Customer Service
Strategic timing and best practices for implementing customer service outsourcing
As your business grows, meeting evolving customer needs can become challenging, especially when dealing with multiple languages and time zones. You could face language barriers, different labour laws, and working hours. Setting up offices overseas comes with a huge capital and operational expense.This is where the customer service outsourcing process offers a viable solution. Proper timing and strategic planning are crucial for successful outsourcing. This article examines thestrategic timing and the best practices for optimizing the customer service outsourcing process and choosing the right partner.
Why should you outsource customer support?
Research shows that businesses can save up to 40% of customer servicing costs by outsourcing the process to a third party. They can invest this money for further business growth. By outsourcing, businesses can significantly reduce expenses because of these reasons –
- No need for a physical space, and its rent and utility bills
- No in-house staff required
- No expenses on staff training and development
- No investment in hardware or software
- No need to pay the higher wages applicable in their country
When is it the right time to outsource customer support?
Before outsourcing customer support, you must consider the company’s size and future expansion plans. Consider the return on investment and industry regulations. Signs that indicate you must outsource customer service are:
Overwhelmed staff
If your in-house staff is unable to serve the sheer volume of customers, causing degradation of service quality, you must consider outsourcing. Thus, you can avoid the expense of searching for, hiring, and onboarding the staff.
High turnover rate
Is your customer service staff leaving the job frequently? If yes, they may be facing burnout and low job satisfaction. Consider outsourcing some processes within customer service to provide relief to the in-house staff.
Long customer waiting time
The customer service industry follows the 80/20 rule, which means that agents must answer 80% of the calls within 20 seconds. However, many callers end up waiting for several minutes, which causes discontent. Long wait times, unaddressed queries, and unanswered calls indicate that it is time to outsource.
Deteriorating customer feedback
Customer satisfaction (CSAT) score is a critical metric for the customer service team. A declining CSAT can deteriorate your business reputation and may force your loyal customers to switch their service provider. Timely outsourcing can save the day by providing the expected level of customer service.
High customer service cost
If the cost of handling a ticket is increasing, it could be due to flawed processes, a lack of the right human resources, a lack of training, etc. You can either fix all these issues in-house, albeit at a huge cost or hire an expert who has already mastered these pain points.
Seasonal or short-term requirement
If not every product or service has a demand around the year, why should the company pay for its customer service? By outsourcing the customer service for seasonal products and services, you can avoid the fixed cost of salaries and infrastructure during the lull.
Multi-lingual customer service requirement
If your business is expanding to multiple geographies, it may be difficult to hire language experts in-house or set up a customer service centre in another country. Both options are operationally challenging and expensive. Outsourcing gives you instant access to language experts without spending money on infrastructure or hiring.
How to choose the right partner for your customer service outsourcing process?
Choosing the right partner for the customer service outsourcing process is crucial for long-term business success. Not every outsourcing service provider is right for your business. You must consider these factors to find the right fit –
- Domain expertise
- Communication
- Data security
- Technology expertise
- Market reputation
Generic customer support services are not enough. Your outsourcing partner must have the expertise and experience in your work domain. For example, a FINTECH customer service provider may not be the right fit for an IT business.
To ensure customer success, your outsourcing service provider must be willing to have multiple communication channels for timely information.
Several countries have stringent data security standards, such as the GDPR in Europe. Your outsourcing service provider must understand such requirements in detail and provide the necessary infrastructure to adhere to them.
Your outsourcing partner must understand the technology and systems necessary to provide the service. For example, a CRM, call monitoring system, social media customer service system, etc.
Due diligence on the vendor’s market reputation will save you from a lengthy onboarding process only to find that the partner is not the right fit.
How can Infosys BPM help you with customer service outsourcing process?
Infosys BPM leverages digital capabilities and an omnichannel approach for end-to-end customer service, customer self-service, analytics, and transparent communication.
Read more about customer service outsourcing solutions at Infosys BPM.
