Customer support service is a key element in business success. No…
Customer support service is a KEY ELEMENT IN BUSINESS SUCCESS.
Unfortunately, many companies struggle to respond to customer needs properly. Meanwhile, outsourcing customer service resolves that problem by providing superb 24/7 customer care. Such companies as Google, Apple, Samsung, and other world’s tech giants recruit outsourcing teams from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa as their workload is too heavy.
According to statistics, when a company hires an external help it:
- Cuts expenses on in-house operational services.
- Improves focus on core areas of the business.
- Improves the quality of support services by getting help from specialists.
- Gets an opportunity to reinforce internal sources.
Read more about the services and advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing practice.
Services of Outsource Team
Outsourcing some of your business processes doesn’t mean that service is less valuable. Just like a car needs every part of it to keep running, a business needs every service to function efficiently. But some functions are secondary to your business’s main focus. And those could be outsourced. Customer care service is one of them.
Their services include:
- Thoroughly studying client’s business.
- Considering client’s needs, demands and expectations.
- Training a team and ensuring that each agent is fully prepared to help the client’s customers.
- Launching the service.
- Assisting customers with their issues and demands.
As you can see, outsourcing companies put a lot of time and effort into developing the best support service for their clients. It is something that businesses usually struggle to do on their own. Therefore, it is OK to get better customer support by outsourcing.
Advantages of Customer Service in Outsource
Several significant points will be mentioned except for obvious small pros like less headache and more coverage.
- Define your audience.
- Establish a brand voice.
- Research numerous alternatives.
- Mind the legal and safety threats.
- Learn more about the chosen agencies.
- Check the portfolios and success stories.
- Build trusted relationships.
A lot depends on how you communicate with the selected outsourced agency. Anyway, there are some common pros and cons of customer service in outsourcing, and we will have a look at each of them.
1. Reduced Costs (All Types)
Customer service is the backbone of any commercial business and e-commerce support. Nothing can hurt the reputation of an online business more than customer dissatisfaction. No matter how good your product is, if your customer service fails, your business fails.
However, online companies don’t usually have a budget to hire an in-house client support staff. It is a complex process that includes recruiting services, onboarding and training, office rental, and equipment expenses. That’s when outsourcing comes to the core.
There are different types of costs to consider:
- Operational.
- Overhead.
- Labor.
- Infrastructure.
One of the main pros of outsourcing is that some of these costs are not even involved. Basically, you just need to pay for the labor. Leave such things as equipment and retaining to the agency responsible for a customer care team for your company. The savings are significant!
2. Round-the-Clock Support for a Fraction of the Price
Every good client support service should be available 24/7. Otherwise, it does not make sense. Because of the different time zones, users from various regions of the world may require help at night, and the mission of a customer care department is to process those queries as soon as possible. With the outsourcing companies that specialize in creating customer support teams, you’ll be able to get professionals available 24/7 at a fee that will not break the bank.
There are a couple of reasons why it helps to improve your business.
- It elevates your customers’ experience, which directly contributes to your business success. According to the report, 84% of companies that work towards enhancing their customer experience see a rise in their revenue.
- It is a great way to outperform your competitors and be on the leading edge of your industry.
In short, hiring an outsourcing partner lets a team of specialists take care of your customers’ needs and develop your business while you sleep.
3. Flexibility and Scalability
Companies with too many customers will especially benefit from hiring an experienced, trusted outsourcing customer service. It is way better than recruiting hundreds of employees for great money. Professional companies that create different business teams possess the infrastructure necessary to scale up fast. Thanks to the flexible work, none of your clients will stay without a response.
4. Increasing productivity
Since trusting an outsourcing provider to manage your customer support saves you time and money, you get more resources for business growth. You can invest those funds in product development, business expansion, or whatever you weren’t able to do due to a lack of resources.
5. Generating leads
Your outsourcing partner represents your company before your clients. They work tirelessly to help your business succeed. That process includes finding leads. Customer service is a lead-generating channel. With the right outsourcing strategy and communication approach, a support team can help your sales department increase the number of leads and develop stronger ties with clients.
6. Greater Variety of Language Options
By hiring outsourced customer support representatives, a company automatically erases the language barriers as such teams can speak many languages. Agencies that offer such recruiting services tend to hire experts from different regions to prevent your customer from facing confusing situations. Except for English, you should have services at least in the most spread languages of the world like Chinese, German, Russian, Spanish, French, etc. Besides, having multi-language support is a huge advantage for any business.
7. Faster Response Times
You will get more hands available. In other words, the response time will be reduced. It is one of the major drivers of client satisfaction. No one likes waiting in lines.
Cons of Customer Service in Outsource
There are always two sides to the coin. You may wonder which of these is not an advantage of outsourcing? We will name some of the risks that you might face.
1. Absence of Direct Control & Monitoring
Having an outsourced team of experts means that you do not directly impact them. They report to the managers of the agency that you have chosen. The only way to give instructions to the outsourced staff is through contacting the project or human resource manager.
2. Potentially Decreased Client Satisfaction Rate
One of the obvious cons of outsourcing is the possible decrease in customer satisfaction rate. According to MIT Sloan School of Management’s research, offshore outsourcing often may lead to a drop in quality. The personnel you recruit with the help of some agencies will have different projects in mind, unlike in-house workers who focus only on your business.
3. Obstacles to the Effective Communication
Such things as language barriers or lack of company knowledge may be why some businesses refuse to hire outsourced staff. It may be up to you as a company representative to get the recruited experts acquainted with your service’s culture, goals, and values.
“I don’t know if it is a relevant investment”. Sound Familiar? Read This.
Many business owners turn to customer support outsourcing when they realize that it’s becoming too hard for them to rely on their own resources for managing customer service. However, due to some misconceptions, they have second thoughts about outsourcing customer service pros and cons. Here’s what they think will happen:
- It’s going to cost me a fortune.
- I will lose control over their customers.
- I will get poor-quality service.
However, the reality is quite the opposite:
- I will get a top-notch service that will help my business.
- They will handle all back-office workload.
- They will allow my employees to focus on their main tasks and business development.
Final Thoughts
Considering all advantages listed above, you can conclude that customer support outsourcing can enhance your business processes. Indeed, it might become the ultimate solution to some of your operational issues. When outsourcing over maintaining an in-house team, you get a higher quality customer support service at a cheaper cost. That means satisfied customers and saving resources, which is a win-win situation.
If you’re looking for the best way to provide your clients with the support service they deserve, call center support today and talk to our representative. Let our dedicated team take care of your customers while you’re taking care of your business goals!
