Outsourcing Customer Support: A Beginner’s Guide
Customer service has become the backbone of any modern organisation, especially those in eCommerce and SaaS, in today’s market, when consumers have more choices than ever before. However, a corporation may not have the resources or the willpower to provide excellent customer service at all times. That’s where customer service outsourcing comes into play.
But where do you start if you’ve never outsourced customer service before? What steps should you take to ensure that everything runs smoothly? These are the steps a company should take if it decides to outsource support.
Why Should Customer Service Be Outsourced?
Getting in touch with businesses was a time-consuming task until recently. It was also more difficult to reach a company’s support employees as it grew larger or busier.
Knowing how long they would have to wait to speak with a customer service representative, many customers decided to handle their problems on their own. However, as the on-demand economy grows and customers can purchase services on the fly, businesses are stepping up their customer care efforts as well. Not just major corporations, but even startups, should prioritize customer service from the start. This is because excellent customer service establishes a company’s reputation from the start.
The question now is whether you should outsource customer service or not, as no firm can prosper without providing exceptional support to its customers.
In the following instances, outsourcing your support service makes sense. :
- You’ve recently started your company and want to get it off to a good start with the help of an experienced support team.
- A support-focused external organisation can complete the task more quickly than you can.
- You have a staffing shortage and are thus unable to provide timely assistance.
- Your company is massive, which necessitates a far more efficient customer service department.
- Setting up your own customer service department is too expensive.
In general, it is less expensive to outsource customer care than it is to hire your own in-house support team. For example, hiring a customer service representative would cost around $48,193 per year in compensation plus additional costs such as computer and phone charges, recruitment costs, and other overheads.
The entire sum you’d have to give up would be more than $67,000. Outsourcing the same service, on the other hand, will cost you roughly $19,000-$20,000 per year, which covers infrastructure, training, and administration.
What to Think About When Outsourcing General or Technical Support
Finding a suitable vendor is essential for getting the right outsourcing solutions for your company. The ideal contractor will have the appropriate expertise, resources, and a positive reputation. Here are three key estimates to keep in mind as you begin your journey to outsource your customer service:
The Scope of Customer Service
Begin by calculating the average number of interactions your company has with consumers. Even if you’re just getting started, you can estimate how many interactions you’ll have in the beginning. This number will assist the outsourcing provider in determining the number of dedicated agents and infrastructure resources required.
Business Development
Before making a long-term commitment, a business owner must account for growth. That implies you’ll need a scalable outsourced solution to meet your customer service needs. A good remote customer service provider should be able to respond swiftly to an increase in customer interactions and vice versa.
Charges that aren’t disclosed and that aren’t included
When planning your budget for general or tech support outsourcing, you may come across some unexpected expenditures. As a result, you may need to spend more money on onboarding training, technological challenges, and so on. As a result, it’s a good idea to add a buffer to the initial outsourced customer service cost estimate.
Steps to Take When Dealing with Customer Service Outsourcing Firms
You will normally go through a couple of phases when selecting one of the many customer service outsourcing businesses. These are the following:
Analyze the business
The first step in working with an outsourced customer service provider is to conduct a thorough analysis of your company. The provider must be familiar with your company’s operations, as well as the products and services you supply and the demands of your customers. The subcontractor can then choose the best support tools and channels (email, live chat, phone, etc.) for you and your clients after a thorough investigation.
Training for customer service representatives
Team training is the next step. Before they can connect with your clients, the outsourced technical support must go through onboarding. Several training sessions as well as meetings with your business representatives are part of this procedure. During this phase, the new team gets to know your company’s needs and what you expect from the collaboration. It could take up to two weeks.
Testing
After the outsourcing provider has gathered all of the information about your business, the support team is put to the test to see if they understand your business and your requirements well enough to manage your customers’ questions and difficulties.
Implementation
Your new customer support crew is ready to work after the onboarding and analysis processes are completed. Despite the fact that the support tasks are not performed on your premises, most outsourcing companies allow their clients to observe how their team interacts with customers on a regular basis. You can also receive reports on these contacts on a monthly or as-needed basis.
Improvements
Following that, the new support team continues to improve and adapt to your company’s demands. As a company, you must keep your employees informed about new products, services, stores, and so on.
Putting Everything Together
If your firm is having trouble meeting customer support demands, outsourcing help is the best option. Outsourced customer service can help your company save money and time. With this comprehensive guide, you now know how to prepare for outsourcing and what procedures to take while outsourcing customer service.
