Outsourcing Email and Chat Support: What To Expect
Whether it’s your DTH service provider, your telephone company or your bank, we all have experienced the frustration associated with making phone calls, the exasperation at not knowing what keys to press and the long wait time to finally speak to the customer service executive.
The result? Decline in customer satisfaction.
Little wonder then that companies are turning their backs to phone support and moving to
email and live chat support.
For any company big or small, happy and satisfied customers are their greatest assets. How do you ensure your customers are satisfied?
Excellent customer service!
Email and live chat are one of the most popular mediums today to engage customers and ensure they are satisfied with your services.
Here are some of the reasons why Email and Chat support is gaining popularity over voice support.
Customers these days are Busy
– Who has the time these days to wait 15-20 minutes on phone to speak to the support executive? Yeah that’s right…nobody! Customers these days are busy and are always on the move. For them sending an email across or chatting with an executive is always faster. They can chat from phone while on the move while commuting to work or while doing some other chore. It makes it easier for them to get their problems solved without inviting unnecessary frustration.
Trust and Credibility
– Customers associate higher levels of trust with written forms of communication. People tend to believe that their complaints would be taken more seriously if they are communicated in written. That’s human psychology. Also communication via written medium is genuine. These can be used later to testify.
Outsourcing is Cost-effective
– If you were to manage customer support services in-house, it would undoubtedly cost you a lot of money. Hiring a whole team, installation of software etc would mean a lot of money especially for small and medium businesses. Outsourcing the entire support function is way cheaper. All you need to pay is a fixed fee and that’s it. The outsourcing company manages everything for you.
Prompt Response and updates to Customers
–In an emergency situation, customers want prompt response. They cannot send an email and wait for you to respond. Therefore chat is faster way to attend to such customers. A reliable chat support service guarantees quick response time and easy resolution of complaints.
Easy to Conduct Customer Satisfaction Surveys
– You can track customer satisfaction through surveys. These surveys can easily be conducted by email or even via chat. These surveys are quick and customers can easily fill them up without wasting too much time. These answers would give you a better idea about the specific needs of your customers and would help you deliver better service.
Privacy
– Customers may also prefer chat and email support for privacy especially in cases where the information involves divulging confidential information. Email and chat support is only restricted between you and the client. People therefore consider email and chat support as the best when it comes to maintaining confidentiality and privacy.
These are just some of the reasons why email and chat support could prove beneficial for your customers. However the efficacy of the whole system would still depend on your email and chat support team. Little wonder then that customer support is one of the commonly outsourced functions by businesses today.
Apart from the cost factor, there are other benefits to
outsourcing email and chat support functions well.
Initially the number of queries are less so you’d probably think that it can easily be managed in-house. However as your business grows so will the complaints and queries which eventually will be difficult to manage with the limited resources. Outsourcing is the best bet in such situations.
Outsourcing customer support to a reputed service provider will ensure prompt and quality service at all times. When you are doing business, you have to be
available for your customers 24/7. Once you outsource, you can be free from all these worries. Your outsourcing service provider will manage everything for you at their end so you and your team can concentrate on other core tasks.
When you outsource email and chat support function you can be sure that you will have skilled individuals who are experienced in customer service and know how to engage potential customers.
I know you’re probably thinking….but outsourced chat support executives may not in-depth knowledge of your product/services! Well….as with any employee you will have to give them some training about your business, products etc. With time and experience they
gradually gain expertise on the subject. Until then you can always have a procedure in place for escalations which you can handle with the help of your in-house team.
Outsourcing email and chat support function is no doubt a cost-effective and hassle-free alternative to developing a support team in-house. Cost of employment, infrastructure, software etc add to the overhead expenses which can prove to be costly affair for small and medium businesses.
It is always better to outsource the same to a reputed and reliable company so you can carry on with your business in a hassle-free manner. It may seem like an expense to you initially but delivering customer service through expert professionals will enhance customer engagement and boost conversions.
– Outsourcing support functions ensure you have a separate team on the front end to deal specifically with all customer related issues. They would be professionals working at it 24/7 and will not let any issue go unnoticed.
Even the smallest of issues whether its website or service-related is caught and fixed instantly. Also continuous engagement with customers helps operators test different ways to develop the most effective customer support system for the business.
Having learnt about the multiple benefits of outsourcing support functions, it is important to understand the services included in customer support function so as to set reasonable and clear expectation from our outsourcing partner.
Outsourcing an essential business function to a third party is never an easy decision. It takes a lot of research, discussion, negotiation on the part of the business before they can be fully convinced about the same.
It’s imperative to look for a good outsourcing company that will cover all of your requirements effectively. Outlined below are some of the essential qualities that you must look for in your outsourcing partner before you delegate your support function to them:-
Outsourcing email and chat support functions these days are more of a necessity than an option because of the efficiency of the system when outsourced and the costs associated with managing it in-house.
A right outsourcing partner to manage your support function can be a boon to your business. The key is to know and understand your requirements before you outsource and do your homework when it comes to researching the outsourcing companies. Choose the ones that fit your requirement. Schedule a call with the person concerned to talk about your requirement and expectation. That’s it! You’re good to go! Acelerar Technologies has been in the business of providing remote assistance to companies big and small from across the world in different areas. Get in touch with us now for any help
In order to ensure good customer service it is important that all emails are attended to in a timely manner within 24 hrs of their arrival and all queries resolved within the stipulated time.A good email and chat support team would ensure that email support executives are at it consistently so that no complaints or query go unanswered.
In order to ensure good customer service it is important that all emails are attended to in a timely manner within 24 hrs of their arrival and all queries resolved within the stipulated time.A good email and chat support team would ensure that email support executives are at it consistently so that no complaints or query go unanswered.
