or helplines, it means these call centres won’t be able to return any customer calls or reach out to your customers for follow-ups or investigations, which could also mean your customer satisfaction and retention could take a big hit too!
Despite all this... is it a blessing in disguise?
Even though the changes may present a ‘problem’ for you if you are making use of off-shore call centres, these call centres are notorious for generating poor results and in some cases, harming business reputations on outbound telemarketing and inbound customer service projects.
Despite Ofcom and the UK phone networks forcing your hand, and indirectly forcing you to turn to UK-based telemarketing and support companies instead, this could work very much in your favour.
As well as having native English speakers, UK companies, like us here at River, know the markets that you want to enter and expand your business in far better than a foreign agency ever could.
So while you might not be able to get the cheapest labour for telemarketing by outsourcing aboard, you’ll be getting more experienced, knowledgeable and seasoned UK telemarketing experts that will provide you with real results!
If you’re having to change to a different provider for outsourcing your customer support, you’re going to be providing a much better quality of support, with a dedicated UK support team, rather than off-shore call handlers that struggle due to the language barrier.
Get in touch to learn more!
If you’re currently using off-shore telemarketing agencies that call into the UK representing your brand, or outsource your inbound customer support to foreign call centres, it’s important to get ahead of the curve, before the ‘priority’ changes are put into effect by your network provider and have a huge impact on your business.
If you’d like to have a chat with us about our telemarketing campaigns or inbound customer service projects, how we work, and our extensive experience across dozens of UK industries and sectors, get in touch!
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