Customer Service Outsourcing puts those key functions in the hands of experts. But selecting the right partner makes the difference between engaging customers and losing customers.
Outsourcing allows you to take advantage of the latest technology, and scale as your business demands ebb and flow. Your enterprise can be more nimble and effective, and provide higher levels of customer satisfaction with less investment.
Here’s a look at some of the key factors in selecting a partner for customer support outsourcing. The goal when outsourcing your customer service is not to spend the least amount of money but to experience the highest value to delight your customers.
1. Brand Consistency Your customer support outsourcing provider becomes an extension of your company. Your customers don’t really care that the person on the phone works for a contractor. Whether the experience is good or bad, the company name is associated with it. A poor experience can lead to lost customers and a poor reputation on social media.
A good experience that resolves the customer’s issue can lead to a longer-term relationship. It’s well known that customers are more likely to buy more products or services from their current provider.
A partner will invest in training so that the outsourced agents truly act as employees, with the company’s and customers’ best interests in mind. The goal of your customer service should be to turn your customers into brand evangelists.
2. Appropriate Experience
Ensure that your partner has experience in your arena. B2B and B2C are very different disciplines. So do your due diligence in understanding a potential vendor's background and successes. Also, review your support center strategies — will the center be providing product and technical support, or be tasked with sales and customer retention? Be sure all parties understand the expected outcomes from the relationship.
3. Omni Channel Support
It won’t be long until digital interaction will be more popular than phone interactions with customer support services. So look for a customer service outsourcing partner that’s equally comfortable on the phones and at the keyboard. More consumers are expressing their dissatisfaction with brands on social media, so it’s best to be aware of all the possible touch points that your customers may use. An omni-channel customer experience ensures your customers are being delighted through any customer support channel such as live chat, email, social media, or phone.
4. Technological Integration
Make your customer support partner has the ability to integrate with your customer database, support ticket system, and other mission-critical applications. With a contact center that integrates customer support data, you gain insight into your customers’ pain points and their specific requirements.
5. True Partnership
Look for a provider that views the relationship as a partnership rather than a mere contract. A true customer-service outsourcing partner will deliver industry knowledge and consistent services throughout the service and sales funnel of your business.
A true partner will invest in aligning with your brand, and will implement best practices and customer care experiences that deliver greater loyalty.
Don’t focus on the lowest cost per call model. Instead build your relationship on key metrics including quality of contact, customer satisfaction, and issue resolution. The quality of the relationship will reveal itself in a reduced customer churn rate and increased revenues from disciplined up-selling and cross-selling opportunities.
For your customer support outsourcing, contact a provider who will be a full partner in your success. We know that every customer interaction is an opportunity to provide excellent support to retain customers, increase revenues, and elevate your brand into a winner.
Providing excellence with every customer interaction is essential to retention, opportunities for increased revenue growth, and a catalyst that often separates brand market winners from market losers.