Many positives come when you choose to outsource your customer support department. You’ll lower your operational cost, increase support coverage and improve your geographic reach. But, you need to hire experienced agents to get the most out of this transition. If you plan on scaling your business, these simple outsourcing solutions will help you complete your long-term goals.
There are 5 common customer support types you can outsource, but you don’t have to choose between one or another. You can combine different methods or outsource to different teams.
The most popular options, call centers, and freelancing need to be vetted carefully. Although both can offer expert support and quality employees, the process required to find the best candidates is extensive. Keep that in mind when looking over the following departments.
Outsource your customer support via email. This is a safe bet because your customers don’t expect you to get back to them right away. This gives the representative plenty of time to research and conduct a professional and well-thought-out response. You can improve the effectiveness of your outsourced email team by investing in one of the help desk software described in this article.
Live chat is similar to email but requires an immediate response. You’ll need to hire skilled agents that can quickly find an appropriate answer to a customer complaint.
Although grammar and tone are essential when speaking to a customer on live chat, you don’t have to hire candidates that have a native grasp of the language. Depending on what product or service you offer, slang and a few misspellings or grammar mishaps won’t make your company look unprofessional. Most customers expect a more casual conversation through live chat.
Social media is multifaceted, and you may need more than one communicator per platform. There are social media managers that are well versed in the websites you need. But, you’ll still need a larger team to handle a wide variety of messages. On social media, your customers expect a quick response, and in Twitter's case, a complete answer in less than 280 characters.
You’ll need to establish a brand voice more than ever for a social media team. This is because they need to know which type of content is appropriate for marketing purposes.
Call centers are the perfect option for businesses that handle a high volume of customer calls. But, many agencies' turnover rate is often an issue. Be sure to research in the following areas:
If you have a small team or want to hire someone who can specifically handle one aspect of customer service, hire a remote worker or freelancer. Choosing to outsource your customer support to a freelancer is a great way to stay on budget and get the required help. The only downside is that recruitment can take days. However, you can limit your options by focusing on the following:
