At 3:47pm on a rainy Thursday in Leeds, Nadia – who runs a small but successful online jewellery business – was elbow-deep in cardboard, hunting for a missing spool of gold ribbon. The phone rang for the fourth time that hour. A customer had emailed twice about a delayed parcel. Another had messaged on Instagram: “Hi, any update?”
Nadia glanced at her to-do list – dispatch ten orders, schedule tomorrow’s Instagram reel, finish invoices, buy food for the cat – and sighed. She loved her business. But lately, running it felt like being a one-woman contact centre with no lunch break and no escape.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Thousands of small businesses and sole traders across the UK are discovering the same thing: customer service is essential, exhausting, and impossible to do well when you’re doing everything else.
That’s why more business owners are now choosing to outsource their customer service operations – and why, when done right, it can transform your working life.
Let’s dig into what that really means, and look at how a UK-based provider like Bizik is offering a smarter, more human alternative to outsource customer service for small businesses in the UK.
Why small businesses are outsourcing their customer service
Let’s get this straight: exceptional customer service isn’t a “nice to have” and it never has been. The hallmark of any great business is the interaction with the customer. It’s the frontline.
Quality service is the thing people remember long after they forget what they ordered. But for small businesses, sole traders and service providers? It’s often the first thing to fall through the cracks.
Between answering customer calls, replying to emails, and decoding passive-aggressive Trustpilot reviews, it’s no wonder business owners reach breaking point quicker than the average human.
According to Deloitte‘s 2020 Global Outsourcing Survey, 70% of UK businesses that outsource customer requests for cost savings, and 60% outsource at least some of their operational costs. For small businesses, and even larger businesses, the logic is simple:
The case for outsourcing:
- Boost quality with trained, professional, efficient responses
- Stay human by giving customers real help from real people
- Scale smoothly by escalating growth without adding headcount
- Get your time back so you can actually run your business
And please, don’t just take our word for it. Listen to these business experts from the financial sector who have dedicated their lives to customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and business growth:
Do what you do best and outsource the rest.
Peter Drucker, Professor of Economics in the Crawford School of Public Policy in the College of Asia.
If you deprive yourself of outsourcing and your competitors do not, you’re putting yourself out of business.
Lee Kuan Yew, Former Prime Minister of Singapore:
If you try to do everything, you will do nothing well.
Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company:
What can you actually outsource?
This question comes up time and time again. The short answer is more than you think.
The longer answer? Pretty much anything that involves a customer interaction you don’t have time for – which, let’s face it, when you’re flat out, is most of them.
Here’s what many small UK businesses hand to a third-party company:
- Phone answering
- Email management
- Live chat
- Social media answering
- Appointment booking
- Order tracking
One of our friends, Jamie, who runs a fitness studio in Nottingham, used to keep sticky notes all over his desk: “Ring Alice K about personal training cancellation,” “Email John S about failed credit card payment”.
He never got round to most of them. Now, someone else manages those customer relationships.
And Alice? She’s still a happy customer. John? He’s started actually paying for his classes.
The wrong way to outsource (and why it gave outsourcing a bad name)
Let’s be honest. The word outsourcing has baggage. It conjures up images of an outsourced customer support team who can’t pronounce your business’ name, hold music from 2003, 30-minute customer hold times, and customer support service so generic it could’ve come from a chatbot powered by dial-up.
But modern outsourcing – at least the good kind – isn’t about cutting corners. It plays a major role in getting support without sacrificing customer satisfaction rates.
This is where Bizik flips the script.
Meet Bizik: UK-based, customer-first, and actually good
For small businesses like yours seeking a reliable outsourcing partner, Bizik, with their super impressive track record and experienced team, stand out.
Based in London, Bizik offers tailored customer service solutions, including telephone answering, email management, live chat management, and diary scheduling. Their internal team of UK-based professionals ensures that customer interactions are handled with a personal touch and high quality standards.
No offshore contact centre vibes. No robot voices. No mystery middlemen. Bizik only hires UK-based customer service agents. The people answering your calls and emails? They sound like they work for you – because they’re trained to feel like part of your customer service team.
