Are you wondering how you should outsource customer service? Or perhaps wondering how an outsourced staff can cut costs significantly, saving you money and resources, and providing better customer retention for your customer base? Outsourcing customer service entails hiring a third party company to provide your support services for you.
However, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, as outsourcing does not mean that it will fix all your customer service department, internal team, and customer experience problems!
You need to carefully weigh the pros and cons, especially when an outsourced company could be directly interacting with your potential customers, handling customer service calls, etc. In other words, the quality of service is in the hands of an outsourcing team.
There are several factors that you should consider before entering into a customer service outsourcing partnership, and several to keep in mind as the partnership develops.
There are several factors that you should consider before entering into a customer service outsourcing partnership, and several to keep in mind as the partnership develops.
In this article, we’ll explore customer service outsourcing in detail. We’ll go over its benefits, challenges and 4 steps you ABSOLUTELY KNOW on how to outsource customer service. So let’s get started!
1. Establish Clear Goals, Strategies And Expectations
2. International Or Domestic
3. Legal And Security Risks
4. Do Research On How To Outsource Customer Service
4.1. Focus On Training Your Outsourced Customer Service Partner
4.2. Maintain Communication With Your Outsourced Customer Service Partner
Conclusion On How To Outsource Customer Service
Learning how to outsource customer service is not just about doing things as cheaply as possible and providing your customers with a second-rate experience.
The old-school offshore call centers and BPOs that earned such a bad reputation in the past are on their way out and are being replaced by more niche-specific companies that are staffed with highly-trained specialists.
Today, the first thing to prioritise on how to outsource customer service is ACTUALLY about doing your best to fulfill the needs and expectations of your customers and leaving them with positive experiences.
1. Establish Clear Goals, Strategies, And Expectations
Before considering how to outsource customer services, you need to develop a customer service strategy and be clear on your objectives.
If your long-term goal is to reduce expenses (cost savings), set a target of how much you want to save before you enter into a negotiation. If you are more interested in allowing your staff more time to focus on core tasks, make sure the outsourced team can cover the non-core tasks your staff was doing before.
These can be customer service processes usually done by the in-house team but with lesser priority but more repetitive steps. Such as monitoring online live chats, handling customer inquiries and basic answering services, etc.
If what you’re looking for is an increased level of customer support and customer satisfaction carried out by trained professionals, then make sure your potential BPO partner understands this and can deliver. Whatever your goals may be, they must be agreed upon at the top levels of your company.
2. International Or Domestic
Outsourcing internationally is almost always cheaper than outsourcing domestically.
A comparably low cost of living can allow for the recruitment of top-tier support professionals. You can pay them a comfortable wage while still spending significantly less than you would for customer support reps of a similar calibre in your home country.
Another major benefit of outsourcing customer service reps internationally is the large pool of talent available. Some countries are home to millions of customer service professionals looking for meaningful work with growing companies.
For companies that wish to increase their service quality and global reach, there’s the opportunity to hire multilingual support employees that eliminates language barriers and can communicate with your new customers effectively. Add to this the ability to cover multiple time zones so your customers can expect round the clock care and there are many reasons to outsource internationally
Domestic outsourcing can be more expensive but offers cultural and linguistic familiarity. If most of your customer base is domestic, support agents based in your home country may understand your customer’s communication style, issues and concerns more easily.
However, with the proper training and cultural familiarization, international customer service staff and agents can handle pretty much any question that domestic agents can.
3. Legal And Security Risks
Before understanding how to outsource customer service, business owners should always review their internal security before allowing external, third-party remote employees access to your system. Be aware of the risks related to sensitive customer data that may be provided to them. Restrict access to certain information such as your client’s credit card details, health records, etc.
When you strike a deal with a third party, you need to pay close attention to the contract and service level agreements. Have your legal team, or hire an attorney, review any paperwork, and don’t be afraid to suggest changes or additions if needed.
Don’t forget to include conditions that allow you a quick and easy ‘divorce’ should you wish to discontinue the relationship at any point. For example, the service level agreements should include conditions whereby if the level of quality assurance is not met, there should be a review or termination of the contract, etc.
4. Do Research On How To Outsource Customer Service
Conduct an online search for forum posts, blogs, or social media that mention clients of the company you are interested in as a partner.
Consumer reviews or complaints can give you great insight into a typical customer service experience. Conduct test inquiries by calling or messaging the customer service of your potential partner’s clients.
Other factors can also show the effectiveness of a remote customer service team. Obtain statistics from your potential partner and analyze their average handle time, first contact resolution, as well as other metrics that can shed light on their productivity.
Learn how this company monitors its quality assurance, how many calls they take into account, and how transparent its rating system is. The absence of adequate quality control may indicate low responsibility and bad service which may ultimately lead to frustrated customers which you would want to avoid as business owners.
We have also covered a list of the best customer support companies so that you can make a better choice.
