The data will speak for themselves. one-fourth of new companies fail because they do not pay the attention they should to the needs of their clients. 90 percent of Americans take into consideration customer service when deciding to deal with a company and 58% are likely to move to a different company due to inadequate customer service. For any business that is just beginning this risk must be handled without adding further stress. Insufficient investment into an effective customer service function from the beginning can impact your chances for rapid growth. So, how do new companies make wise investments in the creation of a long-lasting customer service function?
An answer: offshoring.
In this post, we’ll talk about customer service offshoring, the advantages of customer service offshoring for new companies, and the best way to establish the offshoring offshore customer service team from scratch.
What exactly is customer service offshoring?
Offshoring for customer service, often called call center offshoring is the method of bringing team members from overseas to perform customer service or contact center-related tasks. Customer service is the ability to either make or break your company – it’s the key to the success of your business. When you offer top-quality customer service, your business will be able to increase customer retention and acquisition rates, eventually improving margins and profits.
The roles and tasks of customer service that can be offshored include, but aren’t restricted to:
- Chat manager
- Contact Center agents
- Representatives from customer service
- Specialists in debt collection
- Outbound and inbound sales assistance
- IT Support Experts.
Offering excellent customer service is challenging for companies of any size. However, start-ups may find it difficult to provide the level of service that their clients and customers demand. The most frequent causes are:
- The cost of hiring onshore workers is high and, statistically speaking, the cost of labor is the second largest cost for businesses.
- There must be a large number of people
- You must make an investment in these (and their education).
It is no secret that most startups are aware of these challenges and the obstacles they face when they attempt to expand quickly. Startup companies should focus their money and resources on developing go-to-market strategies to help business grow. However, the question is how do you quickly scale up to meet the demand and help this expansion? Third-party experts, like outsourcing companies, add value to your company by taking care of the customer service functions.
What are the advantages of customer service offshoring?
Customer service lends itself to an offshore model. It’s typically a high-volume task that is repetitive and driven by processes. Additionally, customer service roles can frequently be difficult to fill locally.
For new businesses, all of the following aspects suggest that outsourcing the delivery of your customer service is a smart decision:
- Lower costs for labor: access to enough personnel to manage the demand that you need to respond quickly and support all of your platforms simultaneously. Based on the location you choose to work with the offshore customer service team, outsourcing service providers operating in low-cost economies such as the Philippines could aid you in saving as much as 70% on costs for employment in the first instance. These savings let you spend more money on scaling up your onshore or offshore team, which will help you assist in a rapid growth business model.
- Greater flexibility: you never can truly know what kind of expansion a new business is likely to experience every day. What can you do to combat this? By utilizing customer service offshoring, you are able to better manage sudden changes by effortlessly utilizing customer service staff as you need them. The majority of offshore providers recognize that growth in business is sometimes unpredictable and will help you adapt to your customer service team’s requirements to meet the volume at any moment.
- Better customer experience: poor customer service = poor customer experience. A staggering 84 percent of Millennials and Gen Zers would be willing to switch to a competitor when they are offered the best customer experience. Offshore companies are experts in the field with respect to customer service. The Philippines for instance is one of the most English-speaking nations worldwide. Therefore, there are no language barriers in offshoring to this specific country. In addition, they are also known for their traits of being loyal, hardworking, and honest. These are the three qualities that make a great customer service representative.
- Provides 24/7 support Since the rise of the pandemic, the need for technology and digitization has risen 10 times. 24/7 customer service is considered to be a necessity, not a luxury for businesses with sufficient budgets to cover it. Research has revealed that 73 percent of customers believe that the importance of their time is an essential element in providing satisfactory customer service. This is where the efficiency of offshore service providers can be crucial by providing the most important customer service metrics like shorter hold times, immediate chat on the internet, and 24-hour handling of social media as well as DM questions.
How do you set up an off-shore customer service team sustainably?
Being prepared is an essential element to ensure that your outsourcing venture is executed correctly. Here are some key suggestions to think about when you decide to outsource your customer service:
- Examine offshore providers thoroughly: it’s important to note that each offshore provider has its own unique policies and models for outsourcing, and different standards. Before you start an ongoing relationship with a particular it’s essential to be aware of exactly what they can offer and if they’re the perfect fit for your company’s customer service ideals. Take into consideration factors such as cost, location fees, fee structure, the recruitment process, facilities, as well as data security. Then, evaluate the top companies before making the final choice.
- Make sure you have the correct technology installed: your internal tech needs to be able to support an outsourced customer service team and be effective in helping them reach your goals in business. This means that the technology you choose to use must be transferable easily to someone who is not part of your organization for utilization. This means you must implement strict security procedures for your off-site customer service team to ensure the confidentiality of your data data security policies are followed and crucial data is transmitted in a secure and safe manner.
- Develop a strong company culture. this goes beyond offering a competitive salary or bonuses, commissions, and other incentives (although they are all essential). Consider the members of your customer service team as your employees and make sure you communicate regularly with them. Plan group-building activities and invest in their education as well as hiring internally, and give them opportunities for advancement. Your team will be rewarded with greater productivity, more commitment, and ownership of their job – essential elements for any team that wants to be successful, particularly a 24/7 customer service team.
In order to support a new company’s goals of growing exponentially creating a strong and long-lasting customer service strategy is a crucial element and outsourcing is an extra expense in order to achieve it. Finding an outsourced company that can boost customer service efficiencies will do amazing things for the bottom line of your company. They are experienced and offer high-quality candidates, particularly considering the current global shortage of talent. For financial reasons, keeping everything internally can be ideal for businesses that are just starting out however, looking at the long-term perspective outsourcing your customer service is a purchase that people don’t regret..
