In this day and age of modern technology, customers’ expectations of receiving the best service from their chosen businesses have multiplied exponentially. Businesses are not only judged for their product quality; they are also judged for the quality of service they provide to their customers. With the advancement in technology and the internet, customers expect to be catered to at all times. Moreover, the booming growth of social media has cemented the need for providing good online experiences, as a single negative or positive review goes a long way in shaping the online reputation of a business.
In order to provide seamless customer experiences and ensure the return of your customers, your brand must promise 24/7 customer support, immediate responses to their inquiries, multilingual support, and a consistently good service. All this can be ensured by outsourcing customer support to someone else.
Read on to find out all about customer support outsourcing and how you can wield it in the cutthroat world of ecommerce.
What is customer support outsourcing?
Customer support outsourcing involves delegating the operations of your customer support service to a third party service provider. By outsourcing those tasks to a customer support specialist team, you get to focus more on your core business tasks and progress towards expanding your business without compromising on customer service.
The third party provider is usually a contact center. According to ReportLinker, the contact center outsourcing industry is projected to exceed a global market of $130 billion in the period of 2023-2028. This is a clear representation of the fact that countless businesses are utilizing customer support outsourcing to boost customer support. Before you start outsourcing, there are many things you should know.
The first being, what is customer support? And is there a difference between customer support and customer service?
Difference between customer service and customer support
Although the terms customer support and customer service are often used synonymously, they represent different aspects of a business’s communication with its clients.
Customer service describes the entire interaction and connection that a business has with its clients. The goal of customer service is to increase customer happiness and loyalty via all platforms, from the first point of contact to the follow-up after a transaction. Proactive customer service prioritizes comprehending and meeting the needs of the client, giving them a satisfying experience, and building lifelong relationships. It involves tasks including responding to questions, addressing grievances, and providing guidance on goods or services.
Customer support, on the contrary, is more focused on being responsive to the customers. It focuses on offering support for problems relating to products or services, like debugging faults, responding to technical inquiries, or assisting customers with intricate procedures.
To summarize, customer support is primarily focused on finding solutions to particular problems, whereas customer service focuses more broadly on developing relationships. Although they both have different roles to play in the entire customer experience, both are essential for preserving consumer satisfaction and loyalty, and your brand’s ability to retain a client.
Why should you consider customer support outsourcing?
When your brand’s relationship with your customers is the most important part of your business, outsourcing customer support to a third party provider might not be your cup of tea. It can be the most effective strategy, with various benefits such as enhanced business efficiency, reduced costs, minimized response times, 24/7 support, etc. However, it still can be a very difficult decision to make.
We, at Emenac CCS, respect this because we respect your connection with your customers. That is why we have put together a list of pros and cons for you to come to a better and informed decision for your business.
Pros of customer support outsourcing:
1. Flexible and scalable service
Outsourcing customer support allows businesses to scale the service up or down based on their requirement. A contact center can adjust the number of agents they designate to your business depending on your demand during peak times or down times.
2. After-hours coverage
Most contact centers provide after-hours coverage, or even 24/7 support. This ensures that all your customers are taken care of without onboarding extra staff or assigning extra shifts to your existing staff. This is especially important for businesses that operate in various time zones.
3. Reduced workload
Perhaps the biggest benefit of outsourcing customer support to a third party is that it enables businesses to focus on their core competencies such as product development and marketing by reducing workload. This drives creativity and innovation, and ultimately business growth.
4. Cost-efficient
The biggest reason why businesses go for outsourcing is cost efficiency. Avoiding onboarding and additional costs that come with hiring in-office staff, leads to significant savings. This is particularly beneficial for start-ups and small businesses that do not have a sufficient budget to support an in-office team.
5. Access to global talent pool
Contact centers have chat representatives and contact specialists that are equipped with the expertise and skills to handle a diverse range of customer issues and are capable of resolving them in no time. They undergo repeated training and stay updated with recent best practices.
Cons of customer support outsourcing:
1. Data security concerns
If your outsourcing partner does not comply with the same security protocols you do, it can go downhill as customers do not tolerate data breaches and issues in data security at all. It is your utmost responsibility to make sure that you and your outsourcing partner are on the same page regarding data security policies.
2. Less quality control
With not much say over the quality of service provided by the outsourced partner, your control is limited. Issues in the provider’s service such as high employee turnover, incompetent training, or inadequate knowledge about your business, can lead to an unsatisfactory customer experience.
