7 Reasons Why Should You Outsource Customer Support Services

In today’s world, organizations of all sizes take customer service as one of the most essential pillars to build a business. Having separate departments to maintain a good relationship with customers is a key to growth.

Customer service has developed as a niche area and a specific task, as per the changes in consumer behaviour, expectations of the consumers and the evolution in digital technology.

To perform as an expert customer service professional, one must need specialized train8ing, tools and technologies.

Consequently, outsourcing customer service has been a popular strategy among business owners as it reduces costs and minimizes the usage of internal resources. Along with these, you will get more inputs on consumer behaviour and key data for decision-making when you outsource your customer service to a multi-channel contact provider.

Here are the ultimate key benefits that you gain by outsourcing your customer service. Have a look!

1. Cost savings

Every business wants to acquire cost efficiencies, and cost savings is the biggest driver of outsourcing. Though it is true that outsourcing cuts overheads drastically, that should not be the only purpose.

A company should place paramount emphasis on the quality of service, as any inefficiency can result in a mass migration of customers. So, while choosing an outsourcing agency, think about the track record, client-reviews of their services.

2. Multi-channel support

Outsourcing often provides the business owners the right to use to multi-channel help, which a company may find hard to take up internally.

If the customers of an organization are employing all available channels of communication such as emails, voice calls, mobile / SMS, social media, and live chat, etc, and to get in touch with the business, outsourcing may be the best way for them to respond to their communication efficiently in a professional manner.

3. Round-the-clock customer service

If the business deals with global customers or those who initiate communication after regular business hours, round-the-clock customer service becomes imperative.

For example, an e-commerce business needs to provide always-on customer support, irrespective of the geographic time zone of the customer, if it has a global delivery model.

Establishing 24×7 customer operations may be challenging for such a business, and hence outsourcing to a specialist company that does provide this facility becomes the viable alternative.

4. Complexity

If your business handles complex technical calls on a regular basis, it is recommended to have an in-house team to take such calls, as third parties may not have the technical know-how to provide apt solutions. In addition, if calls tend to transfer to various departments, then it would be difficult for an outsourcing firm to process such calls.

In these cases, the in-house customer relations centre can ensure that customers are receiving correct, optimal solutions to their issues. Other activities such as appointment setting and lead generation can be outsourced.

5. Size of Organization

Outsourcing benefits organizations of all sizes, but if the volume of customer interactions is small, then a business may find it easier to allocate the task of customer service to an in-house executive.

Outsourcing virtual employees can then be considered depending on the future growth of the enterprise.

6. Seasonal peak in sales volumes

Organizations, such as those in the sell and hospitality fields, experience a seasonal spike in volumes during certain periods of a year, such as a holiday season.

These businesses tend to get a major portion of their yearly sales from these events and they cannot afford to miss it. The outsourcing model for customer service becomes extremely advantageous in these situations, because more human resources can be easily assigned to lever client queries and orders.

7. The Schneider Culture Model

The Schneider Culture Model lays down four types of organizational cultures: control, collaboration, cultivation and competence. An organization that falls within the purview of ‘control culture’, implying adherence to a strict hierarchy and well-defined structures of power, may find it difficult to adjust to an outsourcing partnership where a certain amount of control has to be transferred to a specialist.

However, laying down a well-thought-out service level agreement and establishing reporting standards will enable a ‘control’ organization to leverage outsourcing to complete its non-core tasks.