Your business's reputation is based on the customer service you provide. In the last ten years, customer service has become a highly specialized field due to changes in consumer expectations and behaviors as well as rapid technological advances. Outsourcing customer service is an excellent way for businesses of any size to save money while also pursuing cost-saving measures.
It's true. Your organization will grow and change. This growth will often show up in the way you treat your potential customers. You don't want your customer base to increase while customer satisfaction and customer service experience suffer.
In this situation, companies often pose the same question: should we outsource customer service? The answer to this question will depend on your previous customer support experience in outsourcing. This article will clear up any confusion you may have and give you the answers to the questions you should ask before you decide to outsource. Is this the best choice for you?
You may be asked questions such as We have made significant cost savings, but are these savings achieving their intended goal of providing the best service to our loyal customers? Business owners often need help deciding whether or not to move customer service calls. You can use the points in this blog to perform a benefit-risk analysis and determine what is best for your company.
What is Customer Service Outsourcing?
The practice of outsourcing customer service involves businesses hiring a third party outside their company to manage the process. The external company is your customer's point of contact if your clients have any questions or concerns about your product or service. Outsourcing can be done for the entire operation or just a part of it, such as departmental support during peak times, etc. You can also choose between a variety of options, such as omnichannel and multichannel services, shared or dedicated, offshore or onshore, or both.
Why Do Companies Outsource Customer Service?
Many reasons exist for companies to outsource customer service. Low operational costs are one of the reasons. To reduce their costs, some start-ups choose not to employ a support team full-time. As businesses grow, it becomes increasingly more work for them to maintain the demand for customer service staff and equipment.
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The Benefits of Outsourcing Customer Service
To help you make a well-informed decision, here's an overview of the advantages of outsourcing your customer service to a reputable third-party agency. Continue reading to learn how outsourcing customer context service can benefit your business.
Cost-Savings
Cost reduction is the main reason businesses outsource services. It can reduce the costs of hiring, training, and onboarding, as well as space requirements and infrastructure. In addition, having an outsourced team allows you to avoid paying the entire salary and all employee benefits. Outsourcing can help your company save thousands each year. Outsourcing to countries where wages are lower in your own country can also be a smart way to save money.
Reducing Workload
The responsibility of providing excellent customer service can take a lot of work. Maintaining customer relations and maintaining service standards are all very demanding jobs. Your internal staff can focus their efforts on more important tasks by outsourcing customer service. It reduces the workload of your team, especially if you have limited resources. This allows them to focus on other essential aspects of their growth strategy.
The pressure of customer service is often high. This is a time-consuming endeavor, which requires that you work continuously to build and maintain a meaningful customer relationship with your clients. You may be overwhelmed if you have limited resources and want to increase. You may need help to concentrate on the most critical business functions. Outsourcing your customer service platform in such a case can relieve you of a huge burden, leaving you more time to focus on the most important aspects of your business growth strategy.
Flexible Payments
Select flexible plans that allow you to choose the type and time of coverage for your service. If you have a small staff, it cannot be easy to provide 24/7 assistance or support during busy seasons or holidays. Outsourcing customer service can be helpful in these situations. You can choose the preferred channels you would like to use - such as email, social media platforms, phone, chat or online chat.
Effective Customer Service Management
It is challenging to build a team of highly-skilled professionals who can handle customer service management. It will take a great deal of time and effort to train the team, as well as set up all the necessary equipment. Outsourcing, on the other hand, will give you a couple of specialists who are well-equipped to handle your customer support services. The whole operation can be made more practical for a small fraction of the price.
It is an effort to build a team of customer service representatives from the ground up. Not only that, but it can be expensive! Hiring the best talent and training them can take months. It is also necessary to establish processes, workflows, and transparent processes. The cost of customer service software is also a significant investment.
Top-tier outsourcing providers will be equipped with the resources and processes necessary to handle customer requests of different levels of complexity. This makes them more efficient and reduces the turnaround time for customers.
Shorter Response Times
Call centers are constantly striving to reduce response time. Call centers can achieve faster turnaround time by employing more staff, accommodating longer hours of support, and utilizing the latest technologies.
Better Technology & Automation
To be successful in providing customer service, you must be available across multiple channels. This can only be achieved by integrating several platforms into an omnichannel approach. Customers expect personalized service via all communication channels, including mobile and PC devices, even outside of business hours. To provide the best possible customer service, third-party call centers use state-of-the-art technology. Call centers can address calls more efficiently with IVRs, Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Phone Systems.
The Drawbacks of Outsourcing Customer Service
Outsourcing customer service has its pros and cons. There will be times when an internal team is the better option.
Probability of a Decrease in Customer Satisfaction
Outsourcing customer service is a significant concern for business owners. You cannot expect external employees to be as passionate about their work as the staff you have in-house. On the one hand, you can expect that the agents at the call centers will give your customers their full attention, but on the other, they cannot guarantee this. The reason for this is the fact that several companies employ them. This problem can be solved by hiring dedicated staff to handle customer calls but at a price.