4.1. Focus On Training Your Outsourced Customer Service Partner
One of the main reasons businesses outsource customer service operations is to reduce costs related to training. While a reputable BPO partner will provide highly-trained customer support agents with experience handling different situations you still need to work to ensure your new partner understands your business culture, your customer demographics, and how they like to interact with your brand.
Your company’s voice is its identity. Your customers are used to the way you speak to them whether that’s through a text, phone call, or through your marketing. An outsourced customer support team should sound exactly like your in-house team of support staff. So how do you train your outsourced support team to better manage customer expectations and keep your customer relationship strong?
You could create a set of guidelines that specify the minimum quality standards such as what words or phrases your team can say or which ones they should avoid. Conduct role plays or training process that portrays hypothetical scenarios on the different types of customer service issues that they may have to face in the future and guide and correct their reactions.
You would also need to set up a shared knowledge bank for your outsourced customer support agents to use as a reference. This might include a product manual, training process videos, customer interaction guidelines, and answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs).
4.2. Maintain Communication With Your Outsourced Customer Service Partner
Just like any marriage, excellent two-way communication is the key to success. There needs to be sustained and ongoing discussions about the things that are going well and the things that aren’t going so well that need improvement.
Your partner needs to be kept in the loop about feedback from customers too. Any important information relevant to your in-house staff about changes to your policy, product line, or services, also needs to be relayed to your outsourcing partners as soon as possible.
Business owners could consider appointing an internal member of staff whose duty is to facilitate effective communication between the parent company and the outsourcing partner. This should help to prevent mishaps like forgetting to keep your partner informed and updated. It should help to avoid misunderstandings about customer expectations, training, performance, and procedures as well.
Conclusion On How To Outsource Customer Service
Great customer service is the hallmark of a great company and outsourcing can help you scale up your business and lower expenses all while maintaining a high standard of customer service.
Whether it’s in-house or outsourced, customer service is critical to the growth of your business and your customers will be the ultimate judges of its quality. That’s why it’s so important to do research and make an informed decision before entering into a partnership with a customer service provider.
Experience, skills and geographical location are all important factors when deciding if a partnership is right for you but remember, whether you outsource one business process or many, the goal is always the same: to reduce your burdens so that you and your team can focus on growing your business.
If you are still wondering how to outsource customer service, we are currently offering a free trial and consultation for our services.
Why Choose Pure Moderation As Your Outsourced Customer service Vendor
As a global BPO vendor specializing in a range of services, including customer service, our priority is to provide affordable solutions that are custom-tailored to the individual needs of our partners. Every business is unique and has specialized needs. We offer bespoke customer support services to suit any industry and size of organisation and offer the ability to quickly scale up or down as needed to suit changes in business needs and goals.
With a large pool of highly competent customer service agents with a perfect blend of skill, expertise, and experience, our clients can get an edge over the competition with our flexible and reliable customer support services.
Working with us allows your business to operate efficiently, cost-effectively, and with insight into the ever-increasing amount of data your business produces while providing excellent customer care.
Streamlining your operations is crucial when trying to achieve future growth and vital functions such as data management must, therefore, be handed over to the professionals.
To learn more about our customer support outsourcing services and the value that they can bring your business,
💬 Chat with us on our website for a free consultation and trial.
or Email: chris@puremoderation.com
Frequently Asked Questions On How To Outsource Customer Service
Why Customer Service Is Outsourced?
Outsourcing your customer service ensures your customers or prospects receive the help and support they need when they need them. This will help them feel happier and leave you feeling less stressed with repetitive tasks. As a result, top service providers such as Pure Moderation can take on more demand shifts better than in-house customer support services.
How Do You OutSource Customer Service?
Outsourcing is a common act of hiring a third party or external company to perform services traditionally performed in house by the company’s staff and employees. It’s a common practice for companies to outsource their operations.
What Are Outsourced Services?
When a business outsources a service, it means getting someone else instead of doing it themselves. Small companies to large enterprises often outsource specific tasks so they can focus on growing their core competencies.
Why You May Want To OutSource?
There are many good reasons why you may want to outsource as business owners. Hiring in-house employees require you to pay for their salaries and other costs like government benefits and insurance. Additional costs also include paying for equipment and the costs of onboarding and training a new employee. When you outsource to an external team, you are only paying for the service they provide!
When I hired contract workers, outsource my customer services, including call center employees, I don’t need to furnish customer service reps with equipment, further saving my money. A computer and all the necessary software could cost upward of $1,000, while a good headset would cost more than $60.
Thanks for leaving your comment. customer service outsourcing is one of our expertise, please have a chat with us on our website or send us an email to chris@puremoderation.com for any questions
All the steps shared in this post are effective for OUTSOURCE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Apart from these points, I want to mention another important point here. The importance of customer support cannot be underestimated, it has the power to boost your customer satisfaction rate and radically impact your referral rate.
All the steps shared in this post are effective for OUTSOURCE CUSTOMER SERVICE. Apart from these points, I want to mention another important point here. The importance of customer support cannot be underestimated, it has the power to boost your customer satisfaction rate and radically impact your referral rate.
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