When is Outsourcing Customer Service Good for Small Business?

Is outsourcing Customer Service Advantageous to SMEs? How does that work?

Customer service supports and advocates for customers in their discovery, use, optimization, and troubleshooting of a product or service. The processes also help the teams in making good customer service happen. The goal of customer service is to foster lasting customer relationships.

But is it practical for small businesses? Let’s find out.

What is Customer Service?

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is contracting with a third-party vendor or service provider to handle a particular area of your company’s daily operations. A business process outsourcing (BPO) call center is a group of outsourced agents who handle incoming and outgoing customer calls on behalf of other companies.

BPO call centers deal with much more than just phone calls.

Some may consider outsourcing inbound call services a dangerous business decision. Outside agents do not have the same expertise as paid workers regarding your firm and its products.

BPO call center agents, on the other hand, are taught to quickly adapt to a situation. Adapting to another organization’s methods and help desk tools is second nature to them, and they are specialists at swiftly referencing the resources required to assist clients with support questions.

Furthermore, most BPOs employ modern call center technology, enabling their agents to execute a company’s operations with greater efficiency and return on investment than their counterparts.

What is a Customer Service Representative (CSR)?

In the customer service industry, a customer service representative (CSR), often known as an agent, works in a call or contact center and assists clients with their problems.

They can communicate with you through a variety of channels, including phone, chat, email, and social media sites. Organizations should seek the following characteristics in customer service representatives (CSRs) when recruiting them because they play an essential role in affecting the customer experience:

– Effective customer service representatives (CSRs) don’t just listen to consumers; they also grasp what they’re saying, which may necessitate reading between the lines or understanding the context of the conversation. The first step in assisting is to gain an understanding of the situation.

– They should demonstrate problem-solving abilities. As self-service tools assist customers in solving many easy problems on their own, the challenges that require the assistance of customer service representatives (CSRs) have grown in complexity. Customer service representatives (CSRs) must be up to the task of resolving these issues for their customers.

Effective customer service representatives (CSRs) maintain a professional and courteous demeanor when dealing with occasionally agitated customers. It is even better if they can establish some rapport.

Contact centers are highly scheduled work environments, and the center’s performance depends on everyone showing up and being on time regularly. Employees who are chronically absent or late regularly can cause delays in the queueing process. Candidates for customer service representative (CSR) positions should have a proven track record of dependability and professionalism.

Customer satisfaction is frequently determined by the level of performance of customer service representatives (CSRs). Organizations that strongly emphasize screening, training, and supporting their CSRs will be well-positioned to succeed in the experience economy.

The SMEs

Small business owners work hard to forge ahead toward success and make their brands bigger. The number one challenge in doing it is to find more cost-efficient and effective ways to do the different processes of your business, especially customer service. It is one of the greatest weapons of entrepreneurs — a critical part of a company’s success. That is why you might consider outsourcing customer service as your business grows. 

Customers will love your brand if you provide quick response times and resolutions to their questions and concerns. This only shows the importance of being always available to your clients. Research shows that 71% of people prefer talking to someone when they have a concern. 

What happens when you cannot accommodate all inquiries, leaving some questions unanswered? It may result in losing customers. Are you wondering how to deliver good customer service for small businesses without affecting your operations? Now is the perfect time to ask yourself if outsourcing customer service would benefit your small business.

5 Questions to Consider When Outsourcing

Before going out and looking for contact center solutions that can help you get a higher customer satisfaction rate, take a look at the following questions you need to answer before outsourcing customer service:

Do you want to save money?

This question is quite common among business owners. To some, the cost gets higher when a company decides to have in-house customer service. Why? Because when the number of inquiries is higher than your team’s capacity, you become obliged to invest in more programs and systems, hire additional agents, get bigger space, and more.

Hiring a business process outsourcing company can help you avoid this. They have office space, materials, and people to manage your growing customers. 

Is the product easy to handle?

Yes, outsourcing customer service offers tremendous growth potential for various industries. However, outsourcing is not ideal if your products or services have a complex sales cycle or require technical support for in-depth troubleshooting. It is better to keep it in-house if it requires a high level of expertise or takes too much time to learn. This way, you can ensure the service you provide to your customers.