If you'd instead do this in-house, a software contact center solution can help. This software can automate and streamline a large part of your customer service processes, allowing you to operate more efficiently. In addition, by handling customer service calls internally, your employees can interact with customers directly in a way that is beneficial for your business.
Missing Business Knowledge
You may find that the external company you choose needs to understand your organization's culture and values. To keep your employees informed of new services or products, pricing changes, or other aspects of the business, it is essential to update them regularly. You should ensure your customer service agents follow the business protocol and provide the latest information to customers using a Knowledge Management System. A study found that 30% of respondents felt the best customer service comes from a friendly and knowledgeable agent.
Data Isolation: Examples
A significant disadvantage of outsourcing customer service is the fact that valuable customer data exists in separate silos, making it impossible to gain valuable insight as you need. You can't get a complete picture of the issues that customers are facing, and you cannot identify trends in customer requirements or future product developments.
Safety Concerns
During customer service, there may be times when sensitive information must be shared between the center and the customer. The firm that you outsource your business to must be certified with enterprise-grade certifications to protect and safeguard the data of the customers. Security issues could cost your business money and reputation.
Personal Attention is Lacking
You'll want to make sure that everything you do that bears your name is top-notch. Outsourcing customer service cannot guarantee quality or passion, as your partner may be serving multiple clients simultaneously, and you might not be the top priority. You can hire an outsourced partner to provide a team of dedicated agents who will handle your customer service, but it will be costly.
Read More: What is Good Customer Service?
The Best Ways to Outsource Customer Service
Customer service and customer experience are now a priority. After one bad experience, the customer will move on. This is the reason you may be hesitant to outsource. Before you decide to outsource customer service, weigh the pros and cons. You can use the best practices as a guide when you are outsourcing your customer service.
Establish Clear Goals
Outline a set of goals that explains the what and why of outsourcing support - whether you are looking to reduce costs, increase service hours or improve quality. Consider the contract type, the skill set required, the service hours, the technology used, etc. Outsourcing customer service teams should be given clear instructions on what you expect so they can achieve your objectives.
Train to Control Training and Quality
Call centers will have customer support teams of customer service representatives who are responsible for handling multiple calls at once. The call center staff must be familiar with your company values and technical information about your products or services. It would be best if you considered the impact of linguistic and cultural barriers on your brand.
Use a learning system to take control of your training. Focus on your unique culture, product details and brand image. It's also essential to track the services delivered to achieve the desired service goals.
Regular Meetings and Review Discussions
To know the status of customer service, it's essential to keep in touch with service representatives. It helps to eliminate bottlenecks, which can appear from time to time. These reviews will help you assess how well your service is performing and where you can improve it to reach the next level. This will help you understand the product changes that are needed to satisfy your customers' expectations.
How to Analyze Customer Service Strategy Success
Outsourcing customer service is a great way to ensure that you achieve your goals. You should know how you're doing in meeting your cost targets, response time, customer satisfaction, and any other plans on the list. To identify any performance gaps, you should analyze the agent's performance in terms of their knowledge bases about the product, communication abilities, rate at which they resolve issues, etc. Tell them how frequently you would like to conduct satisfaction surveys. To measure customer satisfaction, you should also ask for reports periodically from the call center.
Select Your Call Centre Carefully
Select a partner that can relate effectively to your needs, goals and values. Numerous call centers offer different services based on call volume, specialization and budget. Select the provider that best suits your business requirements. Consider the language, time zone, level of expertise, security, etc.
What Kinds of Customer Service Outsourcing Exist?
When deciding whether to outsource customer service, it is important to be aware of the many available options. Consider carefully the options below and choose what suits you best.
Multichannel vs. Omnichannel Support
Supporting customers through multiple channels, such as email, phone, and live chat, is known as multichannel support. You can deliver seamless, integrated service to customers across various touchpoints with Omnichannel Support.
Multichannel outsourcing is an excellent option if you only have a few channels and manage a small volume of requests. If your customers are interacting with you through different devices, channels and touchpoints, they must receive consistent service. Omnichannel customer service improves the experience of customers and boosts satisfaction.
Offshore Service Providers vs. Onshore Service Providers
When outsourcing your customer service, it is essential to decide whether to use onshore or offshore call centers. This will usually depend on the location of your clients. It would be best if you took into consideration factors such as language, culture, technology infrastructure and time zones when making this decision. India, the United States, the Philippines and South Africa are popular destinations for outsourcing customer service.
Shared vs Dedicated Customer Support Agents
Shared customer service involves agents who support multiple clients at the same time. Shared outsourced customer services are best suited for companies that only require a little customization and whose customer service can be understood easily.
Suppose your customers are complicated and require a deep understanding of the products, services and brands you represent. In that case, it is best to consider an outsourced provider. The provider will work exclusively for you and can tailor the services to meet your needs. Your customers will be happy, and you'll increase their customer retention.
