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The trend to outsource customer service has been around for years, but it has become increasingly popular with businesses throughout the world. The decision to outsource has many benefits, but there are also negative aspects.
Let's Begin with Definitions
What Does It Mean to Outsource Your Customer Support?
You might be wondering what it means to "outsource your customer service". Before we delve into the specific pros and cons that you can expect when outsourcing customer service, it's important to know some basic definitions. Although you might have heard of outsourced customer service, you might not know exactly what it entails.
Rather than have an in-house team to handle your customer service needs, those companies that outsource their customer service department relies on a third-party contact center that's staffed with customer service reps to assist with their customer service operations. This means that these third-party call center operations can help handle both inbound and outbound calls in addition to non-verbal customer communication. One of the biggest reasons to use outsourced call centers that focus on the customer support department is to save both time and resources.
Why Do People Outsource?
Running a business comes with many responsibilities and moving parts that you might not be able to handle on your own. How can you focus on keeping your operations up and running if you're constantly trying to make sure that your customers are happy? This is where call center outsourcing is especially beneficial.
Whether you're a business owner or you're simply interested in learning about the benefits of hiring an outsourced customer service provider, quality control is incredibly important. You always want to make sure that your customers and potential customers are having a pleasant experience with your brand, helping to drive customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Finding the right customer service providers who know and understand your brand can help business owners focus on other areas of the business and save time and money.
Outsourcing customer service is just one example of business processes that are being outsourced in today's fast-paced workplace. Other examples include outsourcing personal tasks, production, delivery, marketing, and more. It's important to find experienced customer service providers who understand your industry and how to interact with your customers. Trust is incredibly important when it comes to calling center outsourcing as these people are acting as extensions of your business. Let's get into some specifics about outsourcing customer service pros and cons.
Pros of Outsourced Customer Service
Even if you currently have an in-house team that's dedicated to increasing customer satisfaction, there are many pros to outsourcing customer service that you might not have considered yet.
Helps with Stress
Dealing with customers can sometimes be pleasant but it also has the potential to be tiring and cumbersome. This stress can build up and take a toll on the performance of your employees. When a company is outsourcing its customer support, the entire internal team can rest with the satisfaction of knowing they have a fully-committed team taking care of the duties. The company should keep a close eye on its performance, but it will not have to deal with every inquiry, which will help keep the stress of running customer support out of sight.
Save Money
One of the biggest reasons companies choose to outsource their customer support is to reduce costs. By outsourcing, the company can have customer support work done for a fraction of the price versus hiring an in-house team to take care of this responsibility. This also allows companies to skip costs such as vacation pay and health insurance when outsourcing customer service. In fact, research has indicated that a company can save up to 60% in operational costs when they outsource their customer support via a contact center or a call center.
You Won't Have to Train them
Sure, most people are capable of using a phone or sending an email with ease, meaning they'll be able to step in and help with your customer service needs. However, it isn't as easy to make a call or an email inviting and personable, helping to create a warm and pleasant experience for your potential and current customers. By outsourcing your customer support, you will be able to hire representatives and managers that already have these skills and knowledge, so you won't have to waste time and resources training them. Many people who work for contact centers are highly trained in specific industries as well, so you can trust that they understand the jargon that your business uses when speaking with customers.
Make a Great Impression on Customers
If you're a business owner, then you probably already know how far excellent customer service can take you. Even one positive interaction with your customer service rep can be the difference between a loyal customer and a lead. By using a reputable company to outsource customer service, you can be sure that your customers are going to receive top-notch communication. There are centers that are extremely talented and can represent your company just the way you'd like it – in a professional manner.
Scale Your Business Globally
By taking advantage of call centers and contact centers that are located in different areas of the world, you open up new opportunities that your business might not have had previously. If you're looking to expand your business into new markets and make connections with different customers, tapping into a third-party provider for customer service operations is a great stepping stone.
Outsourcing Cons
Of course, hiring a call center to assist with your customer service needs comes with some downsides that you'll want to weigh before you move forward.
Confidentiality
It's hard to trust someone and be confident that your client's data is 100% safe and this is one of the most worrying aspects of outsourcing customer support. Before you sign a contract, it is important that you research the team and get some references from others of the contracted company. Confidentiality is an integral part of successful third-party customer service providers.
Loss of Control
Sure, you can ask the call center to meet your “standards”, but at the end of the day, you're not going to have control over the things that they say and do with your customers. You won't be able to go up to your outsourced service agents every single day and offer advice to them or give them tips on how they should be dealing with various problems. This loss of control gives many business owners pause before choosing to outsource this aspect of their business.
Excellent customer service is the foundation of any business. By outsourcing customer service jobs within your organization, you may be able to offer 24-hour customer service to your customers. The decision to outsource your customer support should be well thought out. It is important that you ask yourself if the outsourcing party is capable of delivering as good of a service as you can. If the answer to that is “no”, then you should take into account the opportunity costs that result from outsourcing. Of course, this isn't a simple calculation, because it is going to be hard to estimate exactly how many referrals and customers you'd miss. The outsourcing part may be capable of delivering a service that is much better than yours due to their experience and knowledge in the area. Make sure you take all of the above factors into consideration.
Communication Issues
As we've touched on previously, trust is important in this decision. Another aspect of communication and trust is understanding how to communicate with your audience. For example, what time zone does your audience live in and does it align with the time zone of your customer support department? Do you have a solid grasp on what communication channels your customers prefer over others? Communication is essential to customer service, so you'll want to make sure that your team understands the ins and outs that you as a business owner require.
Want to Outsource Your Customer Service?
If you're interested in finding a reputable third-party customer service provider, look no further than Hit Rate Solutions. Our team is fluent in English and has extensive experience acting as a customer service provider you can contact us to learn more information. Here are some ways that you can consider whether or not you can benefit.
Cost Analysis
Before moving forward, make sure to conduct a cost analysis to determine exactly how much money you can save by outsourcing customer service.
In-House
If you currently have an in-house team taking care of this aspect of your business, the costs are likely significantly higher than hiring a third party to do so.
3rd Party
Third-party providers such as Hit Rate Solutions offer a cost-effective alternative to a robust in-house team. We are a respected call center based out of the Philippines and we only charge $7 per hour! This is incredibly affordable compared to US-based teams that offer the same services.
List of Companies that Have Successfully Outsourced Their Customer Service
Many amazing companies utilize third parties for their customer service needs! Here are some companies that do so:
- Hootsuite
- The Bank of America
- Target
- The Wall Street Journal
- JP Morgan
- SoftBank
- Vodafone
- Verizon
And so many more!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are countless pros to outsourcing customer service that far outweigh the cons. If you're interested in learning more about Hit Rate Solutions and how we can assist your business, please get in touch with us today!
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