Bizik’s Offerings:
- Telephone answering – starting at £29.99/month for up to 25 calls
- Live chat – from £54.99/month, or choose packages like:
- Chat40 – £148/month
- Chat100 – £360/month
- Chat160 – £560/month
- Chat250 – £850/month
- Diary management and appointment setting
- Email management
- Lead handling and call reporting
What makes Bizik different:
- You write the brief, set the tone, and approve responses
- They use your branding, FAQs, and language
- Calls and chats feel personal, not outsourced
- No one knows it’s not you – and that’s the point
And for small businesses who want to appear bigger without losing authenticity, it’s a dream setup.
Bizik’s exceptional service is evidenced by their customer reviews:
The Bizik team are incredible! The customer service is fabulous, the messages are always accurate! I utilise them when I’m on site in meetings. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend- looking forward to setting up Live Chat in the coming weeks!
Hutcheon Construction
Read our full review of Bizik here.
In-house vs outsourced: which is right for your customer experience?
Here’s the reality: if you’ve got the budget, time, and office space to hire them, in-house teams are brilliant, especially if you’re hiring them (yep, that’s right, we believe in you).
Unfortunately, most small businesses don’t have much time, budget, or office space spare.
| Feature | In-House | Outsourced (e.g. Bizik) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | High (salary + benefits) | Lower, flexible pricing |
| Setup Time | Weeks | Days |
| Availability | Office hours | Extended |
| Scalability | Slow | Instant |
| Training | You handle it | They do |
Outsourcing doesn’t mean losing control. It means gaining time, without losing quality. And it’s becoming a foundation for business growth.
“Will my customers know I’m outsourcing?”
We’re doing the short answer, long answer thing again.
Short answer: not if you choose the right partner.
Longer answer: 75% of customers still prefer to speak with a real person when resolving an issue, according to PWC. Bizik’s whole model is built around this truth.
- You stay in charge of scripts, tone, and brand
- The skilled agents sound like your in-house team
- Customers get fast, human level of care
- Nobody hears hold music or a robotic “your call is very important to us”
And that’s exactly how it should be.
Why This Matters:
- 73% of people prefer to contact a business by phone
- 75% of customers who leave negative reviews do so because of poor service
Signs it’s time to outsource
If you’re unsure, here’s a quick gut check. If any of these sound familiar, outsourcing might be overdue:
- You’re missing calls or emails regularly
- You spend evenings “catching up” on support queries
- You’ve Googled “how to clone myself” more than once
- You’ve had reviews saying “no one got back to me”
- You can’t afford to hire but desperately need help
It’s not a failure to need support. It’s a failure to ignore it.
How much does outsourcing cost?
It depends on your needs. Some providers charge by the minute, others offer flat-rate monthly packages.
But in general? It’s cheaper than a hiring process. No PAYE. No continuous training sessions. No sick days. Just a flexible level of service you can scale up or down as you grow.
According to Clutch, the average outsourced answering service in the UK ranges from £25-£45/hour. Monthly packages can be tailored to your needs:
- Solo operators – from £30/month
- Growing businesses – £150–£600/month depending on chat/call volume
- Multi-channel support – around £850/month for integrated chat, phone and diary
Compare that to hiring:
- One full-time receptionist – £19,000/year + pension + training + cover for holidays
- One social media answering customer support agent – £21,000/year
Outsourcing starts to make even more sense.
With, Bizik the pricing is transparent and clear. It’s also customisable, and best of all – predictable. You know what you’re paying. And you know what you’re getting.
- Telephone Answering: Starting from £29.99 per month.
- Managed Live Chat: Packages begin at £54.99 per month, with options like Chat40 at £148/month, Chat100 at £360/month, Chat160 at £560/month, and Chat250 at £850/month
These packages cater to varying business sizes and needs so you can find the right package for you.
Final thoughts: You don’t have to do it all
If running your business sometimes feels like being trapped in a never-ending game of email ping-pong, you’re not alone. And you’re not failing. You’re just doing too much.
Outsourcing customer service is no longer a compromise – it’s a strategy. One that helps you deliver a better customer experience, stay sane, and actually grow.
With providers like Bizik, you can get the help you need without sounding like someone else. Real, genuine people. Real support. Real relief.
Ready to stop doing it all? Read our full Bizik review here.