How to Choose the Best Customer Support Outsourcing Service?
By choosing the right BPO, you can reduce limitations and maximize benefits. We'll look at the four most important questions you should ask yourself before selecting a BPO.
Call Centers: Remote or Physical?
The popularity of remote work has many great reasons. You may already be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of remote working if you have remote workers or if you are considering expanding your remote workforce. The same advantages and disadvantages apply when deciding which type of call center to use. Remote support agents are a great way to improve a BPO:
- BPOs can source talent for remote workers just as they do with other remote jobs. They keep their hiring and recruiting pipelines open by location.
- You can be assured that if your customer service agents have been physically distributed, a weather event or power failure will not affect your ability to serve customers.
- Remote working correlates to things such as higher employee well-being, fewer absences without notice, and increased employee loyalty.
If you use a BPO instead of a call center, then these advantages are not available. A physical call center is often able to solve a major problem of using remote entire teams: the creation of camaraderie. Make sure you put in extra effort to build connections between the remote unit and your employees if you choose to hire a customer service outsourced.
Read More: Why Is It Crucial For Businesses To Offer Good Customer Service?
Outsourcing on an International or Domestic Basis
Often, when discussing outsourcing, it is assumed that the work will be moved to another country. This is a common assumption, but it's usually false. Outsourcing your satisfied customer service to a BPO in the US may make sense. Outsourcing internationally almost always results in a lower cost. When a country's cost of living is lower than where you are located, you can hire top-tier support staff and pay them well while spending less money than you would on high-quality support agents from your own country.
Outsourcing internationally has a second significant advantage: you can find many talented people in different time zones. In some countries, such as the Philippines, there are millions of professionals in customer service looking to work for growing businesses.
Two main advantages of domestic outsourcing are worth considering. First, there is the benefit of cultural familiarity. Trained support agents will be able to better understand your customers' complex issues and concerns if the majority of them are domestic. With a proper training program, however, agents from abroad can answer any questions that agents in the US can.
Second, perception is a significant advantage of domestic outsourcing. Outsourcing work overseas might not be seen favorably in some cultures. This decision is not to be taken lightly. Consider domestic outsourcing if you think your customers will be upset if you shift work abroad.
Don't believe you have to choose only between domestic or international outsourcing. A hybrid model that includes both domestic and international customer service agents is often a great way to achieve fantastic results. In hybrid models, you may segment work according to the skills of each team or find temporary solutions while training international agents.
What is the Best Location to Outsource?
You've determined that you will reap more excellent benefits by using BPOs with agents in another country. The next question, therefore, is: Which country should you choose? As we have seen in the section before, some countries are rich in talent and can be excellent locations for international outsourcing. India, Mexico, Central America and the Philippines are some of the most popular places to outsource internationally.
When choosing an outsourcing location, the most important thing to think about is your company's needs. If you want customer service agents that speak European languages, then you should look at Eastern Europe. Mexico and the Philippines are great options if you need agents that speak both English and Spanish. The Philippines offers a good choice for general English customer service outsourcing.
The Philippines has many call center workers who are college educated and speak English fluently with only a slight accent. Agents in the Philippines can work in any time zone. This is a great choice for those who want a 24/7 operation. Other factors to be considered include the literacy rate, technological infrastructure and political stability.
Shared or Dedicated Agents
Businesses often outsource customer service to BPOs, which use agents that multiple companies share. This option is necessary when your ticket volume or budget is low, but it can also cause some problems.
Shared agents may need help with becoming intimately acquainted with your product or intelligently answering happy customer questions. Consider sending only simple tickets, such as password resets, to your team. As you may expect, dedicated agents are focused solely on supporting your business. It has a variety of benefits:
- Agents can be dedicated to becoming familiarized with your brand, product and culture.
- Integrating dedicated agents into your team is more accessible.
- Agents who are saved can develop a deeper understanding of the company's marketing strategy and provide more customer feedback that can help improve products and services.
Make Sure to Conduct Research Before Action
It is essential to be informed about the customer service you offer, as it will determine whether or not you retain a client. Relationship marketing requires passion and dedication to make every contact productive and positive. Take time to consider carefully the pros and cons listed on the blog before outsourcing or hiring a team. When you choose to outsource your work, consider the firm's level of expertise, its quality assurance practices, its training program, and other details that will directly impact customer service. Analyze the risks of sharing sensitive data.
If you value privacy and autonomy, then an in-house service will be the right choice for you. If you provide your staff with excellent training and ensure that they are available around the clock, managing in-house services will be easy.
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Bottom Line
Customer service is crucial to your company's growth. It can be challenging to trust someone when you outsource your customer service. That's why research is so crucial to making an informed choice.
Make sure you put in extra effort to build connections between the remote unit and your employees if you choose to hire outsourcing services. Outsourcing is a great way to scale up your business and improve customer service. Outsourcing to a BPO that has a good reputation may help you unlock future reference growth if you are struggling to keep up with your customer service queue and provide exemplary customer care.
