For newly founded companies, the topic of outsourcing customer service can be a difficult one to have. If you have just started a business, you may be wondering if outsourcing is really needed. You may have questions like: Will I end up regretting this move, is this really needed, and is it too much too soon? The answers to those questions are going to vary, but many times, the solution is going to be easier than you think. In all honesty, outsourcing can take on many different forms, it all depends on your business and your needs. If you feel that your business would be able to benefit from any of the points we mention below, then it is time to consider outsourcing …
Seasonality
Seasonality can mean you have an increase in support tickets, depending on the business you’re in. When you start to have a major increase in your workload during the holidays, or special times of the year, you’ll definitely wish you would have outsourced customer support. So this is something you will need to take into consideration when trying to figure out if you need to start outsourcing.
Always Open
Do you enjoy the “always open” state of mind? With the increase in technology, most brands are currently conducting business in some way, shape or form, via the Internet and remember, the Internet doesn’t have a closing time. For this reason, you will find customers contacting you when it’s convenient for them. You’re in luck, because outsourcing customer service will be a great solution for you. Even if you currently have an in-house support team, if you choose to outsource, you will have 24/7 coverage and that will come in handy for emergencies. If your call volume just happens to be high 24/7, there are outsourcing agencies that can offer agents for your local times.
Bandwidth is Short, but Business is Booming
If you have a support team that consists of sales representatives, developers, and marketers that are all answering a shared phone line and using the same email inbox, you may experience some growing pains. There may be a point when business is so good that the multitasking transforms into what we call “no-tasking” and that isn’t going to get you very far. To keep everything productive, outsourcing customer service would be a great move as this will give your staff the chance to focus on the core functions of your company.
Conclusion
The situations that were stated in the above paragraphs are the starting points for opening up a discussion on outsourcing customer service. In the end, it all hands on one question: is this decision going to improve the customer experience? If you have a company that is experiencing hyper-growth and the team isn’t able to keep up with all of the emails and inbound calls, then outsourcing is a good idea as it could help improve the resolution rates and wait times for your customers.