I’ve always thought of customer service representatives as unsung heroes. They work long hours, have to troubleshoot issues and soothe irate customers at once, and are often on the receiving end of (undeserved) ire.
The job’s definitely note easy, and it takes a great deal of time, effort, and patience. So, it’s only natural that most companies outsource this role a lot.
Customer service is important, but all that time and effort can be put to better use if you’re a business owner. In addition, your core staff probably have enough on their plate as it is. You wouldn’t want to stretch them too thinly by having them see to each customer’s concerns too.
But onto today’s topic. You should especially consider outsourcing your customer service functions if you or your company need or want to:
1.) Bring in industry specialists.
Lots of people think of call centers when they think of outsourced customer service. The truth is, there’s so much more to it than that.
While these call centers do exist, there are providers that specialise in specific industries. You can shop around to see if there are ones in yours.
2.) Take the pressure off your core team.
Remote customer service personnel are great for responding to FAQ’s quickly. Yet they can still refer more complicated issues to your in-house team if needed.
This way, your team won’t have to deal with providing routine support. They can just focus on providing assistance with matters that only someone involved in your internal operations can handle.
3.) Reach out to non-English speaking customers.
Yes, a certain degree of fluency in the English language is a must for most customer service personnel. However, multilingual support is also a plus, especially if you want to tap into foreign markets.
Clear communication is key to great customer service. Customers that don’t speak English well or at all will appreciate the option to talk to somebody in their native tongue.
Providing this service can also set you apart from your competitors, as a bonus.
4.) Expand customer service hours.
The beauty of having a distributed team is that it allows you to leverage different time zones. Thus, you can even offer 24/7 customer service if you outsource part of your operations to the other side of the world.
As with the previous item, this gives you a tremendous edge over competitors who aren’t doing the same.
5.) Get additional help without long-term commitments.
Let’s face it. You might not always need a full-time customer service team.
This is where outsourcing comes in. Thanks to its flexibility, you can take on additional customer service staff as needed. In other words, you can hire them on a project-based contract. This is great for peak months, when you have an influx of orders, or when you need to recall a certain product and will be dealing with a barrage of questions and concerns.
However, you shouldn’t outsource your customer service IF a lot of your customers need assistance with unique issues. Outsourced customer service is still best for resolving simpler issues. Hence, this is one situation where maintaining an in-house team might be cheaper than outsourcing to a specialised service provider.
Lastly, if you do decide to outsource your customer service needs, it helps to read up on metrics for assessing your provider’s performance.
With Remote Staff, however, we have more than ten years of experience in recruiting and onboarding some of the top remote Filipino talents in the customer service industry, among others. We also help set them up with our clients and provide continuous support throughout the working relationship.
