Major Considerations When Outsourcing Your Customer Service

by | Last updated Oct 3, 2022 | Published on Sep 22, 2017 | Outsourcing Services

OutsourcingOutsourced solutions are a great option for small businesses and these solutions have become more accessible via the constantly advancing internet technology. It opens up a vast pool of global talent to business organizations at competitive pricing. Properly planned outsourcing can enhance the efficiency of the organization and bring more value.

A report by Global Market Insights says that the outsourced customer care services market size is set to exceed $110 billion by 2024 with a CAGR projection of 6% over 2017 – 2024. Renowned firms have been outsourcing their operations so as to focus on their core competencies. Outsourcing provides many benefits including improved operational flexibility, lowered overhead costs, and an elevated level of assured services. The report highlights the fact that the demand for mobility services on a multitude of platforms have been increasing, and this will further drive outsourced customer care services industry over the coming years.

Outsourced services help organizations better manage their consumer base and cater to their requirements more efficiently. Companies have been adopting cloud technology and big data analytics, which will spur the outsourced customer care services industry. The rising technological advancements and varying customer requirements will also act as catalysts for the outsourced solutions market. This market can be characterized by increased sales and high revenue, if the players offer high-grade services such as contact center and managed charging and routing. To enhance the overall user experience, organizations have been offering multi-tiered and multichannel technical and business support apart from network troubleshooting and other services. Another factor fuelling the outsourced customer care services industry are the helpdesk services provided by companies to improve retention.

In order to succeed in the market, a business should not only attract customers but also answer all their questions and fulfil their requests. To ensure that all questions and requests of the customers are addressed, every business should invest in customer service. It is important to remember that customer service is not just chatting with customers. The staff handling customers must be efficient, knowledgeable, pleasant and dedicated. Following are some of the factors that should be considered when outsourcing customer service:

  • First and foremost, consider what kind of customer service you require – whether your customer needs can be met via phone calls or whether a comprehensive FAQ page will suffice. Outsourced solutions are not necessary if an FAQ page can meet the need.
  • The main advantage of outsourcing is reducing cost. Maintaining an in house team is expensive and moreover, outsourcing ensures more affordable rates while providing the same level of service. As a business you need to have an ROI – oriented approach and calculate how customer service impacts your bottom line. Use this to measure which provider can offer long-term value for your company.
  • OutsourcingPhone number ownership when outsourcing customer service is important. Suppose you want to bail out from your service provider and want to start over from scratch with your own team. If you are forced to change your hotline numbers due to lack of ownership, then it may negatively impact customer experience for quite some time. Some service providers may request a huge fee for the release of phone numbers while others offer ownership from the beginning.
  • Apart from the cost of the outsourced service itself, you should also have a clear understanding of the benefits that they offer. Almost all providers offer phone call recordings and analytics. These add-ons can improve your customer service ROI in the long run and you should consider them when making your decision.
  • Studies show that around 70 percent customers abandon a company due to poor customer service. Therefore you must ensure that your outsourced team is flexible and capable enough to take in the knowledge necessary for promoting your brand and maintaining its reputation. Take a close look at your partnering company’s employee on-boarding process and the communication technologies they have in place. If the vendor lacks technical knowledge and requires a longer period of time to learn the skills, then it is better not to hire such third party service.

Back office outsourcing and outsourcing other business processes is always a good idea for companies to reduce costs and improve productivity; but it is also important to choose the right vendor who can ensure quality output which is the highest priority for almost all companies.

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