3. Loss of personal touch
Though your customers might not know that your service is outsourced, an agent’s inadequate knowledge about your brand might make it apparent. If their customer support principles do not align with yours, your business loses its personal touch and this leads to brand dilution.
4. Operational silos / loss of control
Operational silos are one of the biggest drawbacks of outsourcing customer support. It is not possible to maintain the same level of control over an outsourced team as it is over an in-office team. Gaps in communication lead to a disconnect between the business and its customers.
5. Risk of reduced customer satisfaction
All these cons can lead to a risk of reducing customer satisfaction instead of increasing it. Relying on a third party provider for customer support creates unwanted dependency, making it difficult to delegate the service to your in-office team at a later stage as it changes their responsiveness to your customers over time.
In conclusion, like with every other decision this decision too has its own pros and cons. However, the cons are all easy to overcome with careful planning and extensive communication.
Services to boost customer support
According to customer support statistics, providing various modes of communication to your customers is the best way to boost customer support and ensure customer satisfaction. Live chat is the most satisfactory communication method for customers at 73%. Whereas email support and phone support fall at 61% and 44% respectively. On chat assistance, 69% of customers prefer interacting with a human agent compared to chatbots.
1. Email support services:
There are 4.48 billion email users worldwide. Therefore, it is no wonder that customer support through email is a vital aspect of providing good customer support. You can achieve better email marketing as well by providing better email support services.
2. Social media customer care
In 2024, 63.7% of the total global internet users are active on social media. Outsource social media marketing and social media customer support to target those users effectively and make a name for your brand in the digital world.
3. Customer support via SMS
For consumers who are not internet savvy, the best way to communicate is through SMS. 64% consumers have the opinion that businesses should contact them through texts more often. So if you’re looking to expand means of customer support, don’t overlook the importance of SMS.
4. 24/7 live chat support
Live chat support is at the top of the game. It has the power to make or break your business as it is statistically proven to be quite important for a lot of customers. Live chat outsourcing can help your business in multiple ways.
5. Customer service virtual assistant
Customer service virtual assistant is more for the business than it is for the customers. Whether you decide to outsource your customer support or keep it to your in-office team, customer service virtual assistants can help you with all your customer related tasks.
KPIs for monitoring customer support
Effective customer support is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction and loyalty. To ensure that your customer support team is performing optimally, it’s crucial to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect the quality and efficiency of the support provided. Here are ten important KPIs to consider, each with its relevance and impact on overall customer support performance.
1. First Response Time (FRT)
The average time it takes for customers to receive the first response from a service after submitting an inquiry or a request is known as the First Response Time.
This KPI is important because it is a measure of how quickly a service acknowledges customer issues. Less FRTs represent that a customer support team is active and attentive towards customers. Delays in initial responses lead to frustrated customers and a perception of poor customer support.
Best practices: By aiming for low FRTs; within 30 minutes for high-priority tickets and within 24 hours for low-priority tickets, you can establish a good average for your service. Even sending an automated first response effectively manages customer expectations while your chat representatives work on the issue at hand.
2. Resolution Time
The average amount of time needed to close a support ticket or address a customer issue from the moment it was opened is called Resolution Time.
This KPI demonstrates how effectively support staff handles and resolves client issues. Since concerns are resolved more quickly, shorter resolution times are frequently associated with higher customer satisfaction. Prolonged resolution delays may irritate customers and negatively affect their view of your business on a whole.
Best practices: To speed up resolution times, establish precise policies and response procedures. Examine and evaluate resolution time data on a regular basis to trace trends and areas that could use improvement.
3. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
Customer satisfaction with a particular support interaction is measured by the Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), which is acquired through post-interaction questionnaires.
Customers directly share their opinions on their assistance experiences using CSAT. Send a survey asking clients to rate their experience on a scale (usually 1 to 5 or 1 to 10) following each support encounter. While low scores may suggest problems that need to be fixed, high scores often imply that consumers are happy with the service they received. CSAT facilitates comprehension of the quality of overall support as well as the efficacy of individual exchanges.
Best practices: Analyze CSAT data to find patterns and potential areas for development. To improve overall service quality, review client feedback on a regular basis and make any adjustments based on their ideas.
4. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty and the probability that your customers would recommend your brand to other people. It is a crucial sign of long-term contentment and customer attitude.
NPS is a valuable metric for understanding customer loyalty and the overall impact of your support team on customer perceptions. A high NPS indicates that customers are likely to advocate for your brand, while a low NPS suggests areas where your support may be falling short.
