Tips To Help You Outsource Your Customer Service Needs

A successful business must have a strong customer support team. Large corporations often have entire call centers dedicated to such a task, but customer support can be much more difficult for small businesses. Luckily, you can outsource customer service & support.

Doing so helps you save money and time, not to mention ensures your customers always get the best service possible. Hiring the right outsourcing company is the key.

Understand What Your Business Needs

Your customer service needs depend on several factors, such as the size of your business, the industry you operate in, and the hours you work.

How many phone lines are you currently running, and are they often busy? Do you operate during normal business hours or will your customers want to have contact 24 hours a day?

Do you work in an industry where an FAQ page would be helpful or should you send customers directly to a phone representative? All of these situations determine exactly what you’ll need from an outsourcing company.

Determine Where the Company Operates

Consider whether you want to hire a local outsourcing business or if you are confident in the abilities of a national or international company. If you only serve a local or regional area, stick to a company that operates in the same area.

Local customers often prefer to speak to local people. If your business operates nationally or internationally, it is more acceptable to hire an outsourcing company with representatives that won’t necessarily have the same dialect as the people in your neighborhood.

Talk About Training Options

Even though you’re outsourcing your customer service team, you probably still want your clients to think they are full-time employees of your business.

To do this, you need to discuss training options with the team you hire. Will they use your slogans and scripts if asked? Do they know how to handle escalations? Ask the company representative how the team that handles your customer service inquiries is hired and trained to ensure their methods are on par with what you expect for your business.

Consider the Costs

Hiring a full-time team as employees is quite costly between pay, benefits, training, and other expenses, which is why so many business owners are turning to outsourcing. However, outsourcing your customer service can be just as costly if you aren’t careful.

Many businesses provide add-ons, but before you sign up for them, be sure you really need them. For example, if your business hours are 9-5, you don’t need to add on 24-hour customer service. If multiple clients prefer to communicate via email, you might not need a live person to answer phones at all.

Some outsourcers do cold calling to help generate leads or provide follow-up survey calls to former clients. If you don’t want this type of information, be sure you aren’t automatically signing up for the service when you sign a contract.

Research the Company Thoroughly

Before signing any contract, research the outsourcing company thoroughly. Find out how long it has been in business, whether it has the proper licenses to operate legally and the turnover rate for its employees. Ask for references, read online reviews, and be sure that other businesses who have used the services were satisfied. Finally, read the contract thoroughly to ensure there are no hidden fees or clauses.

Your clients deserve excellent customer service, and so do you. These tips will help you find the best company to outsource your customer service needs, creating more time and energy for you to use on other aspects of running your business. Of course, the cost savings aren’t bad, either!