Here’s why you should consider outsourcing your customer service

Importance of customer service

Your customer service team functions as the front line in interacting with your customers. They get to answer their concerns and inquiries, gather their feedback and suggestions, and assist them through navigating your business.

Your customer service handling reflects the image and branding of your business. You have to monitor every call, email, or chat message they receive and how your team handles each concern. A few unresolved issues may cause you to lose your existing customers and discourage your prospects over time. 

Why you should outsource your customer service

Hiring a customer service team in-house may be impractical in the long run, especially if you’re a small business. Aside from the labor costs and resources, you have to maintain your equipment, keep up with the latest updates in customer handling, and provide ongoing training for your teams for your products, services, and processes.

Outsourcing to a service provider or a BPO company, meanwhile, saves you from these hassles and maximizes your profitability. You also get to enjoy the following benefits:

Flexibility

With hiring in-house, letting go of employees when their demand gets low is difficult. This can cost you more for paying their labor, resources used, and the office space they consume. 

Outsourcing, on the other hand, gives you the flexibility to hire employees depending on your demand and the volume of work you need to accomplish. For instance, you get to outsource contact center operations during the holiday season, when your demand spikes up.

Large talent pool

Local employment limits your capacity in getting the best employees for your business. With outsourcing, you get to access a large pool of talents specializing in different aspects of customer service.

Your outsourcing partner can provide you with the best technical support, helpdesk support, and even non-voice teams depending on your needs and goals.

Cost reduction

Outsourcing your customer service also helps you save up to 70% on labor costs and resources. You get to hire a highly-skilled worker in a low-cost country such as the Philippines at a lower rate than their local counterpart in the West.

Aside from this, you won’t have to shed a portion of your budget for the equipment and technology needed. Rather, your outsourcing partner will provide this for your team. 

24/7 customer service operation

Outsourcing also gives you access to 24/7 operation that’s impossible in hiring in-house teams. Since your team works in a different timezone, you can delegate half of your team to work at night and another to work with you within your office hours.

Having 24/7 customer service has benefited businesses a lot especially during the pandemic when customer demands went up. 

Access to global talent

Lastly, you get to experience hiring a diverse set of global talent within your team. You cannot easily do this with in-house hiring since you have to provide the requirements needed for them to work in the office, such as visas, immigration forms, and other work documents. 

Through your outsourcing partner, you get to meet, work, and bond with your outsourced customer service team virtually or physically. You have the choice to either go to their country to meet them in person or request for them to fly to your country and meet your core team.

How to successfully outsource your customer service

Many businesses want to outsource their customer service but fail in the long run. It is either because they do not know how to start or 

Have clear objectives in place

Businesses who successfully outsource customer service have clear purpose and goals as to why they outsource. They have identified their customer concerns and have a plan on how to improve them.

Apply this to your plan as well. Set up clear objectives in outsourcing your customer service and what progress do you want to achieve, whether short term or long term.

Prepare your processes and metrics 

As much as possible, it is better to have processes and metrics in place. These, along with your company and product overview, will be helpful in training your remote employees. Your metrics, meanwhile, will give direction to your employees on the goals they should achieve while working with you.

You should not worry as well if you don’t have these yet and are just starting to hire your first team. Many outsourcing partners such as SixEleven are willing to help their clients in building their outsourced team and their processes.

Research about the rates in your preferred country 

Rates can also give consideration when outsourcing. Different companies and locations may charge differently depending on the services you’ll delegate.

In low-cost countries such as India and the Philippines, average calls are charged at around $8 to $10 per hour depending on use. Some nearshore countries have higher or lower charges due to their current resources and the cost of living allowance in the location.

Continuously communicate with your outsourcing partner

When you already found an outsourcing partner, keep in touch with them. It’s best to ask them their actual pricing structure, extra fees for additional services, and any other concerns arising at your billing before you sign a contract with them. 

Also, ask them how you can communicate and manage your team. A lot of service providers are now practicing modern outsourcing, where employee management is shared by both the client and their service providers. 

Find out ways to communicate with your team

Communication is now easier with Zoom, Skype, and other similar tools. Use this to reach out to them and directly get to know your employees. You can also set up remote team building activities using these platforms to engage with them more and train them easier.

At times, grab the chance to fly to their country and get to know them personally. Work with them for at least a week or two to personally identify their work styles and give time to incorporate your work culture.

Treat your team as an extension of your business

Lastly, nothing beats treating your remote employees as your own in-house ones. One of their struggles in working miles away from your office is the isolation from your entire office team. 

So, as much as possible, reward them for their hard work. Recognize their achievements and contributions to the company. Most importantly, introduce them to your in-house team and get them to work together.