The US financial services industry has increased spending on call centres by 38 per cent each year since 1999, according to research by business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.
According to the report, a call centre costs over $2 million to start up. To recoup investments and generate new revenue, firms are forced to implement cross-selling and up-selling strategies.
Cutting Edge says labour accounts for more than 60 per cent of call centre costs, leaving only 30 to 40 per cent for equipment, training agents and other overheads.