Enspyre Mobile Business Targets the SME Outsourced Customer Service Market
Seeing the vast number of Taiwan’s small and medium-sized enterprises struggling to survive due to poor customer service, Elias Ek recognized a business opportunity and established an outsourced customer service company. Starting from zero, after five years the company had accumulated more than 200 clients and was still growing rapidly.
As differences between products and businesses become increasingly small, service quality has become a key competitive advantage. Large corporations are not the only ones requiring customer service — SMEs also have significant service demands. Five years ago, Elias Ek, General Manager of Enspyre Mobile Business, discovered that due to limited resources, Taiwan’s SMEs lacked proper customer service systems. Seeing the enormous market opportunity behind this issue, Elias Ek decisively resigned from his job and established Enspyre Mobile Business Center, focusing on outsourced customer service solutions for SMEs.
Discovering Small Businesses Also Need Customer Service
Originally from Sweden, Elias Ek always believed that owning a business was the lifestyle he wanted. After arriving in Taiwan in 1998 during the first internet boom, he established a two-person internet company while simultaneously working another job and operating websites as a SOHO entrepreneur. Even when the dot-com bubble burst two years later, his internet company continued to grow successfully, attracting more and more customers.
As the customer base expanded, the two-person company gradually became overwhelmed. Elias Ek recalled that due to limited manpower, they were unable to continue expanding their client base and encountered growth bottlenecks. At the same time, servicing existing customers became increasingly difficult. Hiring a dedicated customer service employee solely to answer phones felt wasteful, so eventually Elias Ek decided to sell the internet company.
Although selling the company earned him a profit, starting his own business remained his dream. After some time, Elias Ek reflected on the customer service staffing problems he had faced while running the internet company and began considering the possibility of establishing an outsourced customer service business.
At the time, very few companies in Taiwan provided outsourced customer service, and most focused only on large corporate clients. Remembering his own experience as a SOHO entrepreneur needing customer service support, combined with Taiwan’s nearly one million SMEs, he decided to focus on small and medium-sized businesses and established Enspyre Mobile Business Center.
Having lived in Taiwan for seven years, Elias Ek observed that many small businesses frequently opened and closed. After careful study, he discovered that many businesses failed not because of poor products, but because their services were inadequate.
“Service plays an extremely important role in product sales,” Elias Ek explained. He pointed out that companies such as Samsung Electronics, LG, and Taiwan’s Acer succeeded not only because of their products, but because they also sold culture and service. This demonstrated the importance of service to businesses of all sizes — not only large corporations, but SMEs as well.
Systems and Human Talent Are Equally Important
To provide excellent outsourced customer service, both technological systems and professional staff are essential. Many people believe outsourced customer service platforms are simply composed of systems such as Computer Telephone Integration (CTI), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and Automatic Call Distribution (ACD).
However, in order to differentiate itself from competitors and provide the best possible service, Elias Ek believed it was important to have in-house software engineers capable of developing proprietary systems. Therefore, in addition to purchasing basic equipment, Enspyre independently developed its own CTI, IVR, and ACD systems.
For example, Enspyre’s CTI system not only contained standard CTI functions, but also fully integrated telephone, fax, and email systems. The management interface was also divided into separate interfaces for IT personnel and management staff, ensuring every department had the most suitable operating environment.
Additionally, to improve employee training and service quality, Enspyre independently developed its own staff training system. Elias Ek explained that through the company’s proprietary IT systems, only 15 customer service representatives were able to serve over 200 clients while still maintaining high-quality service.
From Zero to Fifteen Customer Service Staff
As a Swedish entrepreneur starting a business in Taiwan, Elias Ek inevitably faced many difficulties. However, he gradually overcame each obstacle.
Elias Ek explained that becoming a successful outsourced customer service company required both excellent customer service staff and strong technology platforms — both of which required funding. During the startup process, he actively sought loans from many banks. “Taiwanese banks don’t like lending to foreigners, so the loan process was extremely difficult,” he said. Nevertheless, he refused to give up and eventually solved the company’s early funding challenges through persistence.
Once funding was secured, recruiting professional employees became the next priority. Enspyre was not simply seeking ordinary call center operators, but professional staff capable of providing secretary-level service.
Initially focused on SME customer service, Enspyre gradually expanded into marketing-related services. After five years, Enspyre had evolved beyond a simple outsourced customer service company and began offering a wide range of services tailored to SMEs, including telephone secretary services, virtual offices, telemarketing, and survey research.
Telephone secretary services provide companies with dedicated secretarial support so callers experience a more professional level of customer service. Elias Ek cited Danish company Disa Nør as an example. The company’s clients included international corporations such as automobile manufacturers, where each project represented major revenue. Providing excellent service to every client was critical. However, because client numbers and daily call volumes were relatively low, hiring a full-time customer service employee would have wasted manpower. Outsourced telephone secretary services solved this issue effectively.
The market response proved Elias Ek’s predictions correct. Customer demand grew rapidly — even the internet company he had previously sold eventually became an Enspyre client. Over five years, Enspyre’s customer base grew from only a handful of clients to more than 200 companies, ranging from individual SOHO entrepreneurs to organizations such as Disa Nør Taiwan, Xcute Communications, Hong Tai Life Insurance, and Olympic Fitness Club.
Starting alone with nothing but initial funding preparations, Elias Ek laughed as he described Enspyre Mobile Business as truly beginning from zero. Although the company still only employed 15 customer service representatives, its independently developed Call Center and Contact Center systems enabled it to simultaneously serve hundreds of clients while maintaining strong service quality.
Facing increasing demand for outsourced customer service, Elias Ek believed the company still had enormous room for future success. He hoped to eventually lead Enspyre beyond Taiwan and expand into global markets using the successful business model developed in Taiwan.
By Liu Li-hui