Best Practices: Keep an eye on NPS trends and use comments to inform future developments. NPS surveys help to determine how likely your customers are to recommend your brand on a scale of 1-10. Talk to your customers to learn about their worries and try to resolve matters that affect loyalty.
5. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
First Contact Resolution (FCR) is a term used to describe the percentage of client concerns that are handled during the initial conversation and don’t need to be followed up on.
Support that is both efficient and effective is indicated by high FCR rates. Customer effort is decreased and satisfaction is increased when problems are resolved at the initial interaction. It also cuts down on the time spent on problem-solving overall and lessens the strain on support staff.
Best practices: Give agents thorough training and provide them with the resources and knowledge they need to handle problems from the outset. Review FCR data on a regular basis to find recurring problems and enhance resolution techniques.
6. Ticket Volume
The total amount of support tickets or queries received during a certain time frame is referred to as ticket volume.
Tracking the number of tickets received facilitates understanding support demand and resource allocation planning. Abrupt increases in the number of tickets may be a sign of underlying problems or busy times when more staff or process modifications are needed.
Best practices: Examine patterns in ticket volume to foresee peak times and modify staffing levels appropriately. Take aggressive steps to resolve persistent problems and lower the number of tickets received overall.
7. Customer Effort Score (CES)
The Customer Effort Score (CES) gauges the amount of work that customers must put in to have their problems fixed. It conveys how simple or complex the support encounter was.
A lower CES suggests that clients are more satisfied because they can easily handle their problems. A high CES indicates that the customer experience may be significantly impacted by a laborious or complicated support process.
Best Practices: Simplify interactions and increase the effectiveness of support channels to streamline support processes and lower customer effort. Examine CES data on a regular basis to find and fix support process trouble areas.
8. Abandonment Rate
The percentage of customers that discontinue their support requests prior to receiving a resolution is measured by Abandonment Rate.
Elevated rates of desertion may indicate problems with response times, accessibility, or consumer annoyance. This KPI aids in determining areas in need of improvement and evaluating how well support channels are working.
Best practices: To spot possible problems with processes or help channels, keep an eye on desertion rates. By calculating the percentage of abandoned support requests and comparing it to the total number of requests, you can easily track this KPI. Put into practice different techniques to lower abandonment, like speeding up response times and expanding the range of available assistance choices.
9. Agent Utilization Rate
The percentage of time support agents actively assist customers as opposed to idle or non-productive time is measured by the agent utilization rate.
High agent usage rates show that client inquiries are being handled by support professionals in an efficient manner. This KPI aids in determining productivity and maximizing the use of available resources. It is determined by keeping track of how much of an agent’s overall working hours they spend interacting with customers.
Top Techniques: Make sure agents have the resources and instruction they need to work as efficiently as possible. Examine utilization rates on a regular basis to find ways to increase productivity and control workloads.
10. Cost per Ticket
The average cost that the business spends to resolve a single support ticket is determined by the Cost per Ticket calculation. This covers personnel costs as well as other related costs and technologies. The cost per ticket can be obtained by taking the overall cost of support operations and dividing it by the total number of tickets that have been resolved.
It is easier to assess the effectiveness and financial impact of your support operations when you are aware of the cost per ticket. While greater costs could point to areas where expenditures can be cut, lower support costs per ticket signal more effective operations.
Best practices: Review and evaluate support costs on a regular basis to find areas where you may cut expenses and streamline procedures. Put plans in place to cut costs and maximize resource utilization without sacrificing service quality.
Monitoring these 10 KPIs provides a comprehensive insight into your customer support service. If not having control over customer support outsourcing is stressing you out, you can track the efficiency and effectiveness of the service provider through these KPIs. They help you identify areas that have room for improvement. By implementing the best practices and using data, you can significantly improve your customer support strategy and overall customer satisfaction.
Conclusion
Outsourcing customer support can be a game-changer for many businesses, offering a range of benefits that go beyond just handling inquiries. Businesses can benefit from cost reductions, access to modern technologies, and a degree of expertise that may be difficult to obtain internally by utilizing specialized third-party services. It also provides the flexibility to scale operations quickly and effectively, ensuring that businesses can meet customer demands without compromising quality.
Ultimately, outsourcing customer support can lead to improved customer satisfaction, enhanced operational efficiency, and a stronger focus on core business objectives. For businesses looking to optimize their resources and elevate their customer service, outsourcing offers a practical and impactful solution. Outsource to Emenac CCS to provide the best customer experiences.
