1. Customer expectations have changed
With the trend towards digitization, customer expectations as regards accessibility have also increased. Companies like Uber, Netflix and Spotify have transformed their respective industries, and has also led to a transformation in consumer behavior. Nowadays, consumers are demanding the same level of accessible service everywhere – not just in the cab on the way home on a Friday night, but also when they come up against a problem with a product or service and call into customer service to get it resolved. In the past, it was no big deal if you went into your local grocery store and got mediocre service, because the choices we have today simply were not available then. Today, the range of products and services is much greater, which means that good service is becoming increasingly important.
Customers are also placing higher demands in terms of technology – and it is not only the products you sell that need to be at the cutting edge, your customer service needs cutting-edge technology as well. Today, it is important for companies to have a loyal customer base with plenty of repeat customers. Customer service is an excellent tool for building customer relationships and shortening the time it takes for a customer to make a repeat purchase. But in order for your customer service team to reach its full potential, you will need access to competencies that are not always available within your organization. For companies striving to remain at the forefront in terms of technological solutions and extended hours of operation, outsourcing customer service is an excellent option. Taking on a business partner can help you stay competitive and live up to your customers' expectations.
2. You can adjust the amount of resources you employ
Many companies dream of having the ability to adapt their customer service department according to customer demand. During the periods when a company sees a high volume of customer inquiries (either over the phone, online chat or Whatsapp), they would like to have the option to bring in extra staff. This may be for weekends, holidays or evenings for example. But adjusting staffing levels according to specific periods is no easy task. You often ending up having too many on staff – or not enough during the periods when you get a high volume of customer inquiries. Finding the right balance that works year round is next to impossible, and recruiting new staff every time a stressful period is approaching can quickly become unnecessarily expensive.
Outsourcing allows you to solve this problem, since your partner can offer the precise level of staffing you need when you need it. You can adjust the volume of agents in the customer service department based on the time of year or even the time of day. This opens up a world of possibilities. For example, you can bring in a few extra staff members in the evening to extend you hours of operation, or have extra 24/7 support on Black Friday if you want to get every last possible sale out of the event. When you outsource your customer service, you no longer need to worry about an individual employee being sick or how to cover for staff vacations. Outsourcing also allows you to have access to cutting-edge expertise exactly when you need it. For example, if you need to implement a new digital channel, you can bring in a staff member to help out for just a few weeks. Your outsourcing partner takes care of all of this for you.
3. Better awareness of customer insights
A common myth is that by outsourcing your customer service you surrender control, and you will no longer have enough insight into all areas that affect your business. This is simply not true, and with the right partner, you will actually get greater control and insight. By outsourcing customer service to the right partner, you get access to information and customer insights that you previously only had minimal or no access to.
For example, here at Transcom, we work with structured reports and data to map out what drives customers to contact the company. Maybe there is a significant number of people calling in to ask when an invoice will arrive–something that should be easy for the customers to find out themselves and should not take up valuable customer service time. If we discover that this is the case, we can immediately take action and make the changes that are needed so the customer can access this information without having to contact support. This allows us to streamline so that some lines of customer inquiry become unnecessary, making more space for inquiries that drive profits (by increasing the number of repeat customers for example). In other words, outsourcing is clearly the best alternative for companies that are seeking better structure in their statistics and better insight into customer behavior.
If you decide that outsourcing your customer service is right for you, it is essential that you establish the right requirements for any potential partner. Select someone you feel is proactive, has a good eye on the market and is at the forefront of the sector. Outsourcing is more than just a tool for streamlining customer service, it is also a move that can help develop the organization as a whole.
How to outsource your customer service without sacrificing your company’s identity