Are you aiming for significant growth?

Outsourcing reduces the challenges of providing exceptional customer service. Instead of spending your energy catering to your customers’ expectations, your outsource partner will accommodate all of them. Since it is their specialty, you can be confident that their service can help your company grow through customer care, live chat, social media, and more.

Do you anticipate changes in the future?

Don’t let the current problems and issues get in your way. Think of long-term solutions that could change the situation in the future. If the business foresees customer management that requires 24/7 customer service, outsourcing customer support can help give you the peace of mind you need. 

How many inquiries can your business handle?

It is one of the questions you need to consider. If the volume of inquiries increases gradually, it is easier to handle. However, call center outsourcing would be an ideal solution for businesses that get high searches in certain seasons or with unpredictable volume changes. 

When is Customer Service Outsourcing Ideal for Small Businesses?

If the big corporations outsource, why not for small businesses? It is equally beneficial and sometimes more efficient than building your team.

Let’s examine the answers to the question of when outsourced customer service is suitable for small businesses. 

When you aim to reduce the workload

People in small businesses commonly wear many hats. Yes, customer service is a vital part of the business, but the owners and staff would prefer to spend most of their time doing the core business processes. Outsourcing customer service can help reduce your people’s workload and drive them to focus on more significant sales drivers that might further grow your business.

Getting dedicated customer service agents or a team may also increase productivity, especially if you pay them to do a specific job. 

When you want to lower costs

When you outsource, you are aware of what you are paying. Here, you are protected by a contract that can go in your favor, such as not paying a fixed salary or employee benefits, as you have chosen to take the project-based contract. 

You can also take advantage of lower hourly rates when you outsource from another country that offers lower rates. When your inquiries are not too heavy, you may also go with “shared” services where the agents handle multiple clients. They will divide the cost here into different accounts. 

Moreover, you do not need to invest in programs and systems, facilities, equipment, and other things that accompany it as these are readily available in call centers, which is cost-efficient. 

When you aim to be always available to your clients

One of the best customer service tips for small businesses is to be always there for your customers when they need you. But some don’t operate 24/7. Although this is true, you can still be always there for your clients through the help of outsourced customer service. They can do after-hours coverage. It can also be an advantage over your competitors. 

Additionally, outsourcing customer service can potentially improve your response time. It is one of the main drivers of higher customer experience rates, as clients would always want immediate answers to their questions and concerns. 

When you intend to offer multilingual services

Not all businesses need this, but if you’re one with a customer base likely to speak other languages, outsourcing customer service would be ideal as they can give you access to multilingual agents. Because of this, you can eliminate communication barriers.

Customers will feel more confident in your brand because they know you will accommodate them well. This may also broaden your customer base. 

When you want access to state-of-the-art technology

The cost of top-of-the-line technology needed for customer service isn’t a joke. This process requires proper programs, systems, and equipment. You can access these without investing much in a customer service outsourcing company. Contact centers use these types of technology to provide quality service to various companies. 

When you want to add depth to your business

Customer service outsourcing for small businesses would provide additional depth to your brand. It allows you to work with experts who have the proper training and experience and are knowledgeable in the field. These people can handle situations that may arise.

The company you’ll hire has the quality assurance to ensure that they provide you and your customers with professional service. Through them, customers may feel more comfortable trusting your brand. 

There are no hard and fast rules for everyone considering outsourcing customer service. Small business owners must understand why they should consider it first. Is it right for them? Will it be hard to manage? Smaller companies with little or no experience may want to start with this strategy to understand their customers better and discover new ways to satisfy and retain them.

Top Customer Support Services provider for SMEs

Magellan Solutions is the leading SME-focused BPO among all outsourcing companies in the Philippines.

With over 18 years of industry experience, we offer high-quality customer support and call center services. We are also a certified ISO 27001:2013 and HIPAA-compliant company.

At Magellan Solutions, we combine technology such as ACD, CRM, and IVR with agent skills. We ensure our agents have all the necessary tools, equipment, and knowledge to serve customers. 

We believe progress shouldn’t break the bank, so our services remain flexible and competitive.

Contact us now to discuss how we can help your business succeed. Complete the contact form below and talk to us